01. Ali Baba – Duke Reid & John Holt
02. Singer Man – The Kingstonians
03. Israelites [single version] – Desmond Dekker & The Aces
04. Gangsters [live] – The Specials
05. No Raise No Praise – Derrick Morgan
06. My Boy Lollipop – Millie
07. Whine & Grine [radio version] – Prince Buster
08. Tears Of A Clown, The – The Beat
09. Blam Blam Fever – Valentines
10. Double Barrel – Dave & Ansel Collins
11. Everyday (Time Hard) [live] – The Selecter
12. Long Shot Kick De Bucket – Leslie Kong & The Pioneers
13. Fattie Fattie – Clancy Eccles
14. Ire Feelings (Leggo Skanga) – Rupie Edwards

Tracklist:
01. Too Much Too Young [radio edit] – The Specials
02. Monkey Man – The Maytals
03. Train To Skaville – The Ethiopians
04. Red Red Wine – Tony Tribe
05. One Step Beyond [radio edit] – Madness
06. Miss Jamaica – Jimmy Cliff
07. Liquidator, The – Harry J. Allstars
08. Funky Kingston – Toots & The Maytals
09. Carry Go Bring Come – Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
10. Pressure Drop – Toots & The Maytals
11. John Jones – Derrick Hariott & Rudy Mills
12. Three Minute Hero – The Selecter
13. Skinhead Moonstomp – Symarip

World of Reggae Music Collection: Vintage Reggae

The Early Years

The Jam-Tex selector digs deeper into the reggae genre, focusing in on some of reggae’s earliest hits. Positive vibrations drip from songs like Dobby Dobson’s “Loving Pauper” and The Pioneers‘ “Let Your Yeah Be Yeah.”  Reggae legends Bob Marley & The Wailers, Toots & The Maytals, and Delroy Wilson all laid down foundational tracks during this early period of reggae music.

This particular collection features early vintage hits from the well-known male artists like John Holt, Alton Ellis, Desmond Dekker, Johnny Clarke, Ken Boothe, and Bob Andyand female artists Marcia Griffiths, Susan Cadogan, and my favorite Phyllis Dillon. Many of the musicians from the rock steady era like Derrick Morgan and Stranger Colerecorded early reggae hits. Alongside the more well-known vocalists, this collection features lesser-known artists like K.C. White and Watty Burnett, who laid down infectious reggae tunes like “No No No (You Don’t Love Me Anymore)” and “Rainy Night in Portland.”

Here in the early reggae cuts you find amazing originality. Dennis Brown tracks like “Westbound Train” and “Man Next Door” encapsulate the raw power of reggae. And, Delroy Wilson’s bass heavy “Better Must Come” might be the greatest reggae song ever recorded. Plus the early Bob Marley & the Wailers’ songs forged music and message into a powerful punch. Together Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer recorded original classics like “Mr. Brown,” “Try Me,” and “Jailhouse.” These legends of reggae music would forever change the course of music history.

1. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Mr. Brown
2. Errol Dunkeley – Ok Fred
3. Marie Bryant – Tomatoes
4. Delroy Wilson – (I’m in A) Dancing Mood
5. Don Evans & the Paragons – Danger in Your Eyes
6. Dandy Livingston – Rudy, a Message to You
7. Ken Boothe – Old Fashioned Way
8. Phyllis Dillon – Woman In the Ghetto
9. Toots & the Maytals – Monkey Man
10. Barrington Levy – Sister Carol
11. Desmond Dekker – Reggae Recipe
12. Dennis Brown – Man Next Door
13. Susan Cadogan – Nice And Easy
14. Horace Andy – Natural Mystic
15. Don Carlos & Roots Radics – Fight Fight
16. Johnny Clarke – Don’t Trouble Trouble
17. Toots & the Maytals – Do The Reggay
18. The Pioneers – Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
19. U-Roy – Hold On
20. Derrick & Patsy – Housewives Choice
21. Lord Creator – Don’t Stay Out Late
22. Dobby Dobson – Loving Pauper
23. Roman Stewart – Try Me
24. Leroy Smart – Ballistic Affair
25. Bob Andy & Marcia Griffiths – Young Gifted And Black
26. Delroy Wilson – Better Must Come
27. K.C. White – No No No
28. Horace Andy – Do You Love My Music
29. Bruce Ruffin – Rain
30. Delroy Wilson – It’s A Shame
31. Johnny Clarke – Tears on My Pillow
32. Cornell Campbell & the Aggrovators – I Will Never Change/Version
33. Desmond Dekker – Fu Man Chu
34. Derrick Morgan – Tougher Than Tough (Rudie In Court)
35. The Wailers – Jailhouse
36. Dennis Brown – Westbound Train
37. Kingstonian – Nice Nice
38. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Bend Down Low
39. Jacob Miller – Mr. Officer
40. Owen Gray – Midnight Track
41. Delroy Wilson – Living In The Foots Steps Of Another Man
42. Lord Messam – Linstead Market
43. Alton Ellis – Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)
44. Bob Marley & the Wailers – One Cup Of Coffee
45. Delroy Wilson – Run Run
46. Peter Tosh – You Can’t Fool Me Again
47. Lord Creator – Independent Jamaica
48. John Holt & Alton Ellis – Rum Bumper’s
49. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Try Me
50. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Try Me (Version)
51. Derrick Morgan – I Am The Ruler
52. Ronnie Davis – I Won’t Cry
53. The Tennors – Ride Me Donkey
54. The Majesterians – If I Didn’t Want Your Loving
55. Alton Ellis & Phyllis Dillon – Why Did You Leave Me To Cry
56. Delroy Wilson – Cool Operator
57. Al Barry & the Cimarons – Morning Sun
58. Watty Burnett – Rainy Night in Portland
59. Stranger Cole – Out of Many, One
60. Patrick Andy – Clarendon Girl

