Releases from artist / Veröffentlichungen von : Derrick Morgan

first released in 1969, now back on 180 gram vinyl via burning sounds.

one of the very first artists to begin recording in jamaica, derrick morgan is beloved as a ska icon and a pioneer of the ‘skinhead reggae’ style. blessed with a rich, deep tenor, which with he belts out his clever and often humorous lyrics, morgan became known on the kingston music scene through vere johns’ regular talent contests, and enjoyed a lengthy run of hits during the 1960s for producers such as simeon smith, duke reid and clement ‘sir coxsone’ dodd (among others), cultivating a popular vinyl feud with prince buster after being brought into leslie kong’s camp by the young jimmy cliff. morgan moved to england during the late 1960s to capitalise on the skinhead reggae craze, but was back in jamaica from the early 1970s, and since bunny lee was his brother-in-law, the two have always maintained a close working relationship. people decision, voiced at king tubby’s studio for lee and released by third world in 1977, sees morgan in politicised roots reggae mode on songs like ‘let’s build a better jamaica,’ the symbolic racetrack drama ‘racing at ballistic park,’ and the title track, which all boosted the socialist policies of the ruling people’s national party, ‘natty dread forward out of babylon’ updates the ‘tougher than tough’ saga, and there’s a slew of rude tunes when you flip the disc, including ‘my dickie,’ ‘rough grinder’ and ‘ride manny fanny.’

derrick morgans recording career spans over five decades, starting with smiths in the late 1950s with mainly r&b style output. in the ska era of the early 1960s he moved on to work with producers: duke reid, prince buster, leslie kong, c.s. dodd (studio one) and later in the 1960s and into the 1970s, with the ubiquitous bunny lee. during this time, many of his own productions were also released, this compilation features ska productions from the 1960-1966 period. the lp has been re-compiled, re-mastered and has new art-work. it features the best tracks from now deleted 12 inch lp rrtlp 06 and concentrates on obscure and hard to find sides.

trojan records celebrates the 60th anniversary of jamaican independence with a special compilation of 28 tracks on transparent green and yellow coloured double vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

repress

original reggae classics from kingston town, jamaica.

ska meets the rocksteady train.

keine andere musikrichtung ist so mit dem sommer verknüpft wie reggae. sobald die wärmsten tage des jahres beginnen hört man aus den cabrios und auf vielen partys die rhythmen aus jamaika. natürlich darf der größte aller reggae künstler nicht fehlen: bob marley. außerdem gibt es hits von beenie man, gregory isaacs, sly & robbie, john holt auf vinyl.

»original skinhead reggae classics« kompiliert die bekanntesten reggae-tracks aus den späteren 60er und frühen 70er jahren, die sich mit der damals jungen skinhead-jugendbewegung beschäftigten, mit dabei u. a. acts wie dandy, lloyd charmers, derrick morgan, the pioneers oder symarip, dessen »skinhead moonstomp« später von the specials gecovert wurde.

die 28 songs auf dem limitierten doppelvinyl *feel so fine* sind maßgebliche aufnahmen in der entwicklung des reggae vorläufers, ska (oder blue beat). nachdem der shuffle blues aus new orleans die jamaikanischen soundsystems bis in die 60er dominierte, fingen parallel zur entwicklung des soul in den usa soundsystemgrössen wie arthur duke reid und clement seymour coxson dodd an, eigenene lokale aufnahmen zu produzieren, die sich schliesslich immer weiter vom new orleans r&b entfernten und zu ska wurden.