Howling At The Moon - The Punk Panther's Album Reviews

A fine follow up to Glam Greats , here we have 20 more stomping, drum-pounding, singalong, often rock 'n' roll retro-ing glam classics.  What's on the menu, Panther? Well, from Slade we get  a sort of pre-glam single from 1971 in  the quirky, violin-backed and vaguely folky first big hit of Coz I Luv You and   also what was possibly their last true glam hit in the rousing, raucous anthem  Skweeze Me Pleeze Me , from the summer of 1974.  From rivals T. Rex comes the typically-Bolan riffage of the lyrically-perplexing and wall-of-sound attack of  Metal Guru and the "hey hey hey"  fist-pumping, glam fun of Solid Gold Easy Action . Are The Sweet here? They sure are, with two killers as well - the marvellous let 'em 'ave it teen anthem Teenage Rampage and the equally infectious, irresistible Ballroom Blitz . Contained in these two is the very essence of glam. Bottle it and sell it to people like me.  From Wizzard, just as on the previous compilation, we get o

  This is a recommended album from Dekker , released in 1970, but largely containing material from the late sixties.   A bit of background.... Desmond Dacres grew up in the church tradition of singing and, in 1961 auditioned at Studio One, as did so many reggae singers. He was initially rejected, however. Not deterred, though, he began singing ska, proceeding in the mid-sixties via rocksteady to being one of the main lights of the "skinhead reggae" boom of the late sixties/early seventies.   Even then, his ska-developed instincts for a catchy tune prevailed, and many of those songs from the 1968-72 period became his biggest hits. We are talking, of course, in the first case, about the iconic  Israelites , with its memorable vocal intro of  "get up in the morning - slavin' for breads, sir.." . What a song it was. Indeed it was the first song that got me into reggae when I first heard it as an eleven year-old. I loved it and have done ever since. It began a lifelo

  In contrast to Intensified , this release showcases Dekker's orchestrated poppy early seventies sound, including the strings that were used so much in the 1970-1972 pop reggae era. It includes the wonderful You Can Get It If You Really Want , the catchy Pickney Gal, Peace Of Mind and You Got Soul . The plea for racial harmony of Polka Dot is a nice one too.  This album is the more instantly appealing and has a slightly smoother sound quality to it, possibly due to those typical of the era strings. The previous album has some more dated material on it too. 

The Gladiators,  were, along with  The Mighty Diamonds  and  The Wailing Souls , one of those roots reggae groups from the mid seventies that combined a devotional  Rasta consciousness  with some melodic, mid-pace reggae  “riddims” .  Their brand of roots was, on the whole, upbeat, gently singalong and while having a full bass line, was certainly not in the realms of heavy dub.  There was something pleasant and eminently accessible about their sound. Let's join those soul rebels.... Their best albums came  from 1976-1978,  and were their debut   Trenchtown Mix Up   from 1976   and   Proverbial Reggae   from 1978.   Bellyfull  and  Mix Up  are classic examples of the sound to be found on these offerings. The sound quality on both albums is excellent, crystal clear on the trebly percussion and rich and warm on the ubiquitous bass lines.  A favourite of mine is the subtly melodious  Looks Is   Deceiving  - a delicious slice of lilting reggae, rumbling guitars and some  “stream of Rast

More classic, harmonious and immaculately played roots reggae here from The Gladiators. Also present on instrumental duties augmenting the threesome were the legendary riddim-meisters The Revolutionaries and those guys could play. The Gladiators were Albert Griffiths, lead guitar and vocals, Clinton Fearon, bass and vocals and Gallimore Sutherland, rhythm guitar and vocals.  Dreadlocks the time is now.... Some true roots classics can be found on here with the excellent and catchy  Dreadlocks The Time Is Now , the absolutely lush, bassy beauty of  Jah Works , the devout  Marvel Not  and the much-covered and/or sampled and extremely groovy  Stick A Bush .   The Best Things In Life  is great too, as is the tuneful  Fly Away .  They even get fun and light-hearted on the lively  Music Makers From Jamaica . Look, it's all good, let's be honest. Melodic roots reggae at its finest. The Gladiators really had the knack of producing an appealing, hooky sound.  I love this album, I can'