Gran versió, com ja ha vien fet dècades enrere The Specials i més recentment l’Amy Winehouse, dels nord-americans Reel Big Fish del clàssic de Toots & The Maytals “Monkey Man”.

Yu Zhenhuan, 32, from the northern Chinese province of Liaoning, has hair on 96 per cent of his body because of a hormone imbalance.
From the age of seven he was cast in movies, such as Little Hairy Boy’s Treasure Adventure, and he also had a brief singing career.
However, a recent attempt to win the lead role of The Monkey King in a television adaptation of Journey to the West, the Chinese classic, ended in acrimony when the director said he was not sufficiently attractive.

Read further and see pictures at Telegraph

Telegraph  Yu Zhenhuan, 32, from the northern Chinese province of Liaoning, has hair on 96 per cent of his body because of a hormone imbalance.  From the age of seven he was cast in movies, such as Little Hairy Boy’s Treasure Adventure, and he also had a brief singing career.  However, a recent attempt to win the lead role of The Monkey King in a television adaptation of Journey to the West, the Chinese classic, ended in acrimony when the director said he was not sufficiently attractive.  “I thought I was the best candidate, as I look like a monkey and my nickname is monkey man,” he said afterwards. “I read through the book and found professional hair dressers to make me into a real monkey man. But I failed the audition because I am not good looking enough.”  “I am going to have surgery to get rid of the hair and facial plastic surgery to make myself look more like a pretty monkey, and make the director regret his decision,” he added.

Can Yu catch a fucking break?  Who did they cast for the role of monkey king that looked more authentic than him?  His nickname is monkey man for god’s sake.  Yu is right, once he is a pretty monkey this dumb fucking director is gonna regret his decision.  You’ll all see, Yu is going to have the last laugh here…but he’s got to be careful, he loses too much of that hair he might just shave himself out of the part.  A shaved monkey doesn’t work as well as a shaved pussy, those arabian hairless are breathtaking.

Ummmm… wow.  When I watched the Spiderman movies, I didn’t get any crazy ideas like that.

[Posted by Kathleen]

- – Heh, you gotta love MonsterQuest for its theatrical episode titles, and this one sounds like a B-movie out of the 50’s!  Anyhow, the Monkster is described as up to 8′ tall but nimble; he’d be a great b-ball player.  Monkey Man also has black hair, a gorilla-like face, and makes strange sounds.  It’s a complete package.

Indigenous to India, accounts of Monkey Man date back to 77 B.C., when he was described by Pliny.  Supposed attacks of the creature reached a high in May 2001 in Delhi, with victims beaten and clawed by a powerful assailant; three people died while fleeing the creature, and dozens were hospitalized.  The most recent attacks are attributed to Meghalaya, where 14-1/2″ footprints and broken branches were found.  Natives in this part of India call the creature “the forest man.”  Blood samples were taken from the walls of a dwelling where an encounter occurred, and hair samples were also found elsewhere.

