The Twinkle Brothers - Countrymen

The Twinkle Brothers - Countrymen
Virgin Frontline CD CDFL29



Despite having a name sounding like children's entertainers or a cheesy cabaret act, the Twinkle Brothers (led by brothers Norman and Ralston Grant) are in fact one of the heaviest and most principled roots bands of the 70s right up to the present day. Similarly, despite the tourist brochure looking artwork of their 1979 "Countrymen" album, it is a lyrically wide-ranging, yet totally musically uncompromised, album of bass-heavy steppers sure to please any fan of late 70s roots.

"I Don't Want To Be Lonely Any More" sets the scene with its heavy, intense intro and deep bass riddim. The lovers lyric is delivered by Norman with a passionate intensity rarely seen in reggae, reminiscent of 60s US soul singers, but entirely Jamaican. The foreboding horn riff and heavy drumbeats make this a riddim that would be perfectly suited for an apocalyptic roots lyric.

"Patoo", while lyrically somewhat cryptic, rides a similarly insistent riddim, with prominent syndrums and bird call effects, and the trademark Twinkle bass sound that gives the tune a feeling of floating in deep space. While nice enough in itself, however, it effectively serves as an intro for the undisputed sound system killer that is "Never Get Burn", a deadly steppers anthem which opens with a thunderous rewind sound effect. This tune is simply epic - a Biblically inspired anthem proclaiming transcendence of death with testimonies of the Old Testament prophets surviving captivity in Babylon. "Jah protect I and I bassline!"

"Free Us" is equally transcendent and anthemic, with a majestic, soaring horn line courtesy of the great Dave Madden, and lyrics of deep eco/theological mysticism. "Set us free from the garbage of decay to enjoy the liberty of today". Ralston, his voice more fragile than his bother's, takes lead vocal here, delivering a particularly moving, ethereal performance. The dub, with its deep, swirling echo and emphasis on the horns, extends the mystical journey still further into an intensely gnostic soundscape, with percussion, guitar and keyboards fracturing and reflecting off one another until the bass overwhelms them. A truly heavy musical experience.

"Jah Kingdom Come" is more minimal, with Norman back on militant, righteous form, chanting judgement on false preachers and deceitful politicians, and a fairly minimal, almost Nyabinghi style backing, leavened by judicious application of horns and keyboards, but clearly showing the Brothers' uncompromising Rasta worldview and refusal to deal with "politricks".

"Since I Threw The Comb Away" is a passionate testimony of the social rejection of Rastas by everyone from parents to employers. The riddim is as intense and charged with fiery energy as the vocals, making this another classic, rousing steppers anthem, fuelled by the same deep faith in the face of adversity as "Never Get Burn". "Go away with your victimisation, your discrimination!"

"One Head" warns piously against intoxicants, in particular alcohol, a common if somewhat strange theme among particularly religious devotees of Rastafari. The springy, slightly Lee Perry-ish sounding keyboards and clattering percussion interweave nicely for a mellow vibe despite the rather stern message. The strangely titled "Bite Me" is actually a rather moving, bittersweet love song, with particularly nice harmonies and plaintive guitar work, perhaps harking back to the group's origins in the rocksteady era. Another mellow tune, evoking the rural vibe alluded to in the title.

The album closes, arguably too soon, with another heavy roots tune, the apocalyptic "Babylon Falling", on which Norman sounds almost tortured in his proclamation of the coming fall of urban civilisation. "I and I sit upon the mountaintop and watch how Babylon falling"; a deeply prescient vision of economic and ecological disaster which rural, agricultural communities will survive, but which will leave cities as wastelands - a message which, albeit somewhat hidden under theological metaphor, is there in the whole album for those who have ears to hear it, explaining the significance of its title.

Like all Virgin Frontline reissues, this comes exactly as it did on the original LP. It would have been nice to have a few bonus tracks in the form of more dubs or (particularly) DJ versions (which definitely exist of several tracks here). However, the sound quality is excellent, and this is still a very strong album of hard yet soulful roots - one of the relatively few reggae LPs which are solid from beginning to end. May it never get burn, nor get eaten by no worm.

Various - Champion Sound

Various Artists
Champion Sound (Virgin France, 2001)

This Virgin CD has to be one of the odder reggae compilations out there: all the tunes on it are authentic rather than cheesy reggae-pop, yet it seems to have no coherent focus at all in terms of era, lyrical content or production style, ranging from roots and lovers to dancehall and hip-hop/reggae hybrids and from 1969 to 2000...

It opens with Buju Banton's semi-acoustic "Untold Stories", which would probably be a better choice as a closing track. Buju's gruff vocal possibly sits somewhat at odds with the folky guitar vibe and hard-hitting yet elegiac lyric of ghetto life, but the tune is an undisputed classic (despite disappointing many people who picked up his "Til Shiloh" album expecting more of the same, and got a mostly mediocre dancehall album, admittedly with a couple of dancehall classics, but with nothing else remotely resembling this track).