More brassy, melodic roots-like fare from The Gladiators here, their first album from 1979 and their fourth overall. The sound is again full of those ever-so-slightly distant brass interjections, lilting guitar and harmonious vocals. Once more the album is blessed with superb stereo sound quality that doesn't distort or shake your speakers. The material is what you would expect by now - brassy, warm, righteous and harmoniously-delivered roots reggae. Very integral to the overall roots sound of 1978-1979.  Count your blessings, it's time for an exodus.... Highlights are Naturality , Struggle and Write To Me . It was not surprising that these were the three chosen for the compilation Dreadlocks The Time Is Now .  There is a bit more of a thumping, chunky sound to some of the material on here, including a credible, throbbing cover of Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus and the pounding but highly rhythmic sounds contained in all of  Counting My Blessing, Greatest Love  and

  Another Gladiators album that comes highly recommended by me. In terms of a detailed review, I would be repeating myself from the first three albums of theirs that I have covered, however, and I'm sure you don't want that. Just take my word that it is crucial roots quality. Fancy some back yard meditation.... Highlights are the delicious Sweet So Till, along with the poppy  A Day We Go, the righteous Let Jah Be Praised, the attractive Back Yard Meditation and Holiday Ride .  It goes without saying that Rasta concerns are still high in the group's lyrical priorities. Introduced instrumentally at this point in the group's were those very early eighties "boing boing" electronic percussion sounds. On a track like Sweet So Till , the group have become softer in their delivery, rather like Aswad did at the same time. The eighties were coming and poppy reggae was seen as a more accessible alternative to roots. There is also a bluesy, melodic harmonica on Sweet

  Jacob Miller's first notable success came as a rootsman, with 1975's excellent Who Say Jah No Dread album. However, he soon found that, after joining up with rhythm section Inner Circle, he was playing the "resort circuit" of Jamaica's North coast, playing poppy reggae-lite in hotels for tourists after a reggae experience. That said, though, Inner Circle proved themselves to be as heavy a backing outfit as anybody and Miller's late seventies recordings saw him expressing righteous, Rasta, conscious concerns over a strong but accessible beat. It was quite an infectious mix. He offered "Rasta with rhythm"  and "danceable dread" like Cornell Campbell, Sugar Minott and Israel Vibration also did, amongst others. For every heavy manners Prince Far I or U-Roy there was a Gladiators or a Jacob Miller to provide a lighter approach to roots, something that shouldn't be overlooked. Off to the tenement yard, then.... We begin with Miller showc

Aswad were initially a roots reggae outfit, something exemplified by their 1976 eponymous debut album and 1979's Hulet . They became better, known, however, in the eighties when they delivered a far more commercial, synth-driven sound that incorporated pop and soul sensibilities. They were classic purveyors of catchy, wine-bar reggae-lite, and achieved considerable chart success as a result.  This compilation is a mixture of the two styles but nearly all the material, apart from three tracks from Hulet , comes from the eighties. Even then I am surprised there is nothing included from 1981's A New Chapter album. Details are shown regarding each track's source on the rear cover at the bottom of the review.   Time to give a little love, I think.... We start with the big hit single, the instantly recognisable  Don't Turn Around - an Albert Hammond song also covered by Ace Of Base and Tina Turner - and a similarly synthy number in the single's 'b' side,  Woman ,

There are certainly some fine collections in this series from the legendary Jamaican Trojan label but this is arguably the best, functioning as a sort of compressed, bite-size history of reggae itself. It also has remastered its many classic cuts outstandingly well.  Let's look at what's on offer - Disc One The collection kicks off by including an original ska number in Byron Lee & The Dragonaires' joyful  Jamaica Ska . Ska was where it all began, of course, before the rock steady rude boys came along.... Desmond Dekker & The Aces' 007 (Shanty Town)  is  Rude Boy Heaven. The song became a hit in the UK. Its James Bond/007 message is unclear, he is only mentioned in one line, but the rest of the song would seem to be another anti-Rude Boy condemnation. "Rude Boy him a weep and a-wail" . Continuing the rude boy theme, Dandy recorded the original of A Message To You Rudy , memorably covered by The Specials. Rico Rodriguez, who played on The Specials'

The tracks on this appetiser of a compilation from Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) are all taken from the most fertile 1975-1978 period for his righteous, fervent and often militant brand of roots reggae. He does, however, have the capacity to diversify slightly, and his 1977-78 material displays a lighter touch. Spear also knew the virtues of a bucolic existence and this is reflected in some of the songs on show here.  So, let's hike up into those green, Jamaican hills... . Door Peep , released as Spear's first, unsuccessful single, actually dated from back in 1969, when Winston Rodney, after a surprise meeting with Bob Marley while out waking in the fields, decided to go to Studio One to promote his work. It has a bit of a U-Roy roots feel about it, albeit with sweeter vocals.  Slavery Days is an iconic roots song with clear references - “Do you remember the days of slavery?” . It was also successfully covered by Third World in the following year. Lion is a fine roots cut fr

