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LP
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BSR 838R-LP
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"Niney The Observer's Sledgehammer Dub In The Street Of Jamaica LP has always been considered a long lost gem with dub collectors. Originally released in early 1977 and pressed in a limited quantity of between 300 to 400 copies the record was a compilation of dubs devoid of vocals but high on rhythms -- mixed with feeling and showcasing the talents of both musicians and mixing engineers. King Tubby's involvement is clear, as is that of all the other parties involved such as Niney, The Soul Syndicate, and The Cimarrons to name but a few. The actual LP title was derived from how King Tubby mixed his tracks. Niney described the sound coming from the speakers as like having a sledgehammer hitting you on your head. Niney himself is steeped in reggae history, making songs for the likes of Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, and Coxsone, producing the masterful Blood And Fire cut and being one of the first to experiment with sound in early reggae. Sledgehammer Dub In The Street Of Jamaica was pressed on Niney's own Observer label without a jacket and has become something of a holy grail for collectors of dub."
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7"
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JR 7016EP
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Niney The Observer's biblical epic "Blood And Fire" still resonates in today's troubled times... released here alongside it's version... yes, more "Brimstone And Fire" from the Observer himself...
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LP
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JRLP 034LP
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2021 rerelease. The mighty Channel One Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, has its place set in reggae's history. Its distinctive sound the studio created on opening its doors in 1972 to its closure in the early 1980s made it the producers, singers, and musicians studio of choice during this furtive period. Achieving that vibe and clarity, separated it from the other Kingston establishments. Run by the Hookim Family's four sons, Jo Jo the eldest followed by Paulie, Ernest and Kenneth. Their father originally came from China and married a Chinese Jamaican lady and settled in the St Andrews district before moving to Kingston Town itself. The family business was built on jukeboxes and one-armed bandit machines in and around Kingston. A lucrative venture until the gaming laws changed in 1970, outlawing the gaming machines. It was decided to open a studio to make the music to supply their already established Jukebox enterprise. The four brothers opened Channel One Recording Studios in 1972. Initially, the purpose of the studio was for the brothers use only, but this would soon change. Jo Jo would take over the production duties after the initial hiring of Syd Bucknor a producer who had worked closely with Coxonne Dodd's Studio 1 stable. The first release on the Channel One label would be "Don't Give Up The Fight" by Stranger Cole and Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson. 1977 saw Jo Jo extending his stays in New York to a semipermanent status, returning mainly to oversee recording sessions and then taking the results back to America for worldwide distribution. His brother Paulie senseless killing in that year also added to Jo Jo's decision to spend more time with his Hit Bound Manufacturing set up in New York. The Channel One studio would be upgraded in 1979 to sixteen tracks and although Jo Jo and Ernest still covered the mixing and engineering duties Kenneth would now supervise sessions. An often untold part of Channel One's history is the involvement of producer, Niney The Observer. The mid to late 1970s were heavy times both musically and politically and Maxfield Avenue was in the heart of this crossfire. Niney's fearlessness seen him over running and in many cases running the all-night sessions with his trusted set of musicians loosely called The Soul Syndicate. Jamaican Recordings have selected a bunch of material from Niney's vaults for this release. Some great unreleased rhythms and some different cuts to some tracks you might already know.
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CD
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BSR 994CD
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"Niney The Observer's Sledgehammer Dub In The Street Of Jamaica LP has always been considered to be a long lost gem with Dub collectors. Originally released in early 1977 and pressed in a limited quantity of between 300 to 400 copies the record was a compilation of Dubs devoid of vocals but high on rhythms - mixed with feeling and showcasing the talents of both musicians and mixing engineers. King Tubby's involvement is clear, as is that of all the other parties involved such as Niney, The Soul Syndicate and The Cimarrons to name but a few. The actual LP title was derived from how King Tubby mixed his tracks. Strong! Niney described the sound coming from the speakers as like having a sledgehammer hitting you on your head. Niney himself is steeped in Reggae history, making songs for the likes of Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs and Coxsone, producing the masterful Blood And Fire cut and being one of the first to experiment with sound in early reggae. Sledgehammer Dub In The Street Of Jamaica was pressed on Nineys own Observer label without a jacket and has become something of a holy grail for collectors of dub."
