SEARCHING FOR THE YOUNG SOUL REBELS

Dexys' surfaced in the late 1970s, Kevin Rowland formerly of punk act The Killjoys found his partner in Kevin Archer and the rest of the gang collective that made up the band. Nodding to Stax and Northern Soul they had total conviction and essentially played a punk version of Stax stuff. They briefly flirted with Two Tone, before rejecting them, and soon after Rowland began baiting the press with his own essays.

Amid their first few years, when they all looked like something out of 'Mean Streets' and 'Raging Bull', they produced one of the greatest debut albums with this, 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels.' This is the album most often picked out by music critics, but that overlooks the fact 'Too Rye Ay' (1982) and 'Don't Stand Me Down' (1985) are equally fantastic, if not greater!!

The band were sharp as anything, they had the songs, they had the style and at one infamous point, they had the master tapes! The 11 tracks form a classic sequence, this is one of those albums that I have to play all the way through - of course there are highlights, 'tell me when my light turns green' seems to me one of those classic Dexys songs that define them as a band (the other I'd say is 'Let's Make This Precious'). Opener 'Burn It Down' (formerly 'Dance Stance') is punk Sam & Dave, audaciously sampling 'Smoke on the Water', 'Holidays in the Sun' & 'Rat Race' before Rowland hollers "FOR GOD'S SAKE! - BURN IT DOWN!!!" The namechecking of Irish cultural figures would have an effect on later releases by The Pogues and That Petrol Emotion...(The Undertones' 'It's Going to Happen' was apparently a Dexys-tribute). The cover nods to Rowland's Irish roots, something more fully detailed in 1985's 'My National Pride (formerly Knowledge of Beauty).'

The teams that meet in the caffs' is a fantastic instrumental, while 'seven days too long' feels like a twist on a Northern Soul stomp - 'love part one' would start a kind of spoken word interlude track that would recur on subsequent releases. & then there are the fantastic singles the scathing 'there there my dear' and #1 'Geno' - whose videos are also found on this reissue.

Rowland sacked most of the band shortly after - though with Mick Talbot, this line-up reformed a few years ago for a tour - the DVD of which is well worth tracking down. The next Dexys' record was very Van Morrison, though songs like 'Show Me', 'Let's Make This Precious', 'Until I Believe in My Soul', & 'Old' weren't that far away (I guess people write off that album cos of 'Jocky Wilson Said' & 'Come on Eileen'?). Dexys were in a world of their own and this debut from 1980 is as classic as it gets - the kind of record no one should be without.

1. Burn It Down

2. Tell Me When My Lights Turn Green

3. The Teams That Meet in Caffs

4. I'm Just Looking

5. Geno

6. Seven Days Too Long

7. I Couldn't Help It If I tried

8. Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire, It Doesn't Apply

9. Keep It

10. Love Part One

11. There, There My Dear

>DOWNLOAD<

TROJAN BATTLEFIELD

This interesting and generally quite valuable 24-track collection pays richly deserved tribute to Theophilous Beckford, a keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and producer who exerted a significant influence on the development of ska and rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. His name is not as famous among modern audiences as those of Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid or Lloyd Daley, but his heavily blues and R&B-based songs were very popular in Kingston and his studio and instrumental skills were in heavy demand. The best tracks on this compilation are, in fact, those that feature Beckford himself singing his own compositions in a smooth, refined style -- note in particular the gently sung but lyrically brutal "Mr. Down Pressor," a not very subtle stab at Beckford's former boss, Coxsone Dodd. Other fine tracks include "Old Flame," which features the vocal talents of one Frederick Hibbertt (who would later perform under the name Toots, as leader of The Maytals) and two early tracks by Basil Gabidon(who would later be one of the founding members of the legendary British reggae band Steel Pulse). Less inspiring are the harmonica stylings of Charlie Organaire and two rather amateurish efforts by The Charmers.

The blues and R&B based tracks are ska in its earliest form - soon after The Skatalites came along and everything became more different and technical at the same time but that's a different story. Taken as a whole, though, this is an enjoyable and valuable document of the work of one of reggae's forgotten heroes.

01. The Carmers - I´ll be there
02. The Carmers - You are the one
03. Frederik Hibbert - Old flame
04. Charlie Organaire - Go home
05. Winstom Samuels - I´m so glad
06. Winstom Samuels - She´s gone
07. Shenley Duffus & Annete Clarke - Don´t worry to cry
08. Theo Beckford - Now that you´re dead
09. Karl Walker - But officer
10. Lloyd Clarke - I love you most of all
11. Lloyd Clarke - Oh what a love
12. Karl Walker - Riding the crown
13. Lloyd Clarke - Love me or leave me
14. Basil Gabbidon - You got rich
15. Basil Gabbidon - Jamaica is mine
16. Theo Beckford - Trojan battlefield
17. Charlie Organaire - Merry twist (boogie)
18.: Unknown vocalist - Drink rum
19. Theo Beckford & The King Pioneer allstars - Naked Earth
20. Theo Beckford - Mr Down Presser
21. Theo Beckford - Snappin is Back
22. Theo Beckford & the king pioneer allstars - True musical
23. Chenley Duffus - Saturday Night Boogie
24.: Karl Walker & The Pioneer King Allstar Fight the battle

DOWNLOAD

KEB DARGE IS BACK!!!

First, a little background on our featured artist for today Scottish DJ Keb Darge. He is Possibly the most famous DJ of the genre mentioned and holds a legendary status among his peers, in the Northern Soul and Funk scene in the UK and the person credited for the genre of "Deep Funk".