This is a compilation LP I remember buying way back in 1975. It is a pretty comprehensive collection of Dunfermline's finest hard rockers' classic years from 1973-75. Let's get a wee dram of whisky down us and get rockin'..... The sound is truly outstanding, pumping out the bass into your living room, as that glorious intro to Razamanaz pounds out of your speakers and Dan McCafferty howls " we got to get it togetherrr" you feel like dashing to your drinks cabinet to get the "Famous Grouse" out to give him a wee livener. Dan is much-missed, by the way. Holy Roller was a 1975 non-album single about revivalist preachers. It is melodic, catchy and rocking in an understated mid-pace way. The hit single from the 1974 Rampant album was the Stonesy  Shanghai'd In Shanghai and a veritable corker it is too. Perfect pop rock. It came  complete with mid-song  Satisfaction  riff and preceding lyrical tribute to The Stones -  "Mister we got a gig in

Now - what Elvis phases float my boat? Rockin' Elvis and seventies white-suited Elvis, that's what. I have no time for those early sixties syrupy, slow ballads, I'm afraid. It is the presence in his canon of stuff like that which leaves Elvis below Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and even Larry Williams as a rock 'n' roller, for me. It will be no surprise, with that in mind, then, when I list my favourites from this collection  - Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, Too Much, All Shook Up, the magnificent Jailhouse Rock, Hard Headed Woman, A Big Hunk O' Love, Can't Help Falling In Love (a ballad, I know!), the soulful, moving  In The Ghetto, the hammy but appealing Suspicious Minds, the sensual rock of Burning Love and the last big one,  Way Down . It is the early sixties Are You Lonesome Tonight?/Wooden Heart US Army demob period that doesn't really do it for me. For me, the essential Elvis is when he rocked at the beginning, when he wore a lea

Funnily enough, I find I have arguably more favourites on this, Elvis's compilation of songs that reached number two in the charts, than on the number ones collection! What do we have here, then? A bluesy, rockin killer in Elvis's cover of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's That's All Right to kick things off with, followed by some more highly credible rockers in Blue Suede Shoes , Mean Woman Blues, Trouble and A Mess Of Blues . If you, like me, like the essential, bluesy side of Elvis then these are for you.  One of my all-time Elvis favourites is the irrepressible  King Creole and Wear My Ring Around Your Neck is a good one too, as is Little Sister . More rockin' and less Wooden Heart -style stuff is to my taste. Ironically, though, I still can't help but love the cheesy fun of  Bossa Nova Baby and Viva Les Vegas !  As we move into the late sixties/early seventies, a period I have always liked of his, we get a superb ballad in If I Can Dream , a wonderfu

What do you normally associate with reggae recordings from the roots period in particular (and before)? What they call "snap, crackle and pop",  that's what - the scratchy sound of a needle hitting a groove, accompanying hiss and an often muffled mono sound to boot. Not on all of them, of course, but certainly a fair amount. Well, if you have, like me, wanted to hear seventies roots material in perfect, clear but still trademark bassy, sublime stereo sound then you have finally got your wish. This excellent five disc box set from the seventies glory years of roots reggae from Virgin Records is an absolute aural delight - the finest collection of roots material from this period that I have ever heard. It really gives a new life to these records. It is truly revelatory - the bass, the guitars, the drums, the brass, the stereo. It's God-given (or should I say Jah -given?). The standard is set right from the outset with The Mighty Diamonds' Right Time,  U-Roy's Na

This was the first reggae album I bought, in 1972. I loved it. It has been overtaken now by many, many more larger, more comprehensive collections, but this holds such great memories for me. It was, you see, the album that helped develop a deep love of reggae that has remained in my soul ever since.  What is the style of reggae on here? Skinhead reggae, that's what. Stomping but poppy tunes that UK skins loved so much, perplexingly. The use of strings that so characterised much of the "sweetened" reggae that hit the UK charts in 1971-72 is absent from all but one of these recordings. They are more authentically Jamaican in style. This is the real thing. So, let's get our cherry red boots on and start stomping! We kick off with The Fabulous Flames' melodious cover of Neil Diamond's Holly Holy . Reggae bands seemed to like covering Neil, it seemed, even right up to UB40 hitting the number one slot in the UK in 1983 with their cover of Tony Tribe's Red Red Wi