"...Train To Skaville..."
Like most Reggae and Ska fans
I've been drooling and hippity-hoppity spooling to the steady stream of CD
reissues provided by Doctor Bird Records (a subsidiary label of Cherry Red
UK) in these last few years. And I've duly slavered over a good few by now.
But this wee jam-packed
reissue beastie sporting the famous steam engine 'Engine 54' on its cover
(preserved at the time by the island's Jamaican Railway Society) has to be the
one that elicits just that little bit more Reggae In My Jeggae (if you know what I
mean mama). Resplendent on a single mid-priced CD with a whopping 17 Bonus Tracks
including many rare Rio, Crab, Doctor Bird and Trojan UK single sides new to
digital - it's also mastered by one of my fave Audio heroes – Andy Pearce.
There's a steam load (oh
dear) of detail to plough through, so once more my oily-rag friends of the Ska
persuasion, and all aboard that glory Train To Skaville...
UK released 17 May 2019 -
"Engine 54" by THE ETHIOPIANS on Doctor Bird DBCD-035 (Barcode
5013929273535) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster of a rare 1968
Jamaican Ska LP with 17 period Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (73:49
minutes):
1. Engine 54 [Side 1]
2. My Love
3. You Got The Dough
4. Train To Skaville
5. Give Me Your Love
6. Train To Glory [Side 2]
7. Long Time Now
8. Woman's World
9. Unchanged Love
10. Come On Now
Tracks 1 to 10 are their
debut album "Engine 54" – released 1968 in Jamaica on WIRL Records WL
1053 and in the UK on Doctor Bird DLM 5011 (both issues Stereo). The Jamaican
issue credits the title of the LP and the lead song as "Engine ‘54"
on the label while the British pressed LP loses the apostrophe.
BONUS TRACKS:
11. You Are The Girl (August
1967 UK 7" single on Rio R 130, B-side of "Train To Skaville",
Lead Vocals by Albert Griffiths)
12. I Need You (1967 UK
7" single on Doctor Bird DB 1092, A-side)
13. Do It Sweet (1967 UK
7" single on Doctor Bird DB 1092, B-side)
14. The Whip (1967 UK 7"
single on Doctor Bird DB 1096, A-side)
15. Cool It Amigo (1967 UK
7" single on Doctor Bird DB 1096, B-side)
16. Stay Loose, Mama (1968 UK
7" single on Doctor Bird DB 1103, A-side)
17. The World Goes Ska (1968
UK 7" single on Doctor Bird DB 1103, B-side)
18. She-Boom (1968 UK 7"
single on Doctor Bird DB 1141, B-side of "Come On Now" last track on
the LP)
19. I'm Shocking (October
2011 UK 7" single on Trojan THB-7012, A-side)
20. Sign The Cheque (October
2011 UK 7" single on Trojan THB-7012, B-side)
21. You Didn't Answer (first
appeared on the August 2011 5CD Box Set "The Story Of Trojan Records"
on Trojan 2775354, Disc 2)
22. In The Park (first
appeared on the 1973 UK LP compilation "Reggae Steady Go" on Rhino
SRNN 7001)
23. Fire A Mus Mus Tail (1968
UK 7" on Crab Records CRAB 2, A-side)
24. Reggae Hit The Town (1968
UK 7" on Crab Records CRAB 4, A-side)
25. I'm A King (1969 UK
7" on Crab Records CRAB 7, A-side)
26. What A Big Surprise (1969
UK 7" on Crab Records CRAB 7, B-side)
27. Ding Dong Bell (1968 UK
7" on Crab Records CRAB 4, B-side – A is Track 24)
NOTE: Tracks 23, 24, 25 26
and 27 originally credited to THE EARTHOPIANS, all others as ETHIOPIANS
The 12-page booklet with
liner notes from LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT features a plethora of rare sights -
the original British LP's label on both sides - a wall of nine rare Crab,
Doctor Bird and Rio UK 45s with two rare foreign issues that actually afforded
"Train To Skaville" picture sleeves of sorts. The album's rear sleeve
artwork is on the back page, a photo of the three boys smiling as they give it
some train-in-motion movement. But perhaps most amazing of all is the original
tape reel box to eight of the album's cuts - not something you or I are going
to find in a thrift shop any day soon. And typical of how good Laurence is,
he’s spoken to and referenced Sylvia Dillon -
And the Audio is of course a
mixed bag given the original recordings, but Audio Hero ANDY PEARCE has done
the LP and single-sides proud - such an enjoyable listen and such bloody good
fun. As "Engine 54" comes beep-beeping in during the songs fade in,
you’ll be shocked at how clear it is and "Train To Skaville" just
leaves me breathless – those brass jabs of Tommy McCook and his Supersonics now
given that wee bit of oomph without too much distortion getting the better of
it. So cool…
The two boys hanging out the
famous locomotive (and still running at the time) are Leonard 'Sparrow' Dillon
and Stephen Taylor - the third member of the original line-up Guitarist Aston
Morris having left The Ethiopians at the close of 1966 to strike out on a solo
career. The group's name reflected their Rastafarian beliefs, one of the first
Jamaican acts to openly espouse their faith. After the Jamaican and British
success of the "Train To Skaville" 1967 single – Number 1 in Jamaica
and after entering the UK Pop charts in September 1968, breaking down barriers
everywhere by going up to Number 40 – Aston Morris rejoined with Dillon and
recorded a large swath of classic sides throughout 1968 – all of which are in
the 17 Bonus cuts.
All of the ten tracks on this
glorious but notoriously rare LP are credited to Lawrence Dillon except the
lovely Fifties Vocal Group feel to the love song "My Love" which was
penned by Michael Edgehill (aka Mickey Melody).
SINGLES:
As was the custom of the
time, six of the album cuts were single-sides with four being new to the rare
LP. The four UK singles in release date order were:
1. "Train To
Skaville" b/w "You Are The Girl" issued as Rio Records R 130 in
August 1967 (the B-side is Track 11 on this CD and wasn't on the original LP)
2. "Come On Now"
b/w "She Boom" issued as Doctor Bird DB 1141 in 1968 (the B-side is
Track 18 on this CD and wasn't on the original LP - it's a Reggae version of
"Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)" made famous by The Crew Cuts in
1958)
3. "Engine 54" b/w
"Give Me Your Love" issued as Doctor Bird DB 1147 in the UK in 1968
4. "Train To Glory"
b/w "You Got The Dough" issued as Doctor Bird DB 1148 in the UK in
1968
The October 2011 issue of the
two Leonard Dillon compositions "I'm Shocking" and "Sign The
Cheque" on a Trojan UK 45 was a limited edition of 500 copies and their
inclusion here is the first time they've been made available on CD (as far as I
know). Speaking of shocking, you could argue that the seventeen bonus tracks
are exactly that - a bonus double-album's worth of Ska goodies in the same ilk
as the wicked original 1968 LP.
"…Get on board, you
don’t need no baggage, this train is bound to glory…" - the gay-feet boys
sang on "Train To Glory". Well bind yourself to this one folks,
because Skaville has never been nor sounded so enticing. Fab...
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