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CD
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JRCD 011CD
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2002 release. At King Tubby's: Dub Plate Specials 1973-1975 features unreleased dubs from Niney's mastertapes. The majority of the tracks featured were mixed by King Tubby. To be found on this set are rare dubwise cuts to Dennis Brown's "Lately Girl," "Westbound Train," "I Am The Conqueror," "No More Will I Roam," "Here I Come," and "Silver Words," as well as Micheal Rose's "A Love Between Us" and "Freedom" -- plus many more.
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LP
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JRLP 011LP
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2017 repress; LP version. 2002 release. At King Tubby's: Dub Plate Specials 1973-1975 features unreleased dubs from Niney's mastertapes. The majority of the tracks featured were mixed by King Tubby. To be found on this set are rare dubwise cuts to Dennis Brown's "Lately Girl," "Westbound Train," "I Am The Conqueror," "No More Will I Roam," "Here I Come," and "Silver Words," as well as Micheal Rose's "A Love Between Us" and "Freedom" -- plus many more.
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CD
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JRCD 034CD
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2009 release. The mighty Channel One Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, has its place set in Reggae's musical history. Its distinctive sound the studio created on opening its doors in 1972 to its closure in the early 1980s made it the producer's, singer's and musician's studio of choice during this furtive period. Achieving that vibe and clarity separated it from the other Kingston establishments. Run by the Hookim Family's four sons, Jo Jo the eldest followed by Paulie, Ernest and Kenneth. Their father originally came from China and married a Chinese Jamaican lady and settled in the St. Andrews district before moving to Kingston Town itself. The family business was built on jukeboxes and one-armed bandit machines in and around Kingston. A lucrative venture, until the gaming laws changed in 1970, outlawing the gaming machines. So the music side of the business would have to be expanded. So it was decided to open a studio to make the music to supply their already established Jukebox enterprise. The four brothers opened Channel One Recording Studios in 1972 at 29 Maxfield Avenue, Kingston 13. Initially as we stated, the purpose of the studio was for the brothers' use only, but this would soon change when various producers, all looking for that Channel One sound, came asking for studio time. The brothers had used the services of Bill Garnet, a renowned and well-respected technical engineer on setting up the studio. They spent a lot of time laying out the space to get the right acoustics and picking the right equipment. They went with a four-track API desk and the best quality microphones such as Neuman, Sony and AKG, vital in obtaining the quality sound and track separation that would prove so worthwhile after the music was recorded to give the best flexibility on the final mixdowns. Jo Jo would take over the production duties after the initial hiring of Syd Bucknor, a producer who had worked closely with Coxsone Dodd's Studio 1 stable. The first release on the Channel One label would be "Don't Give Up the Fight" by Stranger Cole and Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson. The initial two thousand run was swallowed up by their jukebox interests and so the steady flow of hits would run up to the breakthrough hit of 1975 "Right Time" by the Mighty Diamonds. 1977 saw Jo Jo extending his stays in New York to a semipermanent status, returning mainly to oversee recording sessions and then taking the results back to America for worldwide distribution. His brother Paulie's senseless killing in that year also added to Jo Jo's decision to spend more time with his Hit Bound Manufacturing set up in New York. The Channel One studio would be upgraded in 1979 to 16 tracks and although Jo Jo and Ernest still covered the mixing and engineering duties, Kenneth would now supervise sessions. An often untold part of Channel One's history is the involvement of producer Niney The Observer. The mid to late 1970s were heavy times both musically and politically and Maxfield Avenue was in the heart of this crossfire. Some artists and musicians were weary of using the establishment, especially when sessions ended late at night and exiting the studio at these times could be somewhat dangerous. But Niney's fearlessness saw him running the all-night sessions with his trusted set of musicians loosely called The Soul Syndicate. Having the run of the mighty Channel One studios allowed Niney to build up and work on a stockpile of rhythms that he still has yet to unleash on the world. Jamaican Recordings have been lucky to select a bunch of material from Niney's vaults for this release. Some great unreleased rhythms and some different cuts to some tracks you might already know. Niney's work with Dennis Brown and his own distinctive heavy roots-style productions have been documented, and indeed his work on Channel One's Yellowman releases stand tall also.
