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viewing 1 To 25 of 80 items
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CD
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WACK 1040CD
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Black World originally came out in 1979, on the Wackies' imprint, Hardwax. (The original cover commemorated the first year of Honest Jon's new reggae shop Maroons Tunes, Bullwackies' UK distributor.) It's a tough album, with Leroy Sibbles guiding the selection as well as sharing bass duties -- there are versions of his classic composition "Guiding Star" and stylish Wackies heavyweight, "This World." "Tribute To Studio One" reworks Heptones' "Gonna Fight"/"Hail Don D." as modern steppers, with the kit-drums -- as throughout this album -- supplemented effectively by the latest electronic innovation from Japan. "Skylarking" puts in an appearance; and two full Joe Auxumite vocals from the solo album scheduled for release around this time, but abandoned when most of the tapes were lost. A dub version of Delroy Wilson's "Rain From The Skies" rounds out proceedings.
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WACK S03CD
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This is volume three of the Wackies Sampler series, highlighting the best riddims from Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound's 18 releases in their reissue program of the best of Lloyd Barnes' Black Ark studio production. Wackies Sampler Vol. 3 features one outstanding tune from each release. This compilation is as essential as it gets for any reggae listener, ranging from dub and roots to dancehall inna '80s style, with lesser-known artists alongside some of the biggest names in reggae music, including the prime vocalists of the era. These tunes are taken from 12"s and appear here for the first time on CD within this reissue program. Artists include: Prince Douglas, Horace Andy, Lloyd McTaggart, Joy Card, Bullwackies All Stars, John Clarke, Horace Andy, Jezzreel, Jah Carlos, Milton Henry, Max Romeo, Little John, Sugar Minott, Itopia, and Joe Auxumite.
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WACK 1040LP
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2014 repress; LP version. Black World originally came out in 1979, on the Wackies' imprint, Hardwax. It's a tough album, with Leroy Sibbles guiding the selection as well as sharing bass duties -- there are versions of his classic composition "Guiding Star" and stylish Wackies heavyweight, "This World." "Tribute To Studio One" reworks Heptones' "Gonna Fight"/"Hail Don D." as modern steppers, with the kit-drums -- as throughout this album -- supplemented effectively by the latest electronic innovation from Japan. "Skylarking" puts in an appearance; and two full Joe Auxumite vocals from the solo album scheduled for release around this time, but abandoned when most of the tapes were lost. A dub version of Delroy Wilson's "Rain From The Skies" rounds out proceedings.
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12"
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WACK 272EP
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2013 repress. Combining two 7"s -- by the studio's in-house band at this time -- originally released on the Wackie's label in 1981. "Creation" is an inimitable twist on tough, traditionalist roots -- sick synth-work takes the horns line, and later, jazzily bubbles under the mix, which has the bottom-end of a stegosaurus. The dub is cataclysmic and spectacular. "Message From Jah" is more affable and soulful, the bass-playing funkier, with another ace version.
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12"
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WACK 615EP
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Two different dubwise versions of Sugar Minott's massive "Informer" rhythm -- both chock-full of living dancehall vibes and Channel One-style deadliness. Little John was 12 years-old when he voiced this tune in 1983, straight to the head of all dancecrashers. Batta's cut is a different mix, bowing to U-Roy at the start, before switching to a more contemporary delivery. Sugar is in attendance throughout, almost as if the pair were taking turns at the mic, before the dub takes over.
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10"
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WACK 1002EP
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10" vinyl version. Four songs and their dubs -- slotting in lovers, bubblers and rockers, and well-charge dub, with great playing and Sugar Minott brilliantly focused throughout -- which originally appeared in 1983 as a picture-sleeved 10" on the singer's Black Roots imprint. "Everyone played 'Informer,' all the sounds," recalls Rae Cheddie, who remembers selling more than five hundred copies straight from the Wackies office in Soho, London. "It was international -- a couple of boxes went to Japan, some to Mad Robbie at Fotofon." "Special dedication to all dancehall fans," it says on the label.
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WACK 1002CD
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Lincoln "Sugar" Minott is known as the godfather of dancehall. Not only playing a major role in the story of Jamaican music as a singer, songwriter, producer, label man and sound system instigator, his voice appeared on pretty much every major roots, reggae and dancehall record of the era. He was part of the Studio One renaissance of the late 1970s, and started his own Black Roots and Youth Promotion stables, nurturing young talent. These key four songs and their dubs -- slotting in lovers, bubblers and rockers, originally appeared in 1983 as a picture-sleeve 10" on the Black Roots imprint. "Everyone played 'Informer,' all the sounds," recalls Rae Cheddie, who remembers selling more than 500 copies straight from the Wackies office in Soho, London. "It was international -- a couple of boxes went to Japan, some to Mad Robbie at Fotofon." "Special dedication to all dancehall fans," it says on the label," and dancehall it is, with well-charged dub, great playing and Sugar brilliantly focused throughout. Including two bonus tracks from Jah Batta and Little John.
