The back half of these two consecutive birthdays begins the weekend with a special delivery of One Drop.
Our guest today is one of the rhythmic foundations of the music of our age.
I remember back in around 1979 and 1980, when Reggae music was so hot, you'd hear it on the Muzak speakers in the supermarket. Every rock band from The Police to Rush was copying it.
The first time I heard his name was in the Tom Tom Club classic Genius of Love. Whoop-zee-momma-zigga!
Gradually as the Eighties progressed I discovered who "Sly" was, who this other guy "Robbie" was, and what they meant and mean to the ongoing continuum of everything.
If you added up all the sessions they've played on and led, you'd be counting awhile, let's just say. A while.
Surely one of the ten most organic, yet machine-like, drummers ever to boom and bish, his firm-yet-elastic grooves have animated so many gems he needs his own jewelry store.
The fact is, you can't have Sly & Robbie -- possibly the most in-demand rhythm section in all music of the last 40 years -- without Sly Dunbar, born this day in 1952.
To celebrate his 67th voyage around our friendly flaming hydrogen skyball, we've got quite the party favors.
This one's been around forever and has lost none of its archival potency, most certainly.
It features the Taxi All-Stars, one of the duo's touring outfits, in the prime of their Irie, and includes sets out front of the band from the likes of 1980s Reggae giants Ini Kamoze, Half Pint and Yellowman.
Sly & Robbie with The Taxi All-Stars
Concert Hall
Toronto, Canada
9.27.1986
01 Taxi All-Stars: Real Rock/Looking My Love/Nice Up the Dance
02 Taxi All-Stars: Swing Easy
03 Taxi All-Stars: Inside Outside/The Whip
04 Taxi All-Stars: Unmetered Taxi
05 Ini Kamoze: Settle with Me
06 Ini Kamoze: I Want It Ital
07 Ini Kamoze: Call a Taxi for Me
08 Ini Kamoze: General
09 Ini Kamoze: Trouble Me No Trouble You
10 Ini Kamoze: Hail Mi Idren
11 Ini Kamoze: Call the Police
12 Ini Kamoze: World of Reggae Music
13 Half Pint: One In a Million
14 Half Pint: Mr. Landlord
15 Half Pint: Money Man Skank
16 Half Pint: Hold On
17 Half Pint: Crazy Girl
18 Half Pint: Winsome
19 Half Pint: Political Fiction/Freedom Fighters
20 Half Pint: Mama
21 Half Pint: Greetings
22 Yellowman: You and Me In Love
23 Yellowman: Another Saturday Night
24 Yellowman: Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt/Don't Lie Down
25 Yellowman: Zungazung/Let the Good Times Roll
26 Yellowman: Blueberry Hill
27 Yellowman: Body Move/No Problem/Under Pressure
28 Yellowman: I'm Getting Married/Chapel of Love
29 Yellowman: It Haffe Burn
30 Yellowman: Reggae Calypso incl. band introductions
Total time: 2:18:52
disc break goes after Track 15
Sly Dunbar - drums & percussion
Robbie Shakespeare - bass & percussion
Junior "Chico" Chin - trumpet & percussion
Ronald "Nambo" Robinson - trombone & percussion
Dean Fraser - alto saxophone & percussion
Winston "Bo-Peep" Bowen - guitar
Franklyn "Bubbler" Waul - keyboards
Andel Tucker - keyboards
Half Pint - vocals
Ini Kamoze - vocals
Yellowman - vocals
sounds like master or 1st gen soundboard cassettes
867 MB FLAC/May 2019 archive link
I even figured out the band, from the (omg barely comprehensible) intros at the end of the show.
I will be back at the start of next week with more massive music for your mind, count on that. There may even be more drummers and... gasp... Prog Rock at some point in May.
Let's make sure to dread up the weekend in a real nice style, though, ok? You'll feel better once you allow birthday drum deity Sly Dunbar and his cohorts to riddim your ticket, I am sure of it. Bless!--J.