Johnny Clarke's "Come Back To Me" is a 1983 Ariwa tune, and typical of that label with its lovers lyric combined with a hard, dubby UK riddim. It segues nicely into Barrington Levy's very heavy Linval Thompson produced "Poor Man Style" from the same year, with its heavy piano riff and anthemic poverty lyric delivered in Barrington's unmistakeable voice. "No matter what they say, we've got to make it..." Deep bass and nice Scientist style echo make this tune essential for any connoisseur of early 80s dancehall roots.

KC White's "No No No", another tune with a heavy piano riff (something of a theme on this set, in fact about the only discernible theme) is a rootsy Gussie Clarke produced version of Dawn Penn's Studio One(?) classic, in typical 70s rockers style.

U-Roy's "I Got To Tell You Goodbye" is a good example of his late 70s DJ style, with him joyfully chatting and scatting his way over a dub-enhanced version of a previously-mellow lovers tune, reverb and snatches of vocal winding their way through his toasting in typically satisfying style. His Tappa Zukie produced combination tune with Beres Hammond, "Putting Up A Resistance" (supposedly from 1994 but sounding much older), is similar, with Hugh easily overshadowing Beres's impassioned but melodically weak vocal.

Capleton's "Danger Zone" is a nice 2000 style piece of menacing dancehall roots, the Prophet managing in typical style to make a gruff, unmelodic singjay style into something righteously and almost transcendently charged with emotion, over a robotic-feeling update of the riddim of Welton Irie's "Working Class". Sizzla continues the vibe with "Whether Or Not", a more melodic yet equally spiritually charged singjay tune on a powerful, meditative Xterminator riddim. Both tunes are essential examples of the Bobo Dread vibe when it was still righteous and untainted by accusations of slackness and misogyny.

Whitey Don's "Murderer" is from an era of reggae (the early 90s) that i know very little about, but it would fit in easily with early 80s selections, with a righteous lyric condemning crack dealers as "vampires sucking the blood of the sufferers", a nice Steely & Clevie riddim with spooky piano and brooding trombone, and Whitey's vocal style reminiscent of both Eek-A-Mouse and Barrington Levy, only a slight hip hop influence making it feel somewhat newer.

It's followed by a much more obviously hip hop influenced track, Royal Fam feat. Mighty Jarrett's "Acid", with its brooding beat and almost G-Funk style string sample. It's credited as having come out in 2000 on Wu Tang's label, and Brooklyn gets a mention, so perhaps it's a JA/US collaboration.

The next 3 tracks are all covers of soul/funk tunes dating from 1974: Ken Boothe's "Is It Because I'm Black" is a dark, menacing and passionately charged version of ?'s classic, aided by a fiery yet majestic horn arrangement and a sizzling (unfortunately uncredited) trumpet solo. Bunny Rugs's "Be Thankful" is apparently a pre-Black Ark Lee Perry production, though having relatively few of his eccentric signature touches: it's a relatively straight re-tread of the original, with a nice head-nodding funk vibe. In contrast, Al Brown (and Skin Flesh & Bones)'s "Here I Am Baby" is a much more radical reinvention, with a wild, propulsive speeded-up version of the Al Green tune with added horn and drunken organ riffs rendering it a dancefloor killer.

Peter Tosh's "You Can't Fool Me Again" (with its bizarre subtitle "Straight To Rag-Jah-Rabbit Head") is the earliest tune included, from 1969; its vocal verses interrupted with rewinds and portions of piano instrumental add an offbeat charm to its (typically Tosh) forcefully militant anti-Church lyric.

Sugar Minott's "Crazy Soundboy", while undated, sounds early 80s, with a typical soundboy battle lyric and joyful horn riffs over a riddim cheekily adapted from a Bing Crosby children's song about an ant (only in reggae does this kind of thing work...), a very nice addition to reggae's canon of playful adaptations. Continuing the vibe is Yami Bolo's magnificent "When A Man's In Love", one of the greatest cuts to Winston Riley's classic Stalag riddim, and one of Yami's first recordings (from 1985, when he was only 15), his infectious scat vocal clearly a massive inspiration for 90s jungle tunes and the raw excitement in his voice making the sound reminiscent of a rammed live dancehall session. Definitely one of the highlights of the compilation.

Garnett Silk's "Complaint" is another wicked 90s tune, with an otherwise unprepossessing abstract digital beat transformed by his soaring and impassioned vocal, rendering the whole greater than the sum of its parts. This solo Garnett version is IMO superior to the Buju/Garnett duet version to be found on Buju's "Til Shiloh" album.

The remaining 3 tunes are all straight dancehall, in contrast to the various esoteric and rootsy vibes previously displayed. Wayne Wonder's "Keep Them Coming" nicely showcases his voice, but doesn't say much lyrically, while Mr Easy's "Everyday" is a nice uptempo weed tune with an almost techno-influenced riddim, but the pick of the 3 is probably Sean Paul & Mr Vegas's "Hot Gal Today", a wickedly humorous, if arguably somewhat sexist, duet with a semi-operatic scat chorus, militant percussion and electro-style synth riff on a riddim possibly loosely based on "Revolution", but heavy whatever its provenance.

If this review seems fragmented, it's because the compilation is; its randomness is perplexing and there appears to be no rhyme or reason to its track selection. However, it contains enough classic cuts, albeit from widely different vibes and eras, to be well worth purchasing, if only for its tracks to be ripped and re-compiled in more appropriate contexts...