12 Inches to Midnight: Summer Reggae 2011 Vol. 2 - The Early '80s

Sly & Robbie outside Channel One Studios

You can ride a great riddim all night. Recently I've been spending way too much time over at p.a. toda reggae blog. Do yourself a favor and visit. He's got some amazing, rare stuff over there with heavy leanings towards late '70s to mid '80s roots and dub. He's single-handedly reinvented my 1980s listening experience.
Don't make the mistake of pigeonholing the '80s as a bad decade for music. The digital recording movement, an unhealthy love affair with synthesizers, and slick, overproduced recordings should be every man's enemy, but sometimes it was done right.
The early 1980s was the golden period for reggae in England, and there were plenty of great English run labels producing amazing roots music during the period. The Negus Roots and Tamoki Wambesi labels claimed a great number of crucial tunes and are both well represented on this mix. One other constant throughout the '80s was the drum and bass team, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, who are seemingly on every great reggae recording from 1976 on.

The songs in this mix are almost all new to me within the last few days, with many coming in some form or another from p.a. to da reggae's site. No surprises here: only the darkest, dub-drenched beats for your late night listening pleasure.


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Track List
1. Scientist - Round 1

2. Barrington Levy - Send a Moses

3. Horace Martin - Zuggy Zuggy (12")

4. General Stout - My Sweet Something

5. Twinkle Brothers & Jah Shaka - Jungle

6. Twinkle Brothers & Jah Shaka - Jungle Dub

7. Earl Zero - Only Jah

8. Prince Jammy - Jahovia Dub

9. Voice of Progress - Mini-Bus Driver

10. Jah Bernord - Can't Take the Fussing on the Bus

11. Scientist - Black Out

12. Desi Roots - Warning

13. Desi Roots - Warning Version

14. Prince Jammy - Round 2

15. Barrington Levy - Look Youthman

16. Dennis Brown - Fulfillment