Dem Roots (of Reggae)

Reggae, Ska and Dub music has recently been in my play list more and more. For me it can bring me that little up-beat of sunshine on that dark rainy West Coast Canadian day. I suppose everyone has heard of the most famous Reggae artist Bob Marley. As far as I am concerned, he popularized Reggae music. He IS the ultimate. I don’t think anyone  has not heard his Greatest Hits collection: Legend. It is great of course but there are many more songs to play, not to mention his siblings, Ziggy, Stephen and Damian, who has won a Grammy Award for his album ‘Halfway Tree’ and his latest collaboration with Nas called ‘Distant Relatives’  is a must have. So I am ‘hear’ to broaden your musical Reggae experience. I would like to introduce you to some great bands and artists, some local and of course some from Jamaica.

A Canadian artisit fron the Toronto, Ontario area is Jay Malinowksi. He has a little band called The Bedouin Soundclash. They broke on to the radio with their hit ‘When The Night Feels My Song’, a great summer song that will get your toes tapping.  One of my favorite songs by them is ‘St Andrews’ from their second album Street  Gospels.  They have just released the latest album Light the Horizon, listen to Mountain Top.

If you have never heard of Clinton Fearon, don’t worry, it’s not too late. Here is great singer that was introduced to me by a friend in Seattle. A former bassist for The Gladiators, his albums, are a bit political, as is a lot of Reggae but great rhythms and grooves. Two of his best are Give and Take and Mi n Mi Guitar. The later is of him doing some of best songs acoustically. It a fantastic listen. Give And Take though is in my opinion his best piece of work. Every song is decent and they flow together as well. Here’s a  link to ‘Show Me Some Love’.

A good band from New Zealand is The Black Seeds. This band is fairly new to me but as soon as I heard their Reggae/Ska/Dub mixes I had to get it all. Great mellow vibes but they can also throw out some jumpers as well. They have quite a few records out as I still trying to locate them all. Some I recommend are Into The Dojo,  Keep On Pushing and their latest Solid Ground.

Getting back to the music of  Jamaica, there is no way to over look another member of  the original Wailers, Peter Tosh. Known best as Bob Marely’s guitarist and co-song writer, Peter Tosh has also had an incredible solo career. Equal Rights, his album to stand up and fight, gave us Downpresser Man and I Am That I Am, but his best known solo work is probably his 1976 release Legalize It. Aside from the title song that album also gave us What’cha Gonna Do? and Brand New Second Hand. One of my favorite grooves is Peter’s duet with Mick Jagger, enjoy! 

Another singer/songwriter I would like to introduce is Mishka. His songs are down to earth and they are another set of good listening Summer tunes. He also has a collection of songs done acoustically. “Guy With A Guitar’ is a great recording and is produced by the actor Matthew McConaughey. Mishka grew up in the Caribbean  but also resides in a small British Colombian Kootney town. First time listeners to Mishka, I recommend picking up his album ‘Above The Bones’, great songs include the title track, 3rd Eye Vision and Coastline Journey.

I think this topic is going to need a second part. These are just a handful of amazing Reggae artists. I haven’t really gotten into the Ska and Dub part yet and there is much more Reggae music to share with you. Remember if the weather sucks out side and you want some music to lay back and groove to, I suggest you putting on one of these albums and getting one of those coconut drinks with the tiny umbrellas to be as close as you can to Dem Roots.

Stay Tuned

T Rev

Under The Covers

Sitting in the local watering hole (back in the day) on a Friday or Saturday night there was usually a featured band, doing a small circuit tour. Their set list of classic rock drinking songs by bands like Trooper, April Wine, Steve Miller, Supertramp and CCR got the people singing along and believing that the band was actually talented. The encore was always my favorite… the classic George Thorogood  song One Bourbon One Whiskey and One Beer. The crowd was shouting out the chorus over and over until the drum solo ended the night and the dim bar lights were cranked on and the bouncers tried to make you drink your last beer.

Some of the best songs ever written have be made famous by another artist or band. Some aren’t famous at all. There are countless remakes of good songs but not all cover songs do the original justice. Some in fact, destroy the writers once sought vision for the song. A prime example of this is the slaying of  The Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams by Marylin Manson. But of course, that is just my opinion…Then there are the classic bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles who built their early career based on cover songs. People don’t even realize that those songs were written by other artists.

Cover songs make me see a song with a different view. I personally enjoy a good remake of a song I already am a fan of. I enjoy when artists can put their own twist on a song and somewhat make it their own. Just covering a song because they sound alike seems pointless to me. I also find it interesting that an artist can pay tribute to some of their influences and favorites. They are fortunate to have the ability to preform the song(s) that mean something to them. I have searched for many compilations over the years and am very lucky to have some amazing cover songs. Soundtracks are a good place to find them as well. Buying an album for just one song tends to get expensive sometimes but if that one song is a gem it is all worth it.

So, on with my play list of premium cover songs. Unfortunately, I can not upload the versions for you to listen to but I do encourage you to  finds these songs. These songs come from my personal collection and of course I have others to add at a later date. I listen to these songs and sometimes and forget that they are actually covers.  It feels that they were meant to sound this way. That’s how good they are.

