Various Artists: Firehouse Revolution - King Tubby's Productions in the Digital Era 1985 - 1989 CD
1. Tempo - Redrose
2. After All - King Everall
3. Crank Angle - King Asher
4. Two Big Bull Inna One Pen - Red Rose & King Kong
5. Original Sound - Smith, Conroy
6. Special Singer - King Everall
7. Rude Bwoy - Hemmings, Lloyd
8. Dry Up Your Tears - Stewart, Tinga
9. Version - Peego & Fatman/King Asher
10. Line Up - Osbourne, Johnny
11. Fade Away - Little John
12. Babylon - King Kong (1)
13. Pressure Me - Lilly Melody
14. Automatic - King Everall
15. Under Me Fat Thing - Red Rose
16. Version - Davy, Noel
King Tubby's productions are invariably linked with his stunning 70s output. However during the 1980s Tubby had far from given up. He rebuilt his studio and continued to keep it right in the heart of the Kingston ghetto. The Waterhouse area of Kingston had earned its reputation as a catalyst for innovation and produced many of Jamaica's finest vocalists it also had a reputation for violence hence the residents referred to it as 'Firehouse'.
Tubby now put his energies towards building up the studio while not being as 'hands on' as he had been in the past he encouraged some of the younger talented Waterhouse youths to the forefront of his studios output guiding them through there engineering duties. What we have on this album are 16 tracks that Tubby essentially executive produced. This mid 80s is a period that is often overlooked by reggae fans, but slowly the collectors market is starting to acknowledge the value of these forgotten gems.
Pressure Sounds feel it is time to put the spotlight on some brilliant music that is as exciting as any of our past releases. The album begins with 3 stunning cuts of the 'Tempo' rhythm the album then works through some of the best music from between 1985 to 1989.
Anthony Red Rose, Little John, Johnny Osbourne, King Kong all have stunning contributions including 3 standout cuts of Lloyd Hemmings 'Rude Bwoy', followed by Tinga Stewarts 'Dry Up Your Tears' and a wicked dub version. King Tubby actually mixed a version of the 'Sleng Teng' rhythm called 'Under Me Fat Thing'.
While this music could hardly be described as new it comes from a much more recent period than the usual sixties and seventies 'revival' compilations and is every bit as exciting innovative and important as anything that has come out of Jamaica. |
