This review and hundreds more like it can also be found in my
SOUNDS GOOD Music Book: 1960s and 1970s MUSIC Volume 2
- Exceptional CD Remasters
SOUNDS GOOD Music Book: 1960s and 1970s MUSIC Volume 2
- Exceptional CD Remasters
It contains over 210 in-depth reviews (a whopping 2400+ e-Pages)
And is available to buy/download at Amazon at the following link...
And is available to buy/download at Amazon at the following link...
"…Come On And Dance…"
By the time the iconic first
"Tighten Up" LP was released in early 1969 (and only operating since
July of 1968) - Trojan Records of the UK had released a staggering 108 singles
and 25 albums to a voracious cosmopolitan British public. But Trojan knew that they
needed a way to expand the nation's knowledge of their excellent catalogue - so
they hastily put-together this 12-track ragbag of British 7" singles as a
compilation. Trojan then priced it cheap (14 schillings and 6 old pence) - put
a fetching cover on it of a rather lovely Caribbean lady and plopped it into
the racks of every Woolworths Store the length and breath of England.
Named after the opening song
on Side 1 by THJE UNTOUCHABLES - by their own admission - Trojan Records hadn't
expected much of "Tighten Up". Happily for them and us they were
wrong. It sold in large quantities and was hugely influential in introducing
reggae music not just to the youth of Britain but to many other countries as
well. It became a genuine phenomenon - spurning 7 more volumes up to Vol. 8 in
1973 where it simply ran out of steam and Volume 9 was shelved.
UK released Monday, 11 August 2008 - "Tighten Up (Volume 1): Deluxe Edition" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Universal/Sanctuary/Trojan 1775154
(Barcode 602517751545) is a massive 2CD overhaul of that legendary 1969 LP - and
what a peach it is too. The album was made up entirely of 7" singles – so I’ve
provided hose catalogue numbers after each entry…
DISC 1 (66:04 minutes):
1. Tighten Up - THE
UNTOUCHABLES (October 1968, Trojan TR-613, A)
2. Kansas City - JOYA LANDIS
(November 1968, Trojan TR-620, A)
3. Spanish Harlem - VAL
BENNETT (September 1968, Trojan TR-611, A)
4. A Place In The Sun - DAVID
ISAACS (November 1968, Trojan TR-616, A)
5. Win Your Love For Me –
GEORGE A. PENNY (November 1968, Trojan TR-625, A)
6. Donkey Returns - BROTHER
DAN ALL STARS (July 1968, Trojan TR-601, A)
7. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - JOYCE
BOND [Side 2] (November 1968, Island WIP 6051, A)
8. Angel Of The Morning -
JOYA LANDIS (November 1968, Trojan TR-622, A)
9. Fat Man - DERRICK MORGAN (November
1968, Trojan TR-626, A)
10. Soul Limbo - BYRON LEE
& THE DRAGONAIRES (November 1968, Trojan TR-624, A)
11. Mix It Up - THE
KINGSTONIANS (November 1968, Trojan TR-627, A)
12. Watch This Sound (For
What It’s Worth) - THE UNIQUES (October 1968, Trojan TR-619, A)
Tracks 1 to 12 are the
original UK LP "Tighten Up" released January 1969 on Trojan Records
TTL
BONUS TRACKS – are the
B-sides of the 12 UK 7” singles listed above:
13. Good Ambition - ROY
SHIRLEY
14. Out The Light [Aka Mommy
Out De Light) - JOYA LANDIS
15. If I Didn’t Know - ROY
SHIRLEY
16. Handy Cap - THE UPSETTERS
17. It’s All In The Game -
VAL BENNETT
18. Tribute To K.B. _BROTHER
DAN ALL STARS
19. Robin Hood Rides Again -
AUBREY ADAMS & THE HIPPY BOYS
20. Love Letters - ALTON
ELLIS & PHYLLIS DILLON
21. South Parkway Rock - VAL
BENNETT
22. I Was Kaiser Bill’s
Batman (Aka The Whistling Song) - BYRON LEE & THE DRAGONAIRES
23. I’ll Be Around - THE
KINGSTONIANS
24. Out Of Love - THE UNIQUES
Tracks 13 to 24 are the
B-sides of Tracks 1 to 12 in exact order
(it should be noted that many
of the B-sides were by different artists to those on the A, a common practice
for reggae 7"s at the time)
DISC 2 (66:33 minutes):
Called "Tighten Up - The
Alternatives" - Disc 2 is the A-sides of 24 UK 7" singles released
between July and November of 1968. ISLAND RECORDS collectors should also note
that 8 of the 24 listed below are from the coveted "WI" series (3126
to 3159) appearing here on CD for the first time anywhere to my knowledge.
