The Upsetters - Super Ape (1976)

I haven't been able to listen to "regular" reggae (or "roots" reggae if you're a technical nerd like me) at length for some years now, it's become somewhat rote and boring a bit- there isn't a whole lot of deviation from the norm and there haven't been any huge new strides there since... let's just say there haven't been any leaps taken during my lifetime- I can only listen to so much Bob Marley, Toots and Jimmy Cliff before I want to stab my ears out.

Jamaican artists knew this anyway; hence the birth of DJ toasting, dancehall (and later ragga), and my favorite bastard son of reggae- "dub" to liven up things. Enter one Lee "Scratch" Perry to the mix, maybe not the originator (there's been some debate to who actually got things started- I'm going to go with the story that in 1968 sound system operator Ruddy Redwood went to cut a dub plate at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle studios for a party that night, and engineer Byron Smith left out the vocals on the record, resulting in the first or accidental dub record being made. The people went crazy for it, and the next day he and King Tubby had to create a "version" of a song by Slim Smith, tweaking the track just enough to create "dub" as we know it).

Anyway, back to Lee- he did more for the cause than anyone else, did more to change reggae in general; by having his own studio he was able to exert more influence and control over the recordings, and by adding more presence to the bass guitar in the mix he ushered in (simultaneously) the golden age of roots reggae and dub- just listen to the leap in styles from Marley's Natty Dread record and Rastaman Vibration, or perhaps the best way to trace this arc is by listening to either his Songs of Freedom box set (the jump from disc 2 to disc 3) or the all-encompassing 4-disc compilation Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music, which starts with a proto-rocksteady track from The Folkes Brothers (Oh Carolina, 1958) and runs up to dancehall (another version of Oh Carolina from Shaggy, 1993).

Enough of the history essay, here's Perry and his Upsetters 1976 dub landmark record Super Ape, probably the definitive statement of the genre (unless you'd like me to post the three-disc Trojan Dub box set...)

The Upsetters - Super Ape (1976; Island Records)

PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

If this isn't Polly Jean Harvey's best album, it's her most vitriolic; almost every song has a different version of her idea of love and hate- there's songs about vengeance, anger, sex, insanity, betrayal, angst and possibly some BDSM. Her nastiness is only intensified by Steve Albini's production (or lack there-of) which leaves the entire album sounding raw and cut open, which was probably the point. It's noisy, punky, blues-influenced, jagged, muscular; all the things Albini loves to make sound more than they are- here he mostly leaves it alone, trusting Harvey and her bandmates Rob Ellis and Steve Vaughan.

I don't know if PJ's the ultimate man-hater, I'm just glad it ain't me she's singing about...

PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993; Island Records)

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)

This is another record I point folks to when they make the ridiculous claim that the '80s sucked as far as music is concerned. 

For every Toto, there's a band like The Replacements. 

For all the Foreigners, there's the Minutemens. 

For every Bryan Adams, there's a Tom Waits...

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985; Island Records)

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973)

This album marks the start of a three album run that defines the very sound, no- the attitude of Robert Fripp's King Crimson. The albums aren't necessarily related in any way (it's not a thematic trilogy per se) but 1973's Larks' Tongues In Aspic kicked off the most adventurous period of this band outside of their 1969 debut In The Court Of The Crimson King.

This is exactly what I think of when I think of '70s prog rock; the over-the-top production, the start-stop drumming, the strange and hard to name instruments (gamelan and mbira, courtesy of percussionist Jamie Muir), the odd time signatures (drummer Bill Bruford quit Yes to join Fripp and his jazzier explorations), the classical flourishes (this album has a lot of viola, violin and flute on it from David Cross) and deep, satisfying bass work from John Wetton.

The main focal point of this record is the title track(s), split into two parts that bookend the album. There are some parts to this record that are insanely heavy and there are others that are ridiculously light and airy. Running throughout the whole thing is a jazz-fusion feel, creating a cohesive quality to the entire work.

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973; Island Records)

Pulp - This Is Hardcore (1998)

The more I listen to Jarvis Cocker's solo work, the more I realize the man is a genius. I've always sided with Morrissey on such matters (I know there's a faux "running feud" between these two men in the British press) but I'm starting to think that Mr. Cocker is almost up to snuff with His Mopeyness. Where Moz insulates himself prior to being hurt and against any and all human interaction; Cocker's lyrics are the words of a man that at one time had been a joyous and free soul but in order to protect himself from the calamities of life, has started to retreat away from such comforts. Or, I may just hear the two all wrong and I'm projecting my shit on to them.

Anyway, Cocker's old band, Pulp, was the springboard for his witty lyricism and black English humor, delivered either with a dry affectation or with that over-the-top theatrics that opera divas have. This album is a chronicle of Cocker's descent; grappling with a serious cocaine addiction as well as the dissolution of a long-time relationship, the album has a darker tone than any of the previous five. Cocker assumes the role of a lecherous douchebag in a few of the songs, suffering from the fallout of trying to keeps himself on the cover of the British tabloids.

So, if things like porn (or this album cover), drugs and fame are bothersome to you, don't download this record... 

Pulp - This Is Hardcore (1998; Island Records)

Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (1969)

My favorite Fairport Convention record. This was the second of three albums released in 1969 (today's bands aren't even as good on one record every three years), and this line-up was the best they assembled. Sandy Denny is a goddess, vocally. And Richard Thompson- everything this man touches is golden. Add Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol and Martin Lamble; pure Brit-folk rock excellence. This is considered a "transitional" album, being the middle point between the straight ahead folk rock on What We Did On Our Holidays and the more-or-less traditional British folk with Liege & Lief all completed in the scope of less than 12 months.

It's up there with Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, John Martyn, The Pentangle, Steeleye Span and Richard & Linda Thompson's records. Masterpiece...

Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (1969; Island Records)