| When
Bob Marley sang his track "Punky Reggae
Party", he wasn't just refering to a
musical gathering. Oh yes, a well-known
Reggae Band like Steel Pulse knew their
cradle to be in the Punk-scene. And bands
like the Clash recorded music in the
Jamaican Channel One studio.
There were nuff "cultural
clashes" but there was this thing too,
which Bob Marley simply called:
"Rejected by Society, protected by His
Majesty". During this period, between
1976-1984, there was this musical movement
spearheaded by the ones he sang about.
But behind the musical stage there were
much more interesting things going on. And
who knows it better than those who were in
the fore-front of this movement?
Introducing Don Letts, who in his own
words: "was a first generation
british born black of Jamaican descent and
allready well pissed off". Don
Letts might very well be considered as the
personification of the Punky Reggae Party.
So it's not a foolish choice to let Don
Letts select 16 crucial (DUB) Reggae tracks
from the era in which he introduced this
music to the punk generation. Heavy, heavy
militant Rockers, almost all preceeded by a
crucial jingle like Mikey Dread's
"Dread At The Control".
The selections come with some very, very
interesting liner notes written by the man
himself. This booklet contains the story of
the Punky Reggae Party, and contains many
anecdotes to illustrate the atmosphere.
How was Patti Smith's concert with Tappa
Zukie and Don Letts in reality? What did Bob
Marley think about Punk when he first saw
it? How was Johnny Rotten's visit to Jamaica
really? You'll know it after reading Don
Letts' story.
Whenever Don Letts played his Dub and
other Reggae for the Punk audience, they
just wanted the riddim to continue all night
long. They preferred it over their own Punk
music, especially after consuming a few
spliffs rather than a lot of alcohol.
The music on this CD was exactly the kind
of music that the Punks wanted him to play
on. Crucial DUBS like Tappa Zukie's MPLA as
mixed by Phillip Smart. Or the Congo's, from
the legendary Black Ark Studio.
A crucial selection, and a very
interesting booklet. A document that can be
considered the Sound Track of the Punky
Reggae Generation. You'll only wish you were
there...
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