Jennifer Lara - who knew?

Well, the answer to that is: people who know more about Studio One than I do.

Now listening to the 'Studio One Presents Jennifer Lara' album. She can hold a note which is no mean feat because many of the singing JA daughtas I have heard sing terribly unlistenably flat.
There is a little deja vu of the incomparable Susan Cadogan (who sang quaintly flat in a manner acceptable to these ears!) for producer Lee Perry, but this is from a different time - maybe five years in the difference - and of course this is a Studio One collection. Late 70s stuff this - which means Mr. Mittoo was spending most of his time in Canada and most of the ruffest and tuffest of the Studio One session lads were off doing something else...

Hence some of the familiar riddims are done over (again) in a generally accomplished and fairly enjoyable way though most appealing when the actual backing tracks featuring the original players were employed. This familiarity gives way to a jazzy soul feel that seems to work very well on 'Our Love' though this is a style I'm not overly enthused by - and it basically doesn't sound Jamaican or like reggae, for that matter.

I detect the hand and musical direction of Pablov Black in much of this production. Not a bad thing, but he could never fill the magical gloves of the aforementioned Jackie Mittoo. Obvious to my ears but perhaps not to others.

This is good stuff, but it is Studio One past its musical prime. Mittoo, Sibbles, Frater, Sylvan Morris etc. all gone.

Exception: Stand out track is 'A Change is Gonna Come'. A riddim that may have been done especially for Jennifer Lara (though I doubt it - I just don't know it from elsewhere) and it is over as soon as it began...clocking at 2:18!

I do have to wonder about the album cover photo - poor Jennifer Lara looks not like she is lovelorn but suffering from a case of gastric trouble and a bathroom break is urgently required. Unfortunate, because in previous years so many of the Studio One album covers were highly stylized and very cool indeed. Could just be the reproduction on this...

I mean no unkindness in this appraisal. Just my take on someone I should have known about before, but due perhaps to the quality of the material had no real need to hear. I enjoyed hearing it, but I'm not sure I will be listening to it much. I do find it very sad that Jennifer Lara passed on at the criminally young age of 52 a short few years ago and hope that whoever she has left behind will benefit in some way from her musical efforts.

There is so much more material from Studio One - so make your own mind up...

Eating Betty - On the Wire - BBC Radio Lancashire

A nice surprise today to find that 'New New Dub' was played by the legendary Steve Barker on the BBC 'On the Wire' radio programme on November 29, 2008.
Playlist and streaming audio here.
Direct link to the audio is here.
Nice one Steve!

And just look at the all star line up - OK then, here's the playlist:

Arthur Russell – Love is overtaking me – Audika Records
Juakali – Run Babylon – Foreign Familiar pre-release mp3
Abassi Allstars – Dub answer – Deep Root
Eating Betty – New new dub – ACEtone Studios
Dead J – Cold light – Modern Sky
Lena & the Free Roots Orchestra – Cheval vapeur – Plush
Marmur – Blackbird – pre-release mp3
Christina Carter – Original darkness – Kranky
Rodriquez – Sugar man – Light in the Attic lita
Al Green – You ought to be with me - Victor Entertainment
The Brothers Unconnected – Space Dragon Ogon – Abduction
Paavoharju – Sumuvirsi – Fonal Records
Kashiwa Daisuke – Stella – Midi Creative / Noble
Goldblade featuring Polystyrene - City of Christmas Ghosts -
The Wedding Present - Holly Jolly Hoolywood - Vibrant Records
The Peggy Lee Band - All I Really Want to - Drip Audio
calvin Party - 8 Days - Eli Records
Awesome Wells - I think I Just Heard teh Hens Applauding in the Hen-house - Red Deer Club
Abe Vigoda - Live-Long - Bella Union
Hot Drop - Tell Me Dub - A QuietBump
Joker + Rustie - Play Doe - Kapsize
Madtone - WP - Blossoms Kitchen
Pascal Comleade - Contre le Style - Because
Seeland - Call the Incrediable -lOAF
Francesco Giannico / Stefano Spataro - 4 Sonatas for electroacoustic thoughts - HysM

Audio on the mp3 is a bit murky so you'll just have to buy the album to hear it properly!

