We'll rejoinder yesterday's Bauhaus birthday bash with an anniversary post about one of the great undersung groups of all times.
It's tempting to dwell on the (spectacularly tragic, almost mythically sad) way this band came to an end just a few months ago, but I'll try not to do that out of deep respect for the legacy of the music these beautiful people created over a 50+ year career.
This is one of the ensembles in a category you could almost count on the fingers of one hand: a group that first came together in 1969 and whose three principal members stayed together until this year, when what happened happened.
In one of the more hilarious music industry twists, what's probably their most famous and beloved song -- an absolute standard of the Reggae genre -- is most known in a cover version in which all the cannabis references are dumbed down into an homage to food.
These guys made over 40 albums, according to what I was just reading, yet few outside of Roots Reggae enthusiasts and Rastafarians know who they were.
Even besides the prolific studio career, they were a staple of the global touring circuit for uninterrupted decades, especially on festivals and events focusing on Reggae.
This past March it all came to an end in almost surreal fashion, when one member was slain in a drive-by shooting and another -- who had just been hospitalized -- passed 48 hours later from diabetes, having never yet been told of his comrade's demise.
Like I said I'm doing my best not to go on a negative tirade about it, but you have to ask yourself: who shoots a 67-year-old man, himself one of the greatest living Jamaican artists? What the actual fuck is this world? It launches me into an instant McEnroe moment of You Cannot Be Serious, people.
Regardless, today we honor Donald Shaw, Fitzroy Simpson and Lloyd Ferguson: Tabby, Bunny and Judge.
01 Party Time
02 Heads of Government
03 Them Never Love Poor Marcus
04 Natural Natty
05 Natty Dread Never Run Away
06 Have Mercy
07 Africa
08 I Need a Roof
09 Get Up Stand Up
10 Keep On Moving
11 Have a Little Mercy
12 Pass the Kouchie
13 band introductions
14 medley incl. Pass the Kouchie reprise/Mack the Knife/Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
15 Heavy Load
16 Rumours
17 Bodyguard
Total time: 1:09:27
Donald "Tabby" Shaw - vocals
Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson - vocals
Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson - vocals & melodica
Joseph “Capo” Williamson - guitar
Derrick "Stewie" Stewart - drums
Junior "Chico" Chin - trumpet
Ronald "Nambo" Robinson - trombone
Larry "Professor Larry" Silvera - keyboards
"One Drop" - bass
Shalita - vocals
Malijah - vocals
flawless master soundboard DAT of the complete performance
373 MB FLAC/July 2022 archive link
This is just about as flawless an example of what the Mighty Diamonds were all about, coming courtesy of a soundboard DAT capture every bit as flawless.
I'll be back Friday with some legendary mental illness, molded into music that will last centuries.
Built to last like the MDs here, blessing us with this Irie show taped 23 years ago today and still vibrating. Now, pass that kutchie to your left, will you?--J.
The Mighty Diamonds
1969-2022