From: jimh@pongo.Eng.Sun.COM (jim hori)
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Re: Ray Shea Goes Ballistic (was Re: Top 10 bands of all time)
Date: 23 Nov 1992 18:37:32 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Distribution: world, rec, usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: pongo

In article <4234@unisql.UUCP> ray@unisql.UUCP (Ray Shea) writes:
>Knowledgeable man on the street Jim Hori posts a list of favorites, like so:
>>1) The Hippy Boys
>>2) The Soul Vendors
>>3) The Skatalites
>>4) The Roots Radics
>>5) The Upsetters
>>6) Tommy McCook and the Supersonics
>>7) The High Times Band
>>8) The Soul Syndicate
>>9) The Revolutionaires (sic)
>>10) The Soul Defenders
>>
>>Honorable mention: the Robotiks, Steely and Clevie
>and I prod him for more information, thusly:
>Hey Jim, how 'bout some more information?  I know the Skatalites and 
>Roots Radics, am vaguely familiar with the Upsetters.  What product
>must I beg, borrow, or steal to sample heartily the output of these
>other innovators?
>

As is typical of things Jamaican, the list above while seemingly
simple hides a convoluted reality. For instance, the Hippy Boys
and Upsetters are theoretically the same band, but does anyone
know definitively? The common thread between the two, and the
band the Upsetters mutated into, the Wailers, are the Barrett
brothers on bass and drums. Aside from Glen Adams on organ the
names of the other Hippy Boys/Upsetters seem to vary. Anyway,
the Upsetters instrumentals can be heard on Lee Perry material
from the late 60s/early 70s; there are two compilations on UK Pama
that are murderous, featuring that chugging, atmospheric sound of
JA music in that period.

The Hippy Boys stuff is less available. I've only seen a couple
things on the recent UK Trojan comps called "From The Vaults".
As with those bands, the lineups of the Skatalites, Soul Vendors,
and Tommy McCook and the Supersonics include a lot of duplications.
The first two were the rhythm sections during different phases of
the Studio One sound in the 60s. The Supersonics were a lot of the
same guys but recorded at Treasure Isle Records. The Heartbeat
label has been putting out tons of reissues from both these
labels. The recent 2 CD set of Treasure Isle stuff is essential
and includes some killer instrumentals. There is also a strong
set of Studio One label instrumentals that features a lot of the
original versions of rhythm grooves that have been borrowed by
every successive generation of JA musicians, up to the present.
The Soul Defenders were a rhythm section that succeeded the Soul
Vendors at Studio One, and they too have a comp on Heartbeat.

The High Times band and the Soul Syndicate were both formed by
ace JA guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith. The Syndicate were active 
in the mid 70s, and the High Times band formed in the early
80s, after Syndicate members Tony Chin and George "Fully"
Fullwood moved to Southern California. The High Times players
can be heard to full effect on the early Mutabaruka albums.

The Revolutionaires were the rhythm section at Channel One
Records, and backed up all the vocalists and toasters who
recorded at the Channel One studios, and also put a number
of instrumentals like "MPLA". Once again, there is a Heartbeart
comp of Channel One stuff, not the best stuff, but it is ok.
Most of the Revolutionaires sessions included the drum/bass
combo of Sly and Robbie, and it was from that base that they
formed Taxi Records, responsible for some of the best reggae
of the early 80s.

....
jimh@west.sun.com