And what, you may ask, did MonsterQuest find?–Interestingly enough, the bites that were found on supposed victims were of a different nature than those inflicted by a monkey or another animal.  Hairs that were found and subjected to microscopic analysis were found to be similar to those of the red panda;  blood samples were human.  Police investigations in Delhi were negative, and experts suggest a mass hysteria/psychosis phenomenon.

A Hindu deity also has simian features, but he is noted to be a benign type, not really into the biting, scratching, and clawing thing…

So this is just a teaser really. There will be more from the Specials soon (as well as another two tone favourite). Until then, here’s the Specials with ‘Monkey Man’!

Don’t get your pop fighting gloves out yet, this is just a harmless single for UNICEF. Kylie’s been doing quite a bit of charity in between albums. This and the concert for the bush fire charities. 

It is also rumored that her nephew is a big fan of the show.

Watching the late night news on Channel 10 the other night I saw Angela Bishop reporting that Kylie Minogue had joined the Wiggles to record the 1969 Toots and the Maytals’ song Monkey Man for their latest album. It’s a shame that this is not the Rolling Stones’ Monkey Man from the fantastic Let It Bleed album also from 1969. It would be interesting to see the Wiggles singing a song about drug addiction but I think it’s just a little inappropriate.

In a similar vein, yesterday the Herald Sun’s Susie O’Brien complained that lots of online music fans had criticised Kylie for agreeing to appear at the Sound Relief concert at the MCG next week. O’Brien asks the question, “I bet you’ve heard of Kylie Minogue – but how about Kings of Leon or Wolfmother? Or Liam Finn? Jack Johnson? … Probably not.”

Obviously O’Brien has been living under a rock for the last twelve months if she has not heard of Kings of Leon. Either that or she listens exclusively to ABC FM or talkback radio, because Kings of Leon have been played to death on every other FM station from Triple M to MIX 101, from FOX FM to Triple J. Even Gold 104 which only plays ‘good time oldies’, has spoken about how good Kings of Leon are and their chart topping song Sex On Fire.

Whilst I am unfamiliar with Liam Finn (Neil’s son?), even my Mum could tell you who Wolfmother are, as everyone knows that they are a Led Zeppelin cover band! (Only joking!) Jack Johnson is perhaps most well known for the song Upside Down from the Curious George soundtrack, and for hanging around with Ben Harper (another musician who Susie O’Brien hasn’t heard of?).

The sad thing about all this is that O’Brien does not look like she is 100 years old in her photograph above the article. This obviously makes her a nerd who does not listen to music radio or as I said earlier, only listens to ABC FM. Zzzzzzz!!! If this is the case then she really has no place in trying to discuss popular, music as she has no idea what she is talking about.

Just who is Susie O’Brien anyway? I rarely read the H’un and only do so when I am pointed to some piece of stupidity like this. All I know is that O’Brien is also responsible for THIS great piece of investigative journalism.

A couple of days before the release of the film my close friend called to ask if I was planning on watching “masakali” this weekend. This was followed by an email from BookMyShow.com advertising, again, “Masakali” as this weekend’s release. Had it not been for A R Rahman’s Masakali number, there would not have been any buzz for this film being headed by names like Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor.  Delhi 6 has it’s concept and music in place, but it’s treatment ties it down and just does not take off and by the time it finishes you are unable to identify with what happened.

Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) volunteers (when his dad categorically refuses to go back to India) to take his ailing grand mother to Old Delhi as she wishes to breathe her last in the place where she has her roots. Roshan, an NRI who has never been to India, in his first trip to India as a fully blown grown up guy with a Motorola camera phone arrives to explore his roots and explode at what he goes through. Roshan is now part of a multicultural community in the lanes of Chandni Chowk, Delhi 6, that practice their religions, rituals, eat jalebi, and are trying to crack the mystry of kaala bander or Monkey Man. Roshan’s family is split between the two brothers whose house is separated by a wall with one replaceable brick so that the ladies can talk. Then there is Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) who is desperate to get an identity of her own and has pinned her hopes on Indian Idol show to make this middle class nothing to something. There are several characters in the film and too much of time is wasted on their ridiculous over-actions. In regular intervals we see Ram Leelas, the Monkey Man episodes and public reactions to it, little bit of Bittu and little of Roshan and you’re really tired of it all by the end of the first half.

