Reggae Nights

"Babylon by Bus" is a live album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978. The tracks on this album are considered, with two exceptions, to be from the Pavillon de Paris concerts over 3 nights, 25–27 June 1978, during the Kaya Tour, though there are discrepancies in the track listing. Like the 1973 album Catch a Fire, the first release had something of a novelty cover. The windows of the bus on the front cover were cut out, revealing part of the inner sleeve. As this was a double album, the listener had a choice of four different scenes to view through the windows.

In 2002, I traveled to Zimbabwe with my friend Marc, a fellow musician. After a month-long record safari, he insisted that the highlight of the entire trip was discovering the Zig-Zag Band. At the time, I was so immersed in the raw, gritty Chimurenga sound that his comment barely registered. Fast forward twenty years and I found myself back in Zimbabwe, this time with Volkan who after another digging trip, told me that despite all the music we had discovered, it was the Zig-Zag Band that stuck with him the most. Two people — separated by two decades — coming to the same conclusion? That couldn’t be a coincidence. This time, I had no choice but to listen. What was so special about this band? I was about to find out.

In 2002, I traveled to Zimbabwe with my friend Marc, a fellow musician. After a month-long record safari, he insisted that the highlight of the entire trip was discovering the Zig-Zag Band. At the time, I was so immersed in the raw, gritty Chimurenga sound that his comment barely registered. Fast forward twenty years and I found myself back in Zimbabwe, this time with Volkan who after another digging trip, told me that despite all the music we had discovered, it was the Zig-Zag Band that stuck with him the most. Two people — separated by two decades — coming to the same conclusion? That couldn’t be a coincidence. This time, I had no choice but to listen. What was so special about this band? I was about to find out.

After fronting popular Jamaican vocal trio the Paragons on a succession of best-selling rock steady singles during the late Sixties, John Holt went on to become one of Jamaica’s most popular solo performers, scoring a series of reggae hits for many of the island’s leading record producers. His international breakthrough came in 1974 with the hugely popular ‘1000 Volts of Holt’ album, which fused raw reggae rhythms with sophisticated orchestral arrangements. The highlight of the long-player was a reworking of Kris Kristoffersson’s country hit, ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’, which the following year became a global hit, with the single, peaking at Number 6 in the UK charts. Over the years that followed, Holt remained a giant of the reggae scene with further best sellers and numerous sell-out shows around the world. The very best of his solo work has been brought together on this ‘Essential Artist’ compilation, the latest release in Trojan Records’ newly launched range that showcases the work of Jamaica’s best-loved ‘foundation’ artists. Available as comprehensive 2CD compilation, the collection superbly illustrates the talent that made John Holt one of the reggae music’s most popular and enduring singers.

Three Highly Lauded and Previously Unreleased Bob Marley & The Wailers Concerts From London’s Rainbow Theatre To Be Released On June 3, 10, And 17. Revised Exodus: Deluxe Edition Releasing June 24.

The Big Smoke was Gentleman’s Dub Club’s second full-length release and first with Easy Star. The record reflected the popular UK touring act’s move from its birth city of Leeds to London (a.k.a. “The Big Smoke”) and featured the band moving into tackling more classic songwriting, while still maintaining their bass-heavy live dynamics.

Among the new wave of record producers who commenced their careers at the tail end of the 1960s, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin. Alvin scored numerous Jamaican hits yet remains one of the most under-rated and over-looked Kingston-based music makers of the 20th Century. At the start of the 1970s, he cemented his reputation as one of the most popular reggae producers of his generation, expanding his roster to include some of the finest talents on the island, their number including The Ethiopians, Cynthia Richards, Charlie Ace, and The Slickers, as well as long-term stalwarts, The Maytones. This 2CD collection, the second in a series of sets showcasing the very best of Ranglin’s productions from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, demonstrates the high quality of his output during one of the most fascinating periods in the development of reggae music.

An epic set of 15 tracks, Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 unites the deep roots grooves of reggae, dancehall and rocksteady with the scorching soul of Cuban son, timba and salsa.