Cover Mix by T Rev

1.   She Said, She Said – The Black Keys (The Beatles)

2.   Hurdy Gurdy Man – Butthole Surfers (Donovan)

3.   Gin and Juice – The Gourdes (Snoop Doggy Dog)

4.   Pressure Drop – Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds (Toots and the Maytals)

5.   Heroes – TV On The Radio (David Bowie)

6.   Solitary Man – Crooked Fingers (Neil Diamond)

7.   Up On Cripple Creek – Gomez (The Band)

8.   Ocean Breath Salty – Sun Kil Moon (Modest Mouse)

9.   Ripple – Jane’s Addiction (The Grateful Dead)

10. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams (Oasis)

11. Wish You Were Here – Wycleff Jean (Pink Floyd)

12. Love Rollercoaster – Red Hot Chili Peppers (Ohio Players)

13. Going Blind – Melvins (Kiss)

14. Love Will Keep Us Together – Flea (Captain and Tennille)

15. Sexual Healing – Ben Harper (Marvin Gaye)

16. Effigy – Uncle Tupelo (Credence Clearwater Revival)

17. Sundown – Elwood (Gordon Lightfoot)

18. Redemption Song – Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros (Bob Marley)

19. Walking The Cow – fIREHOSE (Daniel Johnson)

20. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies (Velvet Underground)

Enjoy and good listening!

STAY TUNED

T Rev

Oh The Memories…

Have you every heard a song and think to yourself, DAMN!, that reminds me of someone or a place you were when you heard it? It happens to me constantly. My music is directly related to my past. Most of my life, there was a song playing in the background. I remember quite a few moments. Like singing in a cab, dancing in a club or even just hanging out with friends. One in particular, is the time I lived with a group of friends in Burnaby back in the early nineties. The Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique was cranked and we were dancing around being crazy as usual.  Thinking of this song makes me smile and laugh to myself as I write this. I was listening to this album just the other day. Someone asked me what album it was and what was on it. I replied simply, “the question is what is not on it?”  The Rick Rubin produced 1989 record is one of the best ever made. It is highly recommended.

A more recent memory from just a few weeks ago is a private show at an old friends house. Crooked Fingers came to play a intimate show for about 25 people, whom of which are my dear friends. I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot of Eric Bachman’s music from Crooked Fingers but I did know the music of his former band, The Archers of Loaf. The show was amazing and now when ever I hear his music I am reminded of that night and my friends.

Now as music can remind you of the ‘good times’, it can also remind you of the bad ones too. There are times (although very few) when I have to turn off a song because it makes me think of  an ex or just a painful experience. The one song I truly can’t listen to again is Etta James’ At Last. For obvious reasons…those who know me well would understand. Don’t get me wrong though. It is a wonderful song and if you’ve never heard it, please do.

One memory I have of my late Father is The Blues Brothers. I think I knew the words to Rawhide before I even saw the movie. There are many classics on this soundtrack. From James Brown to Cab Caloway, Ray Charles and Arthea Franklin, not to mention fellow Canadian Dan Aykroyd and the late great John Belushi.  Personally one of my favorites. I think I have seen the movie 30 times.

Music and road trips go hand in hand. Many road trips of mine are related to the music we listened to. Driving through the winding roads of  Highway 5, up and down the hills,  there with us, were the Pixies. Driving though the Caribou singing at at the top of our lungs to (what else?) Caribou! The Pixies will always be one of my favorites as well. Their albums: Come On Pilgram, Doolittle and Surfer Rosa are must haves. Trompe Le Monde has a few kick ass songs as well including U-Mass. A good listen if you like cow bells and  fist pumps! Remember to pack a ton of music for your next road trip. You never know when you might need to crank a song to keep you from nodding out after driving for 18 hours straight.

I think music and memories go together like Ying and Yang. They are meant to be together. Music is close to my heart and fills my soul. My memories are what makes me me. Together they keep me alive. So ‘hears’ to your next memory, so you never forget.

STAY TUNED

T Rev

Self Proclaimed Master of Music

I take great pride in my music. Now I’m sure I am not the worlds greatest collector of music, but I think I do pretty good. As my taste or preference of gendre changes from song to song, I pride my myself of the knowledge of music. Alternative rock I would say is probably my favorite, but I’ve been known to throw on a country song out of the blue. Reggae has grown into my play lists a lot more lately. I was always a Bob Marley fan but I have found some great Reggae bands, new and old. The Blues and classic rock always hold a spot next to my heart as well. I have spend countless hours organizing my collection and transferring it to my computer. I have been know for my creative and themed Mixes although lately I have been letting ‘genius’ do it for me. This blog is going to be dedicated to music. My music. I will write about songs I dig. Songs I listen too when I’m happy, sad and just want to rawk out! And hopefully you will too. My love of music started at an early age, just as many of yours did. I think my first purchase was Kiss Destroyer. I bought it for .50 cents when I was 12. I didn’t understand it at the time. My parents didn’t listen to a lot of music but I do remember some songs that I still love to this day. AM radio was our only choice in my small Northern BC hometown. Saturday top 40 and Friday Night Videos was my only chance to hear the latest hits. In my early teens, it was time for some heavy metal. I remember the first time I heard AC/DC’s Back in Black. I couldn’t get enough! I listened to that album over and over till I could air play every note. A little later in life I mellowed out to some classics, like Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and ZZ Top. In my early 20’s I was into the alternative classics like Jane’s Addition and Pavement. It wasn’t till my late 20’s I got into Hip-Hop and Rap…yes Rap. It seems I have gone through many phases of gendres and styles of music. I believe each style has some fantastic moments and I treasure them all. Today, with a full 80 gig iPod it sometimes feels like I have nothing to listen to. It just takes me a minute to search through and find that tune that I knew I wanted to listen to. UPCOMING TOPICS: -cover songs -memories -concerts STAY TUNED T Rev

And YES the word is GENDRE !