Dread Meets Punk Rockers Uptown

RELEASE
January 08, 2002
LABEL
Heavenly
GENRES
Reggae, Dub, Roots Reggae

Album Review

Don Letts used to spin the chill soundtrack at London's Roxy Club during punk's 1976-1977 heyday. Helping the likes of the Clash, Siouxsie Sioux, and the Sex Pistols wind down from a gig, Letts tapped his vast reggae collection for a mix of classic roots reggae from the early and mid-'70s. Now the magic is canned for all to hear, with cuts featuring such Jamaican stars as Junior Byles, U-Roy, the Mighty Diamonds, Horace Andy, and Lee Perry. Many of them English favorites; the disc's 16 tracks also include a few dread dub sides from King Tubby and a classic from rockers Svengali Augustus Pablo ("King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown"). A fine way to eavesdrop on what Joe Strummer probably heard while taking in the London punk club scene.
Stephen Cook, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Bag a Wire Dub
  2. Marcus Garvey
  3. Fade Away
  4. M.P.L.A. [Dub]
  5. Black Harmony Killer
  6. Fisherman
  7. Wear You to the Ball
  8. Rush I Some [Dub]
  9. Pure Ranking [Discomix]
  10. I Need a Roof
  11. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
  12. Train to Zion [Discomix]
  13. Two Sevens Clash
  14. Deuteronomy
  15. Police and Thieves
  16. The Tackro