Natty Dreadlocks

Black Uhuru : Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

[Purchase]

In 1979 the Jamaican roots reggae band Black Uhuru released Showcase, a collection of seven mesmerizing tracks by the line-up that would create some of the best reggae albums ever made. Michael Rose, with his Middle Eastern vocal stylings, and Duckie Simpson had now been joined by Sandra "Puma" Jones, a former social worker who hailed from Columbia, South Carolina. Produced by Sly and Robbie for their labelTaxi Records, they recorded "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", inspired by the Sidney Poitier movie.

The song "Shine Eye Girl" features Keith Richards on rhythm guitar. This is the album that started Black Uhuru mania. Look for the album under the reissued title Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. Soon signed to Island Records, they were the great reggae hope after the death of Bob Marley. They made some great albums. 1981's Red is a classic and Anthem is the one I played all the time. 

Michael Rose left for a solo career in the mid '80s and Puma Jones died of cancer in 1990. 

Serge Goes Reggae

Serge Gainsbourg : Aux Armes Ecætera

[Purchase]

On March 13, 1979, the french singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg released Aux Armes Ecætera, a reggae album recorded in Byron Lee's Jamaican studio with the prolific rhythm section Sly and Robbie and backing vocals provided by Rita Marley's I-Threes. Drummer Sly Dunbar would call this smokey and sultry "Freggae" album perhaps the best record he ever played on. It would certainly reboot Gainsbourg's career by becoming his biggest selling album of all time.

Despite the easy skanking rhythm of the songs, the album's title track would lead to death threats against Gainsbourg. That's because it's a reggae version of "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem. Veterans of the French Algerian War found the arrangement unpatriotic. 

From Wikipedia:

In 1979, a show (in Strasbourg) had to be cancelled, because an angry mob of French Army parachutists came to demonstrate in the audience. (After sending his musicians home), alone onstage, Gainsbourg raised his fist and answered "The true meaning of our national anthem is revolutionary" and sang it with the audience. The soldiers joined them, a scene enjoyed by millions as French TV news broadcast it, creating more publicity. Shortly afterward, Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of "La Marseillaise". He replied to his critics that his version was closer to the original as the manuscript shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus.

The publicity helped album sales and there were further singles released. "Lola Rastaquouere" shows the horny french singer at his best. A rough translation : 

She had such eyes, a true Abyssinian cat 

And her breasts, two spheres 

In between which I was giving up two months of salary 

to roll my poor joint.

On "Des Laids Des Laids" he responds to critics who say he's "ugly, ugly". "Finally, " he sings. "we have to do with what we have".

Don't know french? There's still a track for you. 

Six Degrees of Separation: Dave And Ansell Collins to The dB's

1. With their UK #1 single " Double Barrel", Dave and Ansell Collins brings reggae to the masses in 1971. This is the first record a 14 year old drummer named Sly Dunbar ever plays on.




2. The following year Sly teams up with bassist Robbie Shakespeare. Sly And Robbie become one of the most sought after rhythm sections in the world. They play with, or produce, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and reggae greats like Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru. In 1981 they back up Grace Jones on her club hit "Pull Up To The Bumper", the single from her album Nightclubbing.




3. The title track  is a cover of the 1977 Iggy Pop/David Bowie tune which appears on Iggy's album The Idiot.





4. In 1994 Trent Reznor samples the kick drum sound from "Nightclubbing" for his disturbing hit "Closer". The video is directed by Mark Romanek who has won 19 MTV Music Video Awards.

5.The following year Romanek directs the video for R.E.M.'s "Strange Currencies" which, for some reason, can't be found on YouTube. This is the third single from Monster, produced by Scott Litt ( who produced the Katrina and the Waves hit "Walking On Sunshine" as well as the final Replacements album All Fall Down).





6. Litt made his debut as a producer on The dB's 1982 album Repercussion, which is best known for the cut "Amplifier". So we're going to dig a little deeper into this terrific album and post "We Were Happy There".