possibly the finest reggae mix ever?
ashley beedle - 1998 essential mix (part 1) (mp3)
ashley beedle - 1998 essential mix (part 2) (mp3)
last january i bought a house and began renovating it. this old house was built in 1947, and had (apologies for the cliché) one lady owner, with no work having been done on the house for almost 60 years. it was a total wreck. at one point all that was left were four windowless walls - we ripped out the electric heaters, the floral wallpaper, the faulty wiring and the decrepit kitchen. what i was gifted with was a blank canvas, a carte blanche to do whatever the hell i wanted with what was to become my future home.
i think one of my finest moments (alongside putting dimmer switches in every room - can't recommend that enough) was putting a speaker in the ceiling of the bathroom. i've always found the bathroom a sanctuary from the constant insatiable hubbub of the working day, and can often think of nothing better than running a bath and crashing out for an hour of lackadaisical bliss.
what i've found to be one of the greatest soundtracks for getting all wrinkled up to is this, ashley beedle's 1998 essential mix. taking in all parts of the reggae spectrum, i can quite confidently say this is 2 hours of the most perfectly sequenced dub, roots, ska, calypso and rocksteady that you're ever likely to come across. i've played this to immediate family, inseparable friends, and fucked-up all-back-to-mine randomers, and probably made about 20 copies for new devotees through the years. and i've now i'm sitting here, still wet from the bath with a towel around my waist, wondering why i haven't let this secret out earlier than tonight
force-filled with understandable hits, inexplicable misses, rewinds, versions on versions, echoed overdubs, skanked-up covers, king tubby delays and scientist bleeps, this is reggae 101, a perfect intoduction for beginners and dewy-eyed nostalgia for the stalwarts. i defy you to listen to this without a smile erupting on your face.
what's that - a tracklisting? ah go on then ...
part 1
buju banton - "hills and valleys" (penthouse)
the abbyssinians - "forward on to zion" (blue moon)
bob marley - "natty dread" (tuff gong)
dennis brown/trinity - "funny feeling" (hawkeye)
fred locks - "true rastaman" (vulcan)
delroy wilson - "i'm still waiting" (joe gibbs)
mighty diamonds - "ghetto living" (joe gibbs)
barry brown - "far east" (channel 1)
buju banton - "murderer" (penthouse)
barrington levy - "murderer" (jah life)
culture - "two sevens clash" (joe gibbs)
bojangles - "prophesy reveal" (errol t)
max romeo - "war inna babylon" (upsetter)
part 2
the wailers - "keep on moving" (upsetter)
bob marley - "rainbow country" (disco)
the royals - "pick up the pieces" (studio 1)
nicolette - "beautiful day" (talkin' loud)
trinity - "starsky and hutch" (belmont)
randys allstars - "batman" (impact)
randys allstars - "mission impossible" (impact)
the skatalites - "guns of navarone" (island)
ballistic brothers - "peckings" (junior boys own)
ras michael/the sons of negus - "on boadway" (grounation)
winston francis - "mr. fix it" (studio 1)
u-boy - "jah jah call you" (ras)
tappa zukie - "pick up the rockers" (virgin)
i-roy - "sister maggie breast" (v2)
frankie paul - "pass the tu-sheng peng" (greensleeves)
burning spear - "jah no dead" (mango)
i can only hope that this brings you as much joy as it has to me through the years. download it, savour it, and then blow your friends away at your next late night bbq ...
ashley beedle - 1998 essential mix (part 2) (mp3)
last january i bought a house and began renovating it. this old house was built in 1947, and had (apologies for the cliché) one lady owner, with no work having been done on the house for almost 60 years. it was a total wreck. at one point all that was left were four windowless walls - we ripped out the electric heaters, the floral wallpaper, the faulty wiring and the decrepit kitchen. what i was gifted with was a blank canvas, a carte blanche to do whatever the hell i wanted with what was to become my future home.
i think one of my finest moments (alongside putting dimmer switches in every room - can't recommend that enough) was putting a speaker in the ceiling of the bathroom. i've always found the bathroom a sanctuary from the constant insatiable hubbub of the working day, and can often think of nothing better than running a bath and crashing out for an hour of lackadaisical bliss.
what i've found to be one of the greatest soundtracks for getting all wrinkled up to is this, ashley beedle's 1998 essential mix. taking in all parts of the reggae spectrum, i can quite confidently say this is 2 hours of the most perfectly sequenced dub, roots, ska, calypso and rocksteady that you're ever likely to come across. i've played this to immediate family, inseparable friends, and fucked-up all-back-to-mine randomers, and probably made about 20 copies for new devotees through the years. and i've now i'm sitting here, still wet from the bath with a towel around my waist, wondering why i haven't let this secret out earlier than tonight
force-filled with understandable hits, inexplicable misses, rewinds, versions on versions, echoed overdubs, skanked-up covers, king tubby delays and scientist bleeps, this is reggae 101, a perfect intoduction for beginners and dewy-eyed nostalgia for the stalwarts. i defy you to listen to this without a smile erupting on your face.
what's that - a tracklisting? ah go on then ...
part 1
buju banton - "hills and valleys" (penthouse)
the abbyssinians - "forward on to zion" (blue moon)
bob marley - "natty dread" (tuff gong)
dennis brown/trinity - "funny feeling" (hawkeye)
fred locks - "true rastaman" (vulcan)
delroy wilson - "i'm still waiting" (joe gibbs)
mighty diamonds - "ghetto living" (joe gibbs)
barry brown - "far east" (channel 1)
buju banton - "murderer" (penthouse)
barrington levy - "murderer" (jah life)
culture - "two sevens clash" (joe gibbs)
bojangles - "prophesy reveal" (errol t)
max romeo - "war inna babylon" (upsetter)
part 2
the wailers - "keep on moving" (upsetter)
bob marley - "rainbow country" (disco)
the royals - "pick up the pieces" (studio 1)
nicolette - "beautiful day" (talkin' loud)
trinity - "starsky and hutch" (belmont)
randys allstars - "batman" (impact)
randys allstars - "mission impossible" (impact)
the skatalites - "guns of navarone" (island)
ballistic brothers - "peckings" (junior boys own)
ras michael/the sons of negus - "on boadway" (grounation)
winston francis - "mr. fix it" (studio 1)
u-boy - "jah jah call you" (ras)
tappa zukie - "pick up the rockers" (virgin)
i-roy - "sister maggie breast" (v2)
frankie paul - "pass the tu-sheng peng" (greensleeves)
burning spear - "jah no dead" (mango)
i can only hope that this brings you as much joy as it has to me through the years. download it, savour it, and then blow your friends away at your next late night bbq ...