Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Johnny Greenwood Is The Controller



For those of you not in the know, Trojans Records is the Motown of Dub/Reggae. They are the premier Dub/Reggae label and have released legendary recordings by all the biggest names in the genre. They also put out amazing compilations, mixes and box sets. One of their latest mixes was curated by none other than Johnny Greenwood, guitarist for some college rock band name Radioshed or something. I guess his band wasn't doing anything important so he took up the offer from Trojan Records to make a mix of his favorite Dub/Reggae tunes. So here it is.

First off, in the Reggae vernacular the "Controller" is the person who controls the record, aka the DJ. So now that the title of this album makes sense to you, let me take a moment to tell you how great it is and how much you should check it out, especially if you're not a Dub/Reggae fan. It's awesome. You should check it out. Especially if you're not a Dub/Reggae fan. Ha.

Anyways, on here you'll find classic cuts by legendary artists such as Gregory Isaacs, Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters, The Heptones, Junior Blyles and Demond Dekker & The Aces. One of the highlights is a cover of Fever (you know, the Madonna song...lolz) by the aforementioned Junior Blyles, the first time I can stand listening to that song. One of the things I love most about Dub/Reggae is the production, specifically the echoing vox and the bass. And for all you kids that think Dub/Reggae is crap let me tell you that if it weren't for this stuff bands such as The Clash and Public Image Ltd. would probably sound vastly different/suck. Even Johnny Greenwood's band, Radiationhead, is influenced by Dub/Reggae. Maybe they'll make something of themselves yet!

1 comment:

palejoe said...

Dub...an interesting footnote to "dub reggae" origins...now this maybe based on myth & legend but i love it anyways..way back when the west indies were still a powerhouse on the cricket field but before the tied test against Australia in the early 60's, someone was tuning into country & western music from mainland U.S So it goes the short wave radio frequency kept dropping in & out & inverting causing a doubling effect i.e echo..so rumour has it those that heard this thought that's what country & western music consisted of & tried to imitate. The next thing you know...dub me no crazy baldheads...from clement coxsone to on-u-sound system...it's a big pool ov talent for ova 40+ years & it's influence is undisputed & highly contagious..this is a bonza piece ov wax indded...Johnny boy has good taste...