Slowly, the monkey man episode begins to add political color bringing to the fore Hindu-Muslim tensions. In the meantime, out of no where, we are thrust upon the fact that Roshan is in love with India and Bittu and to bring upon unity among this once close knit community, Roshan dresses up as the Monkey Man and ends up getting beaten, thrashed and shot! Yes, he dies briefly and then God, Amitabh Bachchan eating jalebis decides that he got a raw deal from folks in Delhi sends him back! The film becomes ridiculous in it’s efforts to make you love the characters and the plot. When Sonam Kapoor begins to cry loudly on seeing Abhishek shot, the entire theater erupted in laughter; this is how the audience connected with this film.The film tries too hard (and is confused as how) to show the spiritual and multicultural fabric of India. Take for example, the scene where a cow is delivering and the entire city traffic there comes to standstill to witness this sacred event; good sequence, but it is spoilt with the way Roshan is made to react to this episode.

There is no story to tell. Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra gives it the kind of treatment (minus the spookiness) we saw in M. Night Shyamalan’s later films like Village, Lady in the Water, Happening etc. all of which led to his downfall. The director takes an unexplained phenomenon (the kaala bandar episode here) and uses it to reflect upon the people around it with a message about humans and community. To this Mr. Mehra adds some lovely songs, wants us to believe there was a love story that was never there between Bittu and Roshan, and some messages about the still prevailing caste system (like Swades, the classic gem) and some India Blues (like Nagesh Kukunoor’s all-time cult classic Hyderabad Blues). The result of this cocktail: ridiculous and boring. At one point, you get tired of seeing the ram leelas and the kaala bander episodes and just wish the film either moved on or ended.

Abhishek Bachchan proves again that he is Iron Leg of Bollywood; another solo-hero project of his flops. He just can’t deliver and it becomes even more pathetic when the script is boring. His accent is artificial and you just can’t connect with him or his character. He is better off doing films and roles like Dostana or must accompany his wife on her international tours. Sonam Kapoor tries to be overly expressive and sadly for her there is no role. Waheeda Rahman and Rishi Kapoor (who btw really needs to reduce as he is looking sick and obeese) are wasted. The best performances come from all and sundry like Pawan Malhotra and Om Puri as the two not-getting-along-well brothers, the hot ‘untouchable’ garbage cleaner  (Divya Dutta) whom everybody from the little kids to the inspector are hitting on, Vijay Raaz is too good as Inspector Ranvijay, Atul Kulkarni as Gobar who always chooses two one rupee coins rather than one 10 rupee note, and the guy who sells jalebi and later shoots Abhishek dressed as the kaala bander. ARR’s music is superb, but unfortunable no song other than Masakali is played out completely; what a waste.

The other day while at a mall I was watching on NDTV, Abhishek, Sonam, and Mehra interacting with people in Chandi Chowk discussing about the film. No amount of publicity can save this really stupid and boring film (it angers me to see people using the overly zealous media (which has nothing better to do than to cover such silly disucssions) to promote a silly and senseless film). The only word I could hear coming out of Ramakrishna Glitterati after Sunday’s matinee show was (not masakali ) “bakwas”. Whats even more bakwas is Amitabh Bachchan’s comment today in the newspaper comparing Delhi 6 and Slumdog Millionaire as he continues to belittle the latter. Honestly, the old man should just relax at home now.

Mr. Inkenti’s Movienomics Verdict: Two Thumbs Down! Don’t fall for the desinger poster and stylish movie title. The film should actually have been named Kaala Bandar.

“Whenever I hear the word ‘culture’, I bring out my checkbook”

 - Jeremy Prokosch, Contempt (1963) 

Culture Soup For The NRI Soul (pic: Rediff)

Quarter hour into Delhi 6, I found myself sitting dispassionately with a hand on my forehead. The last thing I wanted to see after all the hullabaloo over Slumdog Millionaire was a film extolling our culture. The pleasantries among the characters had nearly sealed off the fate of the film as far as I was concerned. And Waheeda Rehman wasn’t helping with her repetitive “Ab main chain se so sakti hoon” (I can rest in peace now) act. It was almost as if Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was selling nostalgia to the NRIs. As if he was making a film about “our great culture” and never taking it as a platform As if he was trying to make the green card holders break down into tears and say “This is MY country after all. These are MY people”. You know… the usual stuff one feels till the pop corn runs out (Damn, Culture sells). But, to my relief and amazement, Delhi 6 recovers from 0 for 3 wickets to making a decent total. 