1. Eastern Organ – BROTHER
DAN ALL STARS (July 1968, Trojan TR-602, A)
2. Jackpot – THE PIONEERS
(August 1968, Amalgamated AMG-821, A)
3. Penny For Your Song – THE
FEDERALS (July 1968, Island WI-3126, A)
4. Memories By The Score –
THE PARAGONS (August 1968, Island WI-3138, A)
5. Teardrops Falling – THE
VERSATILES (August 1968, Island WI-3142, A)
6. Combination – KEELING
BECKFORD (August 1968, Island WI-3144, A)
7. The Fiddler – NEHEMIAH
REID (August 1968, Blue Cat BS 125, A)
8. Take Five [Aka "The
Russians Are Coming"] – VAL BENNETT (August 1968, Island WI-3146, A)
9. Born To Love You – DERRICK
MORGAN (August 1968, Island WI-3147, A)
10. Way Of Life – GLEN BROWN,
JOE WHITE & TREVOR SHIELD (September 1968, Blue Cat BS 131, A)
11. Train To Soulsville –
COOL STICKY (September 1968, Amalgamated AMG-825, A)
12. Intensified Girls –
ANDERSON’S ALL STARS (September 1968, Blue Cat BS 132, A)
13. Bookie Man – THE RACE
FANS (October 1968, Trojan TR-610, A)
14. Uncle Charlie – THE
MELLOTONES (October 1968, Trojan TR-612, A)
15. Na Na – GEORGE AGARD [as
JOHNNY MELODY & THE SLICKERS] (October 1968, Blue Cat BS 134, A)
16. Good Time Rock – HUGH
MALCOLM (October 1968, Amalgamated AMG-827, A)
17. Rent Too High – RANNY
WILLIAMS & GEORGE REGENT (October 1968, Trojan TR-621, A)
18. My Argument – LLOYD &
JOHNNY [Lloyd Terrell and George Dekker] (October 1968, Island WI-3158, A)
19. A.B.C. Rock Steady – THE
GAYLADS (November 1968, High Note HS-001, A)
20. In Like Flint – BYRON LEE
& THE DRAGONAIRES (November 1968, Trojan TR-623. A - Instrumental)
21. Lady With The Starlight –
KEN BOOTHE (November 1968, High Note HS-003)
22. Catch The Beat – THE
PIONEERS (November 1968, Amalgamated AMG-828, A)
23. Dance With Me – DELANO
STEWART (November 1968, High Note HS-004, A)
24. Hold Your Jack – DERRICK
MORGAN (November 1968, Island WI-3159, A)
PACKAGING:
Each of the two foldout flaps
has colour adverts on both sides - they’re very cool and fantastically
evocative of the period while the 20-page fact-filled booklet is penned by
LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT. Both he and MICHAEL de KONINGH co-authored the fabulous
book "Young, Gifted And Black - The Story Of Trojan Records" (see my
review). They did extraordinary work on the Trojan label's full discography -
most of it published in the public domain for the first time anywhere. So this
knowledge of both the album and the record label means the booklet’s liner
notes are properly in-depth - filled
with pictures of tasty 7" singles, promo-photos of the artists,
discussions of each song, producers of the tracks, catalogue numbers, release
dates... really great stuff.
SOUND:
Mastered by NICK WATSON at
Fluid Mastering, the liner notes don't mention what tapes (if any) the songs
were mastered from. This is not surprising. Reggae music was invariably
recorded on a shoestring budget - and that's what you get here - extreme lo-fi
- most of the tracks sound like they were recorded in a bucket with someone
holding a microphone over it! But that is of course what makes them so magical
and charming. There is no pretension to audiophile here. This is party music -
it's meant to be blasted out over a dancehall stack - pumped out of your stereo
with a beer in your hand and your friends out back dancing in the sunshine!
It's not all bad - it isn't - it's just that the sound does vary wildly, great
one second, muddy and crackly the next. But I'm not sure that fidelity matters
with this lovely album or indeed reggae music in general, because I'm sitting
here grooving to "Soul Limbo" by BYRON LEE and THE DRAGONAIRES and
it's hard to believe that any human being could resist this brilliantly joyful
calypso/reggae groove - no matter what the sound quality is! Disc 2, as I said,
is better sounding than Disc 1, but it's all about `feel' and once you accept
that, there's so much goodness on offer here...
SONGS:
The album is heavy on cover
versions - The Beatles, Ben E. King, Wilbert Harrison, PP Arnold and
""Watch This Song"" which is Buffalo Springfield's
"For What It's Worth" under another name. "I'll Be Around"
by The Kingstonians is a slow and fabulous song - one I suspect soul lovers
will want to investigate. Island collectors should also note that tracks 7 and
19 on Disc 1 are the A & B of Island WIP 6051 and to my knowledge make
their CD debut here. Disc 2 simply offers up more of the same - discovery after
discovery...and for those who already own the excellent 2002 Sanctuary version
with 25 tracks, thankfully there's little duplication on either disc.
To sum up, I've loved hearing
this album again and its cleverly chosen additions. "Tighten Up DELUXE
EDITION" is fun, evocative and a warm reminder of days when music seemed
new and life changing. It transported me back to a time when I played sampler
albums like this to death - when my sister and me bopped around the Dansette in
the front room of our home and just couldn't get enough - going back to flip it
over to Side One again once we'd finished! This is a great re-issue and about
time that reggae music in general got the DELUXE EDITION treatment from a major
label that it deserves. Mash it up indeed...
PS: To those at Universal -
it would be nice to see "Club Ska '67" on Island given the same
deluxe treatment as this - and what about "You Can All Join In",
"Bumpers", "El Pea", "Nice Enough To Eat" and....
PPS: Along with
"Strangers Almanac" by WHISKEYTOWN and the two ELTON JOHN sets "Elton
John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" (see separate reviews), this
is without doubt the best issue in the DELUXE EDITION series so far in 2008 –
in my opinion this a REISSUE OF THE YEAR.
PPPS: see also a separate
review for "Skinhead Moonstomp" by SYMARIP on 2CD DELUXE EDITION in
Sept 2008