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WACK 114CD
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Out originally on the Aires label, in a plain, stencilled sleeve, this is a thrilling early-mid-'70s dub album based around three cuts of the dreader than dread Free For All rhythm. The music is made by Melvin "Munchie" Jackson and Lloyd Barnes, with productions begun in Jamaica and finished at the Sounds Unlimited studio in New York. Several surfaced at different stages as 7"s on Bullwackies' Aires imprint, and on the Tafari label which Munchie ran with his brother Maurice and Little Roy, in the Washington Gardens district of Kingston. The title track was recorded at Randy's, and came originally on The Heptones' Hepic label, featuring "Family Man" Barrett on keyboards, and on the DJ cut here, "Meditation Dub" -- sounds like Charlie Ace. There are dubs of Little Roy's "Tribal War" and "Black Bird"; Stranger Cole's "My Application," later re-voiced by The Heptones, turns up as "Dis-Ya-A-Dub"; and if things weren't smoke-filled enough, roots is the rhythm of K.C. White's "All For Free." Hard to imagine a heavier dub set reissued this year.
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WACK 114LP
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12"
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WACK 003EP
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This majestic rhythm was brought from Channel One to Wackies by Sugar Minott. First to voice it was Jah Batta -- his bathetic version makes a comic interlude in Chris Coy's 1983 film about the label, when he mimes the lyrics to his companion, strolling in the park -- originally released on Junior Delahaye's Sun Force label, the production credited to Batta, aka Tony Omeally. (The flip was the Jezzreel cut here, reworking The Upsetter's classic "Fever" b-line. Even this you need.) Max Romeo's myth-making is more in tune with the genius of the rhythm. The song appeared originally on his 1885 album One Horse Race. And it's up there with "Melt Away" as the best side he made away from the Black Ark; and surely the best of his twelve years away from Jamaica, from 1978-1990.
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WACK 2450CD
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Milton Henry's handful of classic sides -- like his version of "Gypsy Woman," or "Cornbread and Butter" or "This World" and "Follow Fashion" over the Upsetter's fever rhythm (under the artist name King Medious) -- made him a natural Wackies' recruit when he relocated from Jamaica to New York City in the late '70s. Soon after, he was fully involved in the day-to-day business of the operation, supervising sales and promotion, making deliveries, even holding spare keys to the studio for whenever Bullwackies himself was away. He appears in this activist role on the front-sleeve photograph, just up White Plains Road from the Bronx HQ: by its title, though, and first and last songs, this album also hints heavily at the past musical accomplishments of its mystery hero. The record was released first in London, in 1984, during the first months of Wackies Dean Street office, in north Soho. The band is basically Itopia. Sly Dunbar gets a credit -- though neither he nor Robbie Shakespeare ever set foot in the studio: as if in acknowledgment for this rhythm, is "No Dreams." Jackie Mittoo and Bagga are 'pon the corner, from Studio One; Jerry Johnson and Neville Anderson are on brass; also Sugar and Max Romeo; and Sonia from the Love Joys performs a duet. "No Dreams" is the true story of Milton sleeping in the attic above the studio when the rough drum and bass track came onto the desk, waking him, pulling him to the mic; "Them A Devil" is aimed at certain producers passing off the singer's property as their own; "Good Old Days" was written for a poor Junior Byles, remembering times shared.
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WACK 2450LP
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12"
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WACK 710EP
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"All Depends On You" is an intimate, spare do-over of the Spiderman rhythm which Yellowman and Fathead were smashing at the time with Operation Eradication: eight-and-a-half-minutes of yearning and pleading, generously dosed with the vocal stylings of the original Night Nurse himself. "I Put My Trust" swaps religion for amorous devotion: musically, it is more characteristically Wackies, reverberating but crisp as a biscuit, stepping but spaced-out. Neither track appears on the LP, Great Jah Jah.
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CD
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WACK 037CD
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Jah Upton joins Lloyd Barnes and Prince Douglas at the desk for another must-have Bullwackies dub set, originally released in 1977. The music is drawn from tapes recorded at King Tubby's with the Soul Syndicate band, in 1974-75 (before Wackies' move to New York). Certain tracks were also voiced in JA -- like Don Carlos' deadly "Prepare Jah Man," available here and nowhere else, over a hallmark rhythm re-run on Wayne Jarrett's Bubble Up album. Other highlights include dubs of Wackies' deep "Black Harmony" rhythm, Joe Morgan's "Basement Session," the Love Joys' "I Belong To You" (a Barry White homage issued on Versatile 7"), a Chosen Brothers and two great John Clarke tracks (including a version of "In Search Of The Human Race" which eclipses the Tafari single); also a dedication to the Chinese restaurant next door on White Plains Road.
