LONE RANGER (Hogg In The Fogg/reggae related)
pickwick33
8,946 Posts
A few weeks ago, in that "random Sunday thoughts" thread, I mentioned that I had just the recent batch of Studio 1 reissues on Heartbeat just showed up in my mailbox, and I was kinda skeptical about the Lone Ranger disc because it was recorded in the '80s.Hogg In The Fogg (a huge Lone Ranger fan) then said he wanted to know my opinion once I did hear it.I'm afraid my predictions were right - I wasn't really feelin' it.I don't know...I used to be a lot more tolerant of 1980's reggae, but now when I hear it I start thinking of these college-jamband, drum-circle guys in those knit hats that look like Jiffy Pop Popcorn, always listening to Bob Marley's Legend album. This is not the Lone Ranger's fault, but for that reason, this is why a lot of reggae made after the seventies doesn't really kill me right now. The reason I didn't post this in the older "Sunday thoughts" thread is because I was afraid it might get lost and Hogg might not get back to it in time before it falls back to Page 2. (I think that's how I missed his post, since I didn't answer him right away...)But yeah, that's how I feel...Lone Ranger is good at what he does, I'm not gonna take that away from him, but that post-1980 reggae sound ain't doin' much for me these days.
Comments
It really doesn't make 'the switch' until '84. Dancehall didn't go digi until then and it was just a continuation of what had gone on before in the early 80s.
It really doesn't make 'the switch' until '84. Dancehall didn't go digi until then and it was just a continuation of what had gone on before in the early 80s. [/color]
Well, whatever the continuum is...I'm just not into it right now. The heart wants what it wants, you know?
I'm not gonna put up much of an argument - I don't wanna come off like some young novice dissing Dylan out of hand for not having breakbeats
I won't "lump" everything together, but I will share this thought...I have this Toots & the Maytals anthology, in the Mango Records "Reggae Greats" series...it doesn't go in chronological order, but I do notice that on the eighties tracks, there is a serious energy drop (pressure drop?) compared to the earlier songs...these later selections aren't bad for what they are, mind you, but compared to something like "54-46," the intensity level is noticeably lower. Now, I don't know whether it was due to Toots himself, or whether he'd been Marleyized (I doubt it), or whether that was just the JA sound of the day, but it does sound mellower than before and that's just the way it is.
He's got some great early 80's stuff IMO.
I'm exactly the opposite I used to discount this era many many years ago,
but now it's the stuff I've been feeling the most.
Try out almost anything on Greensleeves or Vista Sounds from
the early 80's, you might change your mind.
It's a comp on Heartbeat that just came out this summer (titled On The Other Side Of Dub), and these are the tunes:
________________________________________
1. Noah In the Ark
2. Apprentice Dentist
3. Quarter Pound Ishen
4. The Answer
5. Natty Dread On the Go
6. Screw Gone a North Coast
7. Tribute To Marley
8. Barnabas Collins
9. Keep On Coming a the Dance
10. Where Eagles Dwell
11. Dentist Dub
12. Collie Rock
13. Dub Is the Answer
14. Dub a Natty Dread
15. Dub Gone a North Coast
16. Tribute To Marley Version
17. Grave Yard Skank
_______________________________________
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of turds from that era too.
And I cosign on the Steel Pulse. I love the True Democracy record,
I played that one to death back in the day.
Toots hadn't been making music for Jamaica since the 60s; none of that later material is representative of trends in Jamaican music, as it was intended strictly for an international audience.
I find that, if anything, early eighties Jamaican music is less cross-over friendly than the music of the roots era that had preceded it. The dominant sound was sparser, slower and--often--somewhat menacing, and the lyrical themes tended to be more literal and closer to home.
The Other Side of Dub and The Barnabas Collins lp.
Both recorded in the 70's and both ridiculously good.
Maybe it will grow on you.
Dudes, please, Steel Pulse is a British cross-over act. It may be good in its own right, but it has little relation to Jamaican music of the era.
Huh?
Sound System and True Democracy still feel good to hear, especially in the summer heat.