Prince Buster - Sit And Wonder

ORIGINATION 200% Dynamite
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fairly good
RATING

Prince Buster is one of the most important people in the history of Jamaican music. He was both artist, writer and producer and, whilst being best known for his contribution to ska, he was of almost equal importance to rocksteady. (For the confused, ska slowed down, got rude and became rocksteady, which itself slowed down, got conscious and became roots (or reggae).)

This tune is from the rocksteady period and is typical of the style. It is not one of his best rocksteady tunes, but it is notable for some nice vocal harmonies. The song is about the Prince's lady, who he suspects of doing the dirty on him with some Rude boys. He sings that they took her home after the dance and "who knows where they took you before". Typical slackness for the rocksteady period, but interestingly the story does not then go on to feature violence (or more rudeness). Instead the Prince goes on to wonder if life is worth living, which is more than a little unusual for this period. This, along with the vocal harmonies, gives the song a slight melancholy air, which is kinda refreshing.

Dawn Penn - You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)

ORIGINATION 12"
LAST LISTENED TO some time last week
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT middling
RATING

Jamaican Dawn Penn originally recorded this ditty during the rocksteady period at the end of the '60s. It was a big hit in Jamaica, but she never followed up on it and soon retired from music altogether. However, 17 years later she stared to revive her career. Meeting little success initially, in '94 she re-recorded her biggest hit (in the more current dancehall style) and had a global hit with it.

As you'd expect for a dancehall tune, there is bass aplenty and a mid-pace rhythm. Added to this are the odd vocal sample and some brass that, knowing the tendency for re-cycling in Jamiacan music, could in fact be from the original, just speeded up. Not that it really matters when the brass is as warm and friendly as this.

The real star is, of course, Penn's vocal, which floats over the top delightfully. The 12" features five mixes of the track and of them the best (by far) is the one that is cut for radio and gives the most time to the delightful vocal.

The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon

ORIGINATION 20 Reggae Greats
LAST LISTENED TO no idea
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT non existant RATING

Just to clear this up straight away: this is the original version. Ok?

Good. Let us continue.

During the '60s and '70s, arguably the most creative period in Jamaica's musical history, almost none of its musical output reached beyond its shores. There was the occasional hit in the UK, but that was it. This left the way open for other acts to cover tunes and score hits, which happened on many occasions. Best known was the cover of this by Boney M and Blondie's version of The Paragons Tide is High. And then there was UB40, but i find it's best not to think about UB40 at all.

The Melodians were a vocal trio best known for their sweet harmonies. They recorded Rivers Of Babylon during the rocksteady period and, after a career of mostly love songs, it was their first song to touch on Rastafarian consciousness.

In Rastafari, Babylon is a white colonial or imperialist power structure that is responsible for the oppression of all blacks and as such it has very negative connotations. On the other hand Zion is the black spiritual home, seen as being specifically Ethiopia, it is also roughly comparable to Judao-Christian-Islamic heaven. Hence the chorus:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

This was the biggest hit that The Melodians ever scored. In '71, the following year, their producer died and the quality of their output was seen to drop, never to reach these heights again.