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WACK 790CD
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Taking its name from Jezreel, the Biblical city founded by the tribe of Issachar, where God is said to have cursed Ahab for his greed, this singing duo's debut 1980 Wackies album is steeped in rasta spirituality. Clive Davis and Christopher Harvey step forward from the backing line -- on innumerable Sugar Minott sessions for example -- and into the company of the great JA vocal combos of the late seventies: as at home with Viceroys-style harmonies as with traditional Impressions- and doowop-derived flourishes; as comfortable riding Channel One-style steppers as with more laid-back, lover's grooves. Dug in behind them is drummer Jah Scotty's New Breed Band -- also known as the Reckless Breed -- falling between the Sylvester Brothers and Itopia as Wackies in-house crew. Included in the lineup this time are two of Lloyd Barnes' sons, Bob and Shaan. Appearing as Reggae Jerry, guitarist Jerry Harris is in top form, and as Jerry Hitster he contributes some startling keyboards (alongside Sylvesters' old-boy Roy Robertson), not least in the opening bars. Most of the rhythms are one-offs, though "Roman Soldiers" is the militant first outing of "Nature's Dub", and "Living In The Ghetto" is "Kicking Scott" from the same album. (On top, the sleeve features vintage reggae typesetting by Leslie A. Moore, LAM Graphics Int.) This is a showcase reissue, with all tracks extending into inventive dubs. Arrangements are by Lloyd Barnes and Jah Hamma, aka Prince Douglas, who also work the mixing desk.
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WACK 790LP
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WACK 2333/78CD
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Visions Of John Clarke was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself "President of the John Clarke Fan Club" -- and the album attracted the interest of Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full license. Released soon afterwards, the new version -- entitled Rootsy Reggae -- duplicated five tracks from the previous version, but with markedly different mixes, fresh edits, and some additional new instrumentation. This CD presents both albums complete with the original track order. The singer -- not to be confused with Johnny Clark -- had been running with the Wackies operation for the past six years, ever since moving from Jamaica to New York. He'd cut memorable sevens with co-founder Munchie Jackson for the Tafari label -- like "In Search of The Human Race and Recession" -- and also worked with Lloyd Barnes for such Bullwackies imprints as Versatile and Wackies. Several are included within these two albums, with another layer of modification: for example, on "Wasn't It You" Lloyd Barnes and Prince Douglas lend new treatment to the old track with drier dub. They also added guitar to the "Jumbo Caribbean Disco" 12", while on "Pollution" they removed the horns from the Wackies 7" (though generally Baba Leslie is in full effect here). The tracklisting rounds out with a Johnny Osbourne cover; several New Breed jams, featuring the likes of Jah Scotty, Clive Hunt, Harold Sylvester, Jah Hitler, Jerry Johnson, the Love Joys, even Mickey Mouse makes an appearance. On a handful of remapped rhythms, Clarke takes the mic from brethren like Joe Auxumite, K.C. White and Wayne Jarrett.
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WACK 2333LP
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2014 repress; LP version. Visions Of John Clarke was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself "President of the John Clarke Fan Club" -- and the album attracted the interest of Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full license. Released soon afterwards, the new version -- entitled Rootsy Reggae -- duplicated five tracks from the previous version, but with markedly different mixes, fresh edits, and some additional new instrumentation.
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WACK 036CD
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Magnificent dub album out originally on the Senrab label in 1976 -- another great reissue in the string of classic Wackies albums that have been re-released by Berlin dub-techno duo Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, as part of their reissue series of the complete Wackie's catalog. This record captures the time when Lloyd Barnes sparred at the desk with Prince Douglas and Jah Upton, in the first months of the White Plains Road headquarters. The selection commemorates a series of brilliant sevens and twelves on labels like City Line and Wackies, and sister labels like Upton, Versatile, and Munchie Jackson's Earth imprint. Core rhythm tracks from Jamaica -- Treasure Isle mostly, mixed by Tubby -- had been worked over at the Sounds Unlimited studio on E 24th Street in Manhattan. Baba Leslie's dry and crisp instrumental "Black Horns," is placed over Wayne Jarrett's "African Woman" mantra -- and is spun into the opening track, entitled "Black Heart Dub." The Love Joys are like genies in the stunning twin mixes of disco reggae. The track "Dub Unlimited" uses bits of John Clarke's "Pollution" (Unlimited Dub's singjay version of the Ali-Frazier "Thriller In Manilla"); "Bullwackies Revenge" is a version of the Chin Chow rhythm, a tribute to the restaurant next door; the Chosen Brothers' "Talk To The Father" is represented, as well as Andrew McCalla's "Home By The Sea." This is the smoothest dub album you'll ever run across.
