Smith & Mighty/Rockers Hi-Fi/More Rockers/Bristol

In response to the handful of More Rockers requests we received in the past week alone, I have to say their old material is impossible to find! I couldn't find anything really. So I apologize for that, but I did find some great mixes featuring lots of that Bristol Dub/Drum'n'Bass sound, including More Rockers acetates. So that should tide you over until something more substantial comes along...

A bit about Smith & Mighty:
The story of SMITH & MIGHTY is closely bound up with the musical history of Bristol, their hometown. For a good decade Rob Smith and Ray Mighty (joined nowadays by third member Peter D. Rose) have featured among sound pioneers like Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and Roni Size who have enjoyed worldwide success. However, despite their huge influence on the 'Sound of Bristol', whereas the aforementioned have been able to celebrate their well-deserved successes, SMITH & MIGHTY have always had to take a back seat due to a plethora of unfavourable circumstances. In spite of some excellent 12" releases and their totally cool debut album 'Bass Is Maternal', an international breakthrough was not foreseeable for the time being. This only changed in 1998, with their self-compiled release for the DJ Kicks series, which firmly put them back on the map and earned them much respect internationally. But let's start at the beginning:

In the mid-eighties a scene arose in the St. Paul's district, based around DJs like Nellee Hooper (later founder of Soul II Soul), Miles Johnson, Grant and Mushroom, who soon dubbed themselves the Wild Bunch, going on to father the 'Sound of Bristol' by blasting a bassy melt-in-your-mouth mix of fusion, dub, reggae, soul and hip hop out of their soundsystems on to the streets of St. Paul's. What was initially played through traditional soundsystems progressed into the production of their own tracks, and the 'Wild Bunch's first recording 'Look of Love' clinched them quite a local hit. Co-producing was a second Bristol team, namely Rob Smith & Ray Mighty, who had established their own soundsystem called '3 Stripe' In 1987 SMITH & MIGHTY released a cover version of Burt Bacharch's 'Anyone (Who Had A Heart)', shortly followed by 'Walk On By' on their label, also dubbed '3 Stripe'. With this brace of tracks and their mellow basslines, soulful vocals and deep arrangements SMITH & MIGHTY had set the precedent for successive releases in the British port. (Such as a certain Massive Attack's debut single 'Any Love', which they produced.)

They were also producers of 'Wishing On A Star' by Fresh Four (a one hit wonder featuring the then 17 year old DJ Krust) at the end of 1989, marking the beginning of a five year odyssey through the lowlands of the (major) music industry. After the huge success of 'Wishing On A Star', record companies began to take an interest in the boys from Bristol. They refused a lucrative offer from Virgin's Richard Branson, commenting 'We just don't like his style, and the way Margaret Thatcher portrayed him as the ideal business mogul. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that we used to be punks" (Ray Mighty). The deal signed with London Records proved to be disastrous. They still went ahead with producing Carlton's album, 'The Call Is Strong', exposing a real source of inspiration, but the record company couldn't handle their visionary downtempo beats when England was obsessed with fast house and techno beats. To this day the album is regarded as the 'great lost album of the Bristol Sound'. Further SMITH & MIGHTY productions were greeted with the same lack of recognition by the record company and mostly weren't even released.

After their deal with the major company had expired, the first album on their own label More Rockers was released in 1995 (a dub version of an LP originally recorded for London Records). Due to woeful distribution, this album only managed to make its way to hard core fans, yet rave reviews in the press consoled SMITH & MIGHTY. The next stage was to concentrate on the project and label More Rockers, run with third member Peter D. Rose. They started laying down tracks with groundbreaking breakbeat and Drum 'n' Bass again, which were picked up and reworked by producers like Roni Size and DJ Krust. Hence the arrival of 'Bristol Jump-Up'.

Hip hop, reggae, soul and mainly a great love of dub make the songs on the new album somewhat of one of the most exciting records to appear out of Bristol. The album was recorded over a period of two years, with vocals by the likes of Tammy Payne, Alice Perera and Rudy Lee, who all also hail from Bristol, and SMITH & MIGHTY's deeply-embedded roots in the city make the whole thing into rather a family affair.

Rockers Hi-Fi - Transmission Control (1998)


******************

Now for the mixes!

Smith & Mighty - Essential Mix 11 - 24 