He began his career joining disco dance competitions in Northern Scotland and was a regular dancer on Wigan Casino on their regular Northern Soul All Nighters. Soon after, he was spinning 45s at Wigan right beside the casino and around Scotland. He moved to London at age 22 and left his DJ life to start as a regular joe in London. Music promoters approached and asked him to play sets and get back to DJing. He obliged and helped push the Northern Soul scene in England.

After a while he sold off most of his Norther Soul records after a divorce in 1987 although there were still records that he considered as "junk music" that he purchased in the US in search of obscure and rare soul and R&B music which, in time will be christened as "Deep Funk".

He met fellow funk collector and latin percussionist Matt Cotgrove aka "Snowboy" between 1992-93 in London. Keb and Snowboy decided to put up their own "deep funk" night in an old reataurant but failed after a few months because of the rising popularity of "House Music" in the UK at the time. Well, shortly after that they were able to hold a weekly residency in a strip club called Madame Jojo's at the Soho district of London and soon after closed down their strip nights and becoming a full fledged music club. Today Keb still holds his funk nights every Friday called the "Legendary Deep Funk". He has also released several compilations of deep funk tracks through BBE Records most notably "Funk Spectrum" and "Keb Darge's Deep Funk" compilations. He has also released another compilation with "The Modfather" Paul Weller called - Lost and Found: Real R&B and Soul.

And now, Keb Darge is back in the country to spread the gospel of Funk, Northern and Rock-a-billy in to our shores again. The Event will be held at Marben and Myra Romero's club TEN02 Bar and Resto on the 25th of April featuring the local and rockin' sounds of Bembol Rockers and Pusakal and Soul pushers Juan Pablo dream. Presented by Bisikleta Productions, Rookie Records and Soundblasters. Dress sharp, leave your politics behind and dance to this!

(official poster for the event)

This is one volume of Keb's compilation for your musical enjoyment.

01. The Golden Toadstools - Silly Savage
02. B O Junior - Coffe Pot
03. T J And Teh Group - Blues For The Bs
04. James Polk And The Brothers - Power Struggle
05. Aalon Butler And The New Breed - Gettin Soul
06. Googie Rene - Firebird
07. The Fabulous Firebird - Psycho
08. Carleen And The Groovers - Can We Rap
09. Ricky Calloway And His Nt Express - Get It Right
10. Billy Paul And The Upsetters - Sissy Walk
11. Leon Gardner - Natural
12. Bad Medicine - Trespasser
13. Rappers - Krunchberry Beast
14. Joe Washington - Blueberry Hill
15. Society - Society
16. The Blenders - You Got It All
17. Beverly Crosby - That Didnt Stop Me
18. Harris And Orr - Spread Love
19. Ramsey And Co - Love Call
20. Sons Of The Kingdom - Modernization

DOWNLOAD

THE METRO MANILA DANCEHALL AUTHORITY!

Milagros Dancehall Collective was founded in 2003 at the crews first Makati residence in Milagros St. Dancehall reggae was the common denominator that brought the boys to form the band.Dancehall was the music that reigned on their PC at home, and artists like Yellowman, Lt. Stitchie, Mad Cobra, Bounty Killer, Beenieman, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Lady Saw, Red Rat and Damien Marley constantly reverberated throughout the whole apartment building. As such, dancehall figured prominently when the idea of coming together and forming a band came up.

"First off, it has to be made clear that we are not a dancehall band in the sense that we play strictly dancehall. The name Milagros Dancehall Collective represents: 1) where we’re from 2) the music we were all into when we decided to play together 3) how we see our merry troop -- a loose collection of friends who just happen to kick ass onstage, he he. Jamaican dancehall artists don’t even use live musicians on their CDs. If we were hard pressed to give a category to our music, it would still fall under reggae. It’s still very much rooted in the Jamaican sound, but what makes it different is probably our whole mindset when it comes to being a band and making music. We have a very strong “original-material-takes-precedence” work ethic. In fact, we have never actually rehearsed a Bob Marley piece as cover song material. We want to be known for our original stuff as opposed to being “that band which does a mean version of Santeria by Sublime.” Know what I mean?

When it comes to our sound, we incorporate a lot more hip-hop and guitar-driven rock into our live sets than most reggae groups do. We also don’t use a horn section simply because we’re not going for the festive, island mood. We’ve also started using music samples to bulk up the sound. We’re just continually experimenting, searching for ways to push the envelope and sail farther away from everybody else out there." as narrated by Robert Martinez aka Robby Ranks.

The members of the Collective currently in the performing lineup are: Caio Cadiz (Caioman) on keyboards and backup vocals; Macky Macaventa (Burnie Mac) on bass; Rob Martinez (Robbie Ranks) on vocals; Sappy Saplala (General Sappy) on lead guitar and backup vocals; Al Sese (Emperor Alphonse) on the drum kit; and Carlos Tirona (Caloy) on rhythm guitar. (Members on performing hiatus are: Mike Cruz, who did keyboards and musical direction and is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand, and Vince Chacon, currently a grade school teacher in Jakarta, Indonesia, who did percussions.) Though MDC boasts a lineup of experienced musicians, the group also manages to sound totally fresh. Nuff said. Play this loud!

(MDC performing at SaGuijo)

(Sunscreen by MDC)

1. Nice an' Sweet

2. Rasta Love

3. Baby Gal

4. Watch Me Now

5. Milagros Dance

6. Drop It

7. Collective Rock

8. Sunscreen

9. Tolus

10. What You Want

11. Me Name Is

>DOWNLOAD<

MANNY PACQUIAO LAMBRETTA

This Italian Lambretta will be presented on the 28th of January Thursday at Eastwood, Libis together with the regular set of Mod/Soul band Juan Pablo Dream. Everyone is invited

(picture courtesy of fellow scooterist Tops Martin during VCOP's inagural ride)

Click here for more info

Click here for more pictures