The Man That Cometh

Today's post features 3 great tunes from the start of the seventies. The first is 'Death In The Arena' by Rupie Martin, a nice organ-led instrumental with jangling guitars and shouting. I've been told it's actually the Hippy Boys as produced by Rupie Martin, and that seems kind of plausible.

To be honest, I don't listen to the instrumental side very much, because on the flip you have 'Julia Ceaser' by the Man That Cometh: Charley Ace's first ever recording! As soon as you hear him shout "I said unto my countrymen, we are here not to praise Caesar but to bury him" you know you're on to a winner. The lyrics are smart, righteous and beautifully delivered: definitely a cut above most of the competition.

Next up there's my favourite single by the African Brothers - too bad my copy's in shocking poor condition (sorry about the sound quality). It's 'No Cup No Brock' on the Money Disc label. The vocals and the guitar are great and go together really well. You can download the vocal (with much better sound) from Amazon or Itunes, or pick it up on a couple of different Studio 1 compilations; the version is only on the single. I'd love to hear from anyone who has a better copy that they feel like sharing (you never know, it might happen) - if I ever saw it for sale I wouldn't be able to afford it.

Finally we have a fantastic double-header from the Clandisc stable: 'Foolish Fool' by Cynthia Richards and 'I For I' by King Stitt. 'Foolish Fool' was Richards' second recording (after a tune she did for Coxsone that sank without a trace) and is the one that she's really remembered for. It's a version of a song by Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne's sister) that came out earlier the same year, and is actually the stronger of the two. The guitar lick at the start gives the tune the sort of instant impact that the soul version lacked - that same lick is hidden halfway though the original, and is played by the horn section.

The other side is King Stitt's scorching version of Monty Morris' 'Say What You're Saying' which leaves the original standing. For my money it's one of his very best recordings, and a perfect example of the way a really good toaster can just set a song on fire.

Here are the original versions of the last two songs, hope you enjoy.

Combination

Hi there,

I've got a couple more nice tunes today. First up, 'Musical Combination', Charley Ace's monster deejay cut to Keeling Beckford's hit 'Combination'. The b-side is also pretty decent, a lovers vocal by Keeling Beckford with a really interesting rhythm track - I really like the bubbling organ and stabbing horns behind the vocal.

Next we have another deejay tune - Dennis Alcapone's cut to 'Magnificent Heptones' on the Pressure Beat label. The vocal is a sought-after medley of 'Baby', 'Why Must I' and 'Why Did You Leave Me To Cry' that Joe Gibbs put out in 1971 or thereabouts. In this version Alcapone stays away from the nursery rhymes and riffs off the themes of the original songs - the result is quite satisfying. The real star of the show, though, is Vin Gordon's version on the b-side. It's definitely one of his best tunes, and has a relaxed, improvised feel to it. I always prefer reggae instrumentals that flow like this rather than repeating a single phrase over and over and over again.

The next tune is a bit of an odd one. I'm not quite sure how to describe 'Leaving The Ball' by Mr Nigel, it's not a deejay tune and I'd hesitate to call it singing. Mr Nigel was actually Nicky Thomas who as we all know really could sing quite beautifully.

The b-side, 'Sweep The Street' by Neville Hinds is a really nice fairground-flavoured organ cut on the same 'Wear You To The Ball' rhythm. Neville Hinds had a major hit with 'Delivered', his instrumental version of Alton Ellis' 'Deliver Us' but mostly worked as a backing musician, and later as a producer at Dynamic studio.

'Poor Man' by John Jones is also a bit odd, and it's not reggae: it's a Dynamic Sound production with a bit of an Elvis vibe. I quite like it - I'd be interested to know if I'm the only one. The b-side 'Merci Cherie' sounds like something you'd get from one of the better hotel bands at the end of a wedding reception. The Tiger label is one of my favourites, just for the design. The wavy black stripes and blocky, cutout-style letters work really well together.

After that short break, we're back to the deejays again, or rather we're back to Prince Buster. The Prince did a couple of cuts of Java way back when, both credited to 'Senior Pablo & The All Stars'. The first was called 'Science' and was very good, but it didn't have a dub. The Jamaican issue had a really good dub of 'Giant' on the b-side, the UK issue had Dennis Alcapone ('Giant' again - wicked tune). So the second one, which actually has an instrumental version is in serious demand. 

The instrumental is a note-for-note rip-off of the Randys original; but being recorded in a different studio, it has a different sound (I've heard that it's Pablove on melodica). The deejay side is fantastic. Buster puts some seriously righteous lyrics over that missing dub: it's a really spare mix and at one point everything but the melodica and the deejay drops out. My copy's in a bit of a state, but I hope this'll inspire you to go out and look for one in slightly better condition. 

We finish with another deejay tune, 'Free Black People' by Jah Woosh. Like 'It's A Fire', this is quite rare and not in the best nick. The vocal side got reissued on a Pressure Sounds compilation a while back - 'An Even Harder Shade Of Black' - and it has a really nice mellow dub.

Anyway, here they all are. Enjoy.

Charlie Ace

Hi,

Many thanks to Matt for the offer of the tagged mp3s. I've been thinking of putting up 1 fully tagged single whenever I've got the time, but I want to present the tunes a bit better than I did on those CDs that he ripped. Here's a link to an example of what I mean. It's an old favourite of mine, 'Country Boy' by Charley Ace.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nn2mndm0y00

I picked this up back in 1989 when I first met Bob Brooks. He'd just moved into the back room at Honest Jon's, and I was the only customer of the afternoon. I was really into the deejay stuff at the time, and I returned to Bath with a box full of the most amazing records, stuff like Big Youth's 'Energy Crisis' and 'Cassava Piece', 'Guiding Red' by Little Youth, 'My Little Fily' and 'Keep On Skanking' by Winston Scotland; tunes that I've really enjoyed over the years, and still love.

After his deejaying days were over, Charley Ace converted a Morris van into a mobile record shop and started taking music to the public. If you've got time on your hands, you can watch some great footage here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IalZ9qDJRjM

Sadly he died at the start of the eighties.

I'll try to post a few more of those records over the next few days, tagged up in the same way.

Regards,

Steve