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CD
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JRCD 050CD
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Niney The Observer's first dub album Dubbing with the Observer (1975) was cut at King Tubby's Studio with Tubby himself reworking Niney's rhythms and adding his magic as only he could do. Niney The Observer (b. Winston Holness, 1951 Montego Bay, Jamaica) by the early '70s had forged a successful working partnership with singer Dennis Brown, cutting some of his best songs and adding a more rootsy element to the singer's sound -- songs such as "Westbound Train," "No More Will I Roam," and "I Am the Conqueror," to name but a few. Niney also cut a hit for Ken Boothe ("Silver Words") and two other singers that he had grown up with, Max Romeo ("That Was Love") and Delroy Wilson ("Halfway Up the Stairs"). It was these tracks and a few other Dennis Brown-worked rhythms that Niney took to King Tubby's studio at 18 Drumilly Avenue, Kingston 11, with the intention to let Tubby remix and enhance the rhythms, Tubby-style. The result was to be Niney's first dub album -- the mighty Dubbing with the Observer. On completion it was sent to London and it was then released on Trojan Records and named "Dub Album of the Year." Jamaican Recordings are proud to put this album back out there for all to hear -- what has now become a dub classic. Includes three bonus tracks.
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LP
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JRLP 050LP
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LP version. Niney The Observer's first dub album Dubbing with the Observer (1975) was cut at King Tubby's Studio with Tubby himself reworking Niney's rhythms and adding his magic as only he could do. Niney The Observer (b. Winston Holness, 1951 Montego Bay, Jamaica) by the early '70s had forged a successful working partnership with singer Dennis Brown, cutting some of his best songs and adding a more rootsy element to the singer's sound -- songs such as "Westbound Train," "No More Will I Roam," and "I Am the Conqueror," to name but a few. Niney also cut a hit for Ken Boothe ("Silver Words") and two other singers that he had grown up with, Max Romeo ("That Was Love") and Delroy Wilson ("Halfway Up the Stairs"). It was these tracks and a few other Dennis Brown-worked rhythms that Niney took to King Tubby's studio at 18 Drumilly Avenue, Kingston 11, with the intention to let Tubby remix and enhance the rhythms, Tubby-style. The result was to be Niney's first dub album -- the mighty Dubbing with the Observer. On completion it was sent to London and it was then released on Trojan Records and named "Dub Album of the Year." Jamaican Recordings are proud to put this album back out there for all to hear -- what has now become a dub classic.
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CD
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KSCD 039CD
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Niney The Observer is well-known for his great productions and collaborations with the likes of Dennis Brown, and for some of the best rhythms to come out of Jamaica. Maybe less-known is that he began in the music business as a singer. Here for the first time is a collection of songs culled from his career that feature the outstanding voice of the Observer himself. Niney The Observer (b. Winston Holness, 1951, Montego Bay, Jamaica) grew up in Montego Bay, Jamaica and began singing in school bands in and around the area and the nearby town of Lucea, where one of the bands he sang with featured future Studio One guitarist Eric Frater. Two other singers that Niney grew up with were Derrick Morgan and Eric "Monty" Morris. Producer Coxsone Dodd of Studio One began noticing Niney's talents and offered him some studio time and a base to work out of on Charles Street in Kingston Town. The year was 1957 and Coxsone Dodd released some of these early recordings featuring the vocal talents of Niney on his Studio One label. In the late 1960s, he worked as an engineer at KG Records, where he first began producing. He moved on in 1967 to work with producer Bunny Lee, and a short time working for producer Lynford Anderson's studio saw him take the vacancy at Joe Gibbs' studio as chief engineer, when his friend Lee Perry left. Niney gained his name after losing a thumb in a workshop accident and adopted "The Observer" name after being inspired by Lee Perry's use of his nickname "Upsetter." Christmas Eve 1970 saw the release of the now seminal Niney track "Blood and Fire" recorded at Randy's Studio 17, with the backing vocals provided by Lloyd Charmers, Dobby Dobson, Densil Len, and Busta Brown. The musicians were the Soul Syndicate band, a collective group of musicians that Niney would use throughout his career of which the nucleus would feature Carlton "Santa" Davis, Carlton Barrett (drums), George "Fully" Fullwood, Earl "Flabba" Holt, Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass), Earl "Chinna" Smith, Tony Chin (guitar), Keith Sterling, Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson (keyboards), Noel "Skully" Simms (percussion), and Bobby Ellis, Tommy McCook, Vin Gordon (horns). The tune would also feature what was to be Niney's signature heavy/sparse sound. If Niney The Observer's work as a singer was ever in doubt or overshadowed by his many other talents, then this album will put that to rest. Niney behind the microphone as compared to a mixing desk is a great, great, great thing. CD version includes four bonus tracks.
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LP
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KSLP 039LP
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