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| From | "G FUENTES" <gfuentes1375@msn.com> |
| Subject | Recommendation for Pop Massive - Reggae Pick - Bitty Mclean |
| Date | Sat, 13 May 2006 03:25:07 +0000 |
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Hello All
I wanted to bring to your attention a record that I am enjoying right now
that I think may appeal to many of the pop mavens on this list. I often get
private messages from some of you on here asking me to recommend something
to the reggae beginners. Well, today I want to recommend a record to all of
you because many of you will be quite happy with this selection.
I think it is safe to say that there were two major ska/rocksteady/reggae
labels in Jamaica during the 60s and very early 70s. There was Clement
"Coxson" Dodd's Studio One label on 13 Brentford Rd in Kingston, and Duke
"The Trojan" Reid's Treasure Isle label. Located on Bond St, Treasure Isle
was the equal of Studio One in the development of Jamaican music during this
time period. For those who need a reference, think of Motown and Stax\Volt.
While many of the same musicians played at Studio One and Treasure Isle, the
leaders of the two "house" bands were Rolando Alphanso and Tommy McCook.
Rolando and Tommy were both in The Skatalites. After the Skatalites broke up
(after only about a year and a half together), Rolando Alphanso formed the
Soul Brothers and stayed as the house band at Studio One. Tommy McCook, on
the other hand, formed the Supersonics and left for Treasure Isle.
During this time, both Studio One and Treasure Isle released some of the
most important records and riddims in the history of Jamaican music. Both
were instrumental (no pun intended) in guiding Jamaican music from Ska to
Rocksteady, then to Reggae. Most the backing tracks are still used today for
many records, especially the Studio One riddims. While many of the old
Studio One riddims have been redone so as to have a more modern sound, the
originals still carry a certain warmth to them. In fact, some of these
original records still get big "forwards" at Jamaican soundsystem dances to
this day. That is, when a selector drops the needle on one of those scratchy
Studio One records, the audience yells "haul and pull"! The selector then
hauls and pulls the needle off the record in order to start the record
again..why?..because if it is nice..you have to play it twice!
Unfortunately, after Duke Reid passed away (early 70s), many of the original
Treasure Isle records were not as readily available as the Studio One
recordings. However, recently, there has been a revival of sorts for the
older Treasure Isle records. It is in this context that I recommend to you
the following record to all of you.
"Peckings Presents Bitty Mclean and the Supersonics on Bond St"
Why is this record so special? Well I recommend this record to you for two
reasons. The first, is the voice of Bitty Mclean. All I can say is that
Bitty has one of the sweetest voices in music - Full Stop! If Bitty sang
standard soul songs or RnB, he would be a star, however, since he sings
reggae he is criminally ignored. Bitty's voice is not a gruff soul voice but
instead he has one of those "sweet as a bird" qualities to his voice. While
Bitty's voice is enough to make one purchase any of his recordings, the
second reason why one should buy this record is that Bitty is singing over
the original Treasure Isle backing tracks. Yes, those same backing tracks
laid down by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics years ago. What a combination!
Bitty on Treasure Isle riddims -ska and rocksteady FORWARD!.and..because
they are the original riddims..the warmth of the sound I mentioned earlier
just pours out of the speakers and heats up the room you are in - just like
a warm blanket over your body on those cold Minnesota nights.
Anway, if you buy one reggae record this year, this is the one you should
buy. While this "type" of reggae may be considered a bit soft by Rastaman
standards, even the Bongo Dreads can appreciate the sound of Bitty on Bond
St..you should visit as well
The Ark Angel
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