Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

I have no idea why I'm posting more reggae. I feel like I lost all reggae credibility when I posted Wayne Jarrett's version of Billie Jean. No one liked it. I'm always complaining about not receiving comments. No problems with that post. Three people found the time to tell me the song basically sucked. Well, here we go again. This time I've got three songs from Byron Lee and the Dragonaires' album "Reggay Fever". Byron Lee has been recording music for a long time and still continues to release albums, but they are mostly Soca. I haven't heard any of his new stuff, but I've read that it sucks. But, hey, maybe I'll like it, right? Byron Lee started off playing ska and I remember reading in Lloyd Bradley's This is Reggae Music that Byron Lee actually traveled to the US for some sort of World's Fair type thing. At the time, reggae and ska were only really being listened to in JA, so Byron Lee was chosen to kind of expose the world to reggae. It didn't go well, and many people felt the failure was due to the fact that most of the musicians on the tour were white and that Byron Lee was disconnected from the real reggae that was going down in places like Trenchtown. Byron, I belive is part Black, Chinese and White. And, he often gigged for rich white folks at resorts which wouldn't even allow dreads inside. Well, read the book if any of that sounds interesting to you. Besides, I may have messed up those stories too, because my memory ain't so great sometimes. Now, about the music. I've got two covers. First, is a cover of Wing's "Live and Let Die". Second is the b-boy classic "Apache" which unfortunately does not include breaks. Thirdly, I'm including a track called "Mojo Reggae" which is kind of a fast paced rock steady instrumental. I don't believe this album has been reissued, but Turntable Lab currently has sealed original copies of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires' "Reggae Splashdown" which includes some nice covers of "Express Yourself" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" which was recently featured at Soul Sides
Live and Let Die by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires from Reggay Fever
Apache by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires from Reggay Fever
Mojo Reggae by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires from Reggay Fever

Mambajahambo!

Another quick post to put the word out on an incredible mix one of my Sockpuppet brethren has created. You've got to check it out. Basically, O-nice has created a mixtape that puts you into a packed club at 1 in the morning. Sprinkled with my man's own remixes, this mix will make you shake your ass while asking, "What song is that?" and "Those vocals are from what?" So, go download the mp3, and leave some comments here to let the man know what you think. P.S. He's looking for gigs in Chicago.

Umbrellas up!


Mambajahambo by O-Nice

Yusef Lateef's Suite 16

Just a quick post to make sure y'all are getting your mp3s. More Yusef Lateef, this time from his album "Suite 16". The two tracks I'm including are "Buddy and Lou" and "Nocturne." They are a bit mellower than the last two from Lateef's "Detroit", but they still have strong rhythm sections.

I also wanted to say thanks to all of the folks still putting comments on the Bollywood posts, especially the fellow who posted anonymously and said he'd be able to hook me up with some RD Burman albums straight from India. Now, if you'll just leave your email addy, I'll be stoked.


Buddy and Lou by Yusef Lateef from Suite 16
Nocturne by Yusef Lateef from Suite 16