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WACK 334LP
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Originally reissued in 2002. "On its original release in 1981, this album sold out so quickly that Wackies was unable to supply his customary distributors outside New York; and it has been high on Wackies-collectors' lists ever since. The rhythms nod again to The Heptones at Studio One, and Bob Marley; others are voiced elsewhere in the Wackies catalogue by Barrington Spence, Junior Delahaye and the Love Joys; some had appeared on the Presenting Prince Douglas set the previous year. Clive himself is compelling, witty and ebullient in the dancehall style pioneered by Lone Ranger, ranging over subjects including JA tourism and landlordism, Carter and Reagan, banks and bulldogs, and -- outstandingly, on Delahaye's ineffable but unissued Acting So Strange -- the in-thing beaver hat and sheepskin coat."
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WACK 039LP
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Released in 2005. "Both volumes of Reggae Goodies came out around 1977 on Bullwackies' City Line imprint (which celebrated the NY subway track ending at White Plains Road, and Wackies' headquarters). They are based on a compilation of 7" A-sides which had appeared over the previous few years also on labels like Versatile, Rawse and Senrab. The original sleeve-note of Volume 1 reflected that 'today, reggae music is reaching its peak and this album is a perfect example of the roots of its success. This is an exceptionally well put together album with various artists at their best.' No one could argue -- with spectacular contributions like Don Carlos' 'Black Harmony' killer, Wayne Jarrett's 'African Woman' (to Baba Leslie's 'Black Horns' rhythm), Joe Morgan's 'Basement Session,' and the first time out for Stranger Cole's intense 'Capture Land,' later redone by Wackies and also Half Moon affiliates TAMU. Reggae Goodies: it's more than just an album, it's an experience which can only be shared by you. Get your copy now... there'll never be another of its kind."
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WACK 040LP
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2014 repress. Released in 2005. "Volume 2 derives more from Wackies' Sounds Unlimited Studios in New York, and aims rather for the Lovers in the dance. Ad hoc lineups like Wanachi (with Jah Jah's Call also appearing on Creation Dub) and the Chosen Brothers -- here it may be Lloyd Barnes with Wayne Jarrett on one track, and Leroy Sibbles on another - appear alongside regulars like 'Jah Junior' Delahaye, K.C. White, and those 'three attractive young beauties' The Love Joys -- with a different mix of their version of The Abyssinians' 'Sweet Feelings' than turns up on their debut album. Reggae Goodies: it's more than just an album, it's an experience which can only be shared by you. Get your copy now... there'll never be another of its kind."
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CD
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WACK 107CD
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Released in 2005. Appearing originally on the Solid Groove label out of Croydon in South London, Exclusively is sometimes misconstrued as the UK issue of Dance Hall Style. The tracks from both were recorded at the same sessions -- with Bullwackie joined at the controls by Junior Delahaye and Prince Douglas, and issued close together in 1982-83, Croydon first. Half of Exclusively non-exclusively versions four tracks from the Stateside release, and three are re-titled. Also "Eating Mess," which appeared on the first pressing of Dance Hall Style, though unlisted on the sleeve. The mixes are all different (and without dubs). Five further specials include the funky "Musical Episode," a superior Bob Marley tribute, and a version of "Rougher Yet." It's all vintage Wackies, and spun out of Horace's all-time greatest album -- unmissable.
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WACK 107LP
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2014 repress. LP version. Released in 2005. Appearing originally on the Solid Groove label out of Croydon in South London, Exclusively is sometimes misconstrued as the UK issue of Dance Hall Style. The tracks from both were recorded at the same sessions -- with Bullwackie joined at the controls by Junior Delahaye and Prince Douglas, and issued close together in 1982-83, Croydon first. Half of Exclusively non-exclusively versions four tracks from the Stateside release, and three are re-titled. Also "Eating Mess," which appeared on the first pressing of Dance Hall Style, though unlisted on the sleeve. The mixes are all different (and without dubs). Five further specials include the funky "Musical Episode," a superior Bob Marley tribute, and a version of "Rougher Yet." It's all vintage Wackies, and spun out of Horace's all-time greatest album -- unmissable.
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12"
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WACK 280EP
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"The Bullwackies cut of Horace Andy's 'Serious Thing' eclipses on all sides the classic Bunny Lee version of five or so years earlier -- Horace like an angel over a stepping roots arrangement, with the horns on side A imparting extra gravitas, and the majestic Wackies production extra effects on the flip. Originally released in 1981, in the company of Youthman, Sometime Girl, Rockfort Rock -- the horns versions in the UK on the Infradig label, the guitar versions (side AA of this reissue) in the US on a white label stamped with the Wackies insignia -- another Lloyd Barnes killer, dead seriously."
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