Delhi 6 revolves around…Heck, chuck it. This would probably result in a census report. Let me just say that there are more people in the film than the number of shots.  So we have Roshan Mehra (Abhishek Bachchan) who comes to India to take home his granny (Waheeda Rehman). The first half of the film shows us vignettes from the family called Delhi told through the typically patronizing expat eye (but not Roshan Mehra’s). These people spend their time watching unrequited love among Rama and Bharata, but fight with their own brothers. They adore Rama’s marital fidelity, yet go after married women. They are moved when Rama eats food cooked by a socially outcast character yet ostracize and demonize Jalebi, a so-called lower caste woman. They worship Hanuman but are dirt scared of a wild monkey on the prowl, which reveals itself as the focal point of the plot. 

There is some good writing at work here. It is as if we have practically isolated our mythology from our everyday lives and deemed it strongly as strictly fictional. Where the characters in Rang De Basanti (2006) found their history more relevant now than ever, here they see otherwise.  I’m sure that two of the sequences are going to receive much flak. The first one being the “Dil Gira Dafatan” song, which captures the quintessential dream. Purists may even be prompted to do a Freudian analysis as the images run the ganut of Roshan’s experiences. You have Jalebi vendors and cycle-rickshaws ruling the streets of New York. You have Americans celebrating the birth of a calf and shaking a leg at Hindu processions. You even have the monkey man, having been promoted to King Kong status, romancing on the Empire State Building. The second sequence is a bizarre conversation between Roshan and his grandfather (played by his real life father!) which does seem tasteless for different reasons. But no one can blame them for being out of place, for I believe that this kind of a film warrants such treatment. It is indeed a good move to show disjoint sequences from a society when you are encompassing extremely large issues and not dealing with a smaller struggle amidst larger ones. If a tighter plot would have been used, it would most definitely have been a failure and would seem like the film was biting more than it could chew. 

Sonam Kapoor is a bad decision and I felt Soha Ali Khan could have done better. In hindsight, the character of a typically NRI-incriminating modern Indian woman seems tailor-made for Soha. As funny as it sounds, Abhishek Bachchan saves the day. All the potentially fatal reaction shots are redeemed by Abhishek’s unexpected expressions. He plays it low key an never goes into the overwhelming-love-for-home-country mode and cleverly becomes the visitor alone. Though that is a credit to the script, Abhishek manages well to never gain attention (even if it is a consequence of a weakness). All this is until the 115th minute of the film (trust me, I saw my watch here). Then both the Mehras go berserk. There is a fakir in the film who keeps showing everyone a mirror and goes on about the godliness in oneself. This is a good move that could have driven home the point, never looking tacked up too. And at this explosive plot junction (the 115th minute), Abhishek takes up the role of the savior (yes, the pseudo-Indian who refuses to stay passive), he points the mirror to all and “explains” them the truth of life. This is salvaged to some extent by the supporting cast, but the final quarter hour proves fatal. This time, it is the bumpkin Gobar (the talented Atul Kulkarni) who elaborates to all the sane ones how big Abhishek’s role is in changing the lives of the people. And the massacre of the script follows. 

Delhi 6 doesn’t suffer from very many problems per se. It is just that it is irregular. Sequences of sheer brilliance are promptly followed by ordinary ones. Fabulous use of soundtrack is interspersed with the stereotypical utilization of music. Rather than calling these weaknesses, I would like to call them glitches. Sporadic, yet affecting the holistic quality of the film. Delhi 6 presents an open ending and fades to black with the most powerful of all quotes in Hindi cinema that I have heard in recent years – “I returned home”. Just see how profound this line is when you discover for yourself what it means. This line would easily substitute for the last 20 minutes of the film. Let’s hope that the director’s cut (if there ever is one) rectifies the mistake. 

Delhi 6 is exceedingly well shot. Mehra uses extreme close-ups and deep focus to the point that you can see blemishes on the actors’ faces. In spite of the detached view that the script offers, Mehra’s camera becomes one among the characters. It does not impose on us the bittersweet and condescending opinions that Abhishek’s character may have.  See how he desensitizes controversial statements on the news channels by framing the television set along with the news footage. Not only does this offer a space for audience to analyze their own actions but also plays out as a timely satire on the worst thing on Indian television now. The only quibble is that Mehra does not let the images speak for themselves. I would love to show the same mirror that the fakir uses in the film and show it to Mr. Rakeysh Mehra, or his film rather. And tell him “Look, how your film speaks for itself, why try to adulterate it by your obligation to deliver a social message?”

Verdict: 

Kylie has dueted with The Wiggles for a song called Monkey Mn. It will feature on the album Wiggles Go Bannanas!