New Review from Deutchland!

Much respect to my dear friend and occasional Big Shiny vocalist midsch for his review.

It is indeed a good feeling to know this release is being so warmly and enthusiastically received in so many places...Minnesota, China, France, Canada, England, Germany...

yea...humbled, warm and fuzzy...

WNYU Radio: 'Dub...Phrase not Found'

Looks like I'm living in the wrong town when New York University Radio's programme schedule does not include even one mention of the word 'Dub'! See very bottom of pic.

I just sent the program(me) director there a copy of 'Every Spoil A Dub' so I hope it doesn't confuse him/her too much! I'm sure someone on WNYU is playing some Reggae or Dub...just hope the CD reaches the right pair of ears.

'Every Spoil A Dub' now available at Amazon.com!

OK, so now Amazon has the mp3s available for download - thankfully no longer 'discontinued'!

So go on and buy a few tracks! Or the whole album, or even all three albums!

Every Spoil a Dub at Amazon

'Love and Justice Dub' & 'Disunity Dub' on French Radio

Just received a package from Prince Thierry containing a CD of the 11/11/08 Dancehall Style radio show on Radio Mega in Bourg-Les-Valence, France.
You might be able to listen to a stream of this show - or some other one - (doesn't seem to work for me) here:
http://www.dancehallstyle.net
Anyway, here's the playlist. A couple of familiar tracks in the first two slots:

1. Eating Betty - Love and Justice Dub
2. Eating Betty - Disunity Dub
3. Zion UK - So Hard
4. Cocoa T - Barack Obama
5. Mykal Rose - This is History
6. Mavado - We Want Barack
7. Perfect - 30 Pieces
8. Perfect - Pedal and Push
9. Clement Irie - Rebel
10. Jah Weise/Singing Bayley - The Legendary Bob Marley
11. Benaissa - Voodoo
12. Benaissa - Coco Nut Water
13. Sahra Indio - Ital Medi
14. Various Artists - Morning Riddim Mix
15. Benjammin - Mexican Bean
16. Ranking Joe - How You Bad So
17. Brother Culture - Talk to the People
18. Ed Rome - The Way In, The Way Out
19. Ft. Soom T. - Do You Really Know
20. Cocoa T - Raw Moon

Big Up Prince Thierry for including Eating Betty on the show!

Eating Betty 'Every Spoil A Dub' now available from iTunes

That didn't take long at all - and here's the link:
Every Spoil A Dub - iTunes

So if iTunes is your preferred download service please buy the new album!

No sign of it being available on Amazon, a quick search shows that they still think it is 'discontinued'. See previous post on this.

Dub Echoes gaining wide acclaim

I posted in March 2008 about this very interesting looking film on the subject of - what else? - but DUB. Looks like it is gaining traction and a DVD is due out in January. Can't wait to see it!

They also have a few new clips and entries about the various screenings thus far...

Still want to see Deep Roots, but it is very hard to get. Anyone know a way?

Dear Amazon, ACEtone Studio begs to differ!

Just thought I'd search to see if 'Every Spoil a Dub' has appeared on Amazon yet and here is what I found: Amazon clearly knows the album exists but until it get the tracks up on their download system it appears to be defaulting to this mindless search result. But this is just too much wrong information! Why not just 'currently unavailable on this website' or something less final sounding!
Who ever wrote that bit of code is a bumba clat!

ACEtone Studio can assure you that 'Every Spoil A Dub' is very much NOT 'discontinued' and is absolutely, undeniably available at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/eatingbetty3

Here is an extract from the very gratifying review (posted on CDBaby.com) by the great Dr. Strangedub (WKAI FM):

"Wow...what can you say? With the release of the 3rd Eating Betty album "Every Spoil A Dub" the bar has been raised again. Once again the sound is heavy-bottom dub with some rootical flavors, but in tradition of Tubby, Perry, Scientist and others, its the "chemist's" unique studio touch which makes this release standout... Like the often used, but still fitting analogy, it's like peeling the layers of an onion. There is not a single disappointing dub here... "

Claymation philosophy?

This is worth a look any time but certainly in these times: