Tag Archives: Easy Star All-Stars

Musical Interlude ► Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band

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The greatest LP of the entire Rock era was released 45 years ago today. The Beatles masterpiece was a revelation, a concept album with a gatefold cover (already done by Frank Zappa, tho’), cool cut-outs, and the lyrics printed right on the back cover!!!

I listened to it over and over again when it was brand new, just like all my friends. Every listen seemed to bring something new to the ears.

There have been many interpretations over the years, including a recent Cheap Trick Sgt. Pepper performed completely live. However, the best interpretation is one I have already spoken about in these pages. Here’s Easy Star All-Stars performing the entire LP as “Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band” with many special guest stars.

As always…CRANK IT UP!!!

R.I.P. ► Lloyd Brevett ► Skatalites Bassist

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Jamaica mourns one of her native sons in the passing of Lloyd Brevett, original bassist for The Skatalites, at the age of 80. Brevett was there at the beginning. It is not hyperbole to say that The Skatalites were one of the most influential bands ever, and not just in the narrow genre of Ska. Ask anybody who knows. No less an authority on Ska Music than the New York Times noted: 
Mr. Brevett, a trained jazz bassist, was an original member of the
Skatalites, which was formed in 1964 during the evolution of Jamaican
music from American-influenced rhythm and blues and jazz to the
homegrown syncopated style known as ska, the precursor of reggae, rock
steady and dub. The band members were also active as studio musicians
and backed up the Wailers and other groups.
The Skatalites broke up in the mid-1960s but regrouped in New York 20
years later. Two of their albums, “Hi-Bop Ska!” and “Greetings From
Skamania,” were nominated for Grammy Awards in the 1990s. 

Not just anyone rates a NYT’s obit. Or condolences from a former Jamaincan Prime Minister, who just happened to be Brevett’s tour manager way back when.  According to David McFadden of the Associated Press:
Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who was
once a tour manager for The Skatalites, said that while the band’s great
horn section often drew most of the accolades, it was “Brevett who
quietly provided the mesmerizing backbone to the Skatalites’ sound.”

“To say that Brevett was a creator of both ska and dub is not to use hyperbole,” Patterson said in a statement.

[…]

Legendary Jamaican musicians say it’s difficult to overestimate the role the trained jazz bassist and the rest of the original Skatalites played in developing the Caribbean island’s unique music.

“He was there from the beginning,” Bunny Wailer told The Associated Press. “All my bass lines from all my recordings have been attributed to bass lines from Lloyd Brevett.”

Wailer, the reggae legend who was one of the original Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, praised Brevett as a devout member of the Rastafarian faith and an elder statesman of the island’s culture.

“Brother Brevett’s music is eternal,” Wailer said.

The Skatalites worked with everybody in the Ska-Reggae-Dub genres. In a way similar to Easy Star All Stars many of The Skatalites biggest hits were Ska reworkings of familiar tunes, even if they seemed to be strange choices for a Ska band. However, listen to the playing and the arrangements. This is some excellent musicianship working against the back beat.
Here’s a little Skatalites Jukebox:…and you’ll be dancing when it’s all over:

Rock on, Lloyd Brevett!!! Rock On!!!

How Jamaica Conquered The World

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Recently, through a chance Twitter encounter, I was interviewed about my experiences working for Island Records Canada for a series of documentary podcasts called “How Jamaica Conquered The World.”  As a professional journalist for 4 decades, and having been interviewed myself, one often regrets opening up to a stranger.  Not in this case.  How Jamaica Conquered The World is a quality product and I am thrilled to be connected with it.  I am sure Roifield Brown will not mind me quoting from the site:


Just as the Roman Empire conquered the known world 2000 years ago, in
the 19th century the British, through trade and slaves, created the
largest empire that this planet has ever seen. Today, the United States
may be a super power in decline but its economic power produced a
colossal “soft” empire spanning the late 20th century. It put boots on
the ground in hot spots around the globe, McDonalds restaurants in every
city and the entire world has watched its movies.

However, the small island of Jamaica has forged a new type of empire,
an intangible realm of which there are no physical monuments. There is
no official political or economic sphere of Jamaican influence but when
it comes to popular culture its global reach is immense, far exceeding
the reasonable expectation for a nation of just over 2.7 million people.

For a nation that gained independence from the British only 50 years
ago, Jamaicans have left their mark on music, sport, style and language
around the globe and have become an international marker of ‘cool’.
Jamaican music has colonised the new and old world alike, its athletes
break world records with impunity and youngsters the world over are
incorporating Jamaican slang into their dialects. Despite this the
country has reaped no economic reward in return, unlike empires of old,
and Jamaica still remains an economic pygmy. Jamaican influence has
unconsciously spawned creative innovation around the globe and to this
day it remains a country to be studied, celebrated, and demystified.
Through the help of linguists, artists, musicians, and historians we
take a closer look as to how Jamaican culture conquered the world.

So far my contribution to How Jamaica Conquered the World is limited to Chapter 7: The story of Dub music.  Roifield tells me he had never heard of Easy Star All-Stars until I twigged him to them.  If you are only learning of Easy Star All-Stars, here’s something to dance to while I tell you a bit about ESA-S.

But before I do, let me tell you about my love for Pink Floyd’s original “Dark Side of the Moon”, which I heard on the original vinyl, off the earliest pressings, when the LP was new.  Since then I have listened to that record thousands of times, under just about every illegal drug known to man.  I was one of those people who, early on, heard that one could sync up Dark Side with The Wizard of Oz (@Aunty__Em!!!  @Aunty__Em!!! ) and it was a whole new experience.  Every note of that record is imprinted on every neuron I have left.  It’s one of the greatest LPs ever released.  Yet, Easy Star All-Star’s Dub Side of the Moon kicks its ass.  I’d rather listen to it than the Pink Floyd version that now sounds to these ears tepid and too nuanced. 

Easy Star do something very brave in my opinion: They take iconic record albums and Dub them up.Starting with the above, ESAS’ next release was called Radiodread a recreation of Radiohead’s OK Computer.  AMAZING!  Then…and then…and then…They took one of the most iconic record albums of the Rock and Roll era and turned it into Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band.  It is absolutely incredible.  Easy Star is a collective of musicians who also do a lot more than their cover albums.For me their most recent hit was turning over Dub Side to be remixed by the likes of Mad Professor, Dubmatix, Groove Corporation, The Alchemist and Adrian Sherwood.  Dubber Side of the Moon is far more psychedelic and spacey than anything they’ve released so far. 

Roifield tells me I will also pop up in the Bob Marley episode.  I sure hope it’s my “meeting Bob Marley” story because it’s a good one.  If not, I’ll tell it here after the podcast is posted.  Hell, maybe I’ll tell it here even if it’s in the podcast. It’s a great story.

Thanks Roifield.  You are doing a great job.