Got To Praise Jah вЂ“ 80s Superstar Tristan Palmer released his first single вЂњLove Is A MessageвЂќ with Bunny Lee in 1970, at the age of 8(!), but he didnвЂ™t really started blowing up until he was running with Sugar MinottвЂ™s Youthman Promotion Sound. I dig this song for the counting part, that culminates in 1977 aka when вЂњthe two sevens clashвЂќ вЂ“ a reference to Marcus GarveyвЂ™s somewhat self-fulfilling prophecyВ of some sort of chaotic even on July 7th, 1977. Tired Fe Live In A Babylon вЂ“ Another one-off tune, this time from Ranking Trevor, doing his best U-Roy imitation, bouncing along the riddim nicely. ThereвЂ™s only real one other tune on this riddim that I know of, Prince Far IвЂ™s вЂњHouse of Jah.вЂќ Ossie Hibbert co-produced and the Heptones did the backing vocals.

Handcuff вЂ“ A wonderfully dubbed out vocal from Mr Gregory Isaacs from 1977,В kindaВ right before he really became a huge star. One Time Ringo вЂ“ Toaster extraordinaire Johnny Ringo getting down on the same riddim in 1981, produced by Carlton Patterson, who came up under King Tubby and is maybe best known for his Tubby collabo вЂњ Not Responsible.вЂќ The dub of the Duke Reid version begat a ton of hits, including the U-Roy tune вЂњ Rule The NationвЂќ, which was the B-side of Nora DeanвЂ™s вЂњAngie-LaLaвЂќ. It has such a great, rolling bassline that just propels the dance forward. It launched one of my favorite riddims of the same name, sometimes also called the вЂњgeneralвЂќ riddim вЂ“ which newer heads may know from BujuвЂ™s epic вЂњ Massa God World A RunвЂќ from 1993. Duke Reid produced the first version, and Winston Riley the second. Love Is Not A Gamble вЂ“ This is a 1981 remake of the 1967 foundation tune вЂ“ both by The Techniques. Iron Wolf вЂ“ Lee PerryвЂ™s dub of the same riddim above. His biggest hit might be вЂњWar Ina BabylonвЂќ, another Lee Perry production, about the political strife surrounding the 72 presidential elections вЂ“ something that comes up in so many tunes from this era. JA has a long tradition of this of course, but his hit sparked a bunch of others in the UK immediately following its release. Some credit Romeo with jumpstarting a new wave of sexually-suggestive slackness tunes in the early 70s, starting with his вЂњ Wet DreamвЂќ, which was made even bigger when it got banned in England. Max Smith aka Max Romeo did a 2-year stint in the Emotions before setting out on his own with Bunny Lee in 1968. HeвЂ™s probably best known for his 1974 hit вЂњ Curly LocksвЂќ, or his version of вЂњOh CarolinaвЂќ, which was itself a cover of the great Blue Beat classic from 1959.Д«abylon Burning вЂ“ Another tune on the вЂњBeat Down BabylonвЂќ riddim, which never really got much traction after 1972, though there was a Kojak & Liza tune in 83. He left the group in 1970 and started releasing tracks with Lee Scratch Perry under the name вЂњ King ChubbyвЂќ LOL. Junior began his career in the mid-60s, singing with The Versatiles. This particular type of organ shuffle was one factor that really set roots apart from other forms of reggae at the time. Jackie edwards & julie anne вЂ“ in paradiseД«eat Down Babylon вЂ“ Kicking things off with an early Junior Byles roots number from 1971. Papa michigan & general smiley вЂ“ diseases Tappa zukie вЂ“ why are we afraid of revolutionД«rent dowe & the gaytones вЂ“ reggae makossa Ranking trevor вЂ“ tired fe live in a babylonД«rigadier jerry вЂ“ this oneвЂ™s dedicated to you

Real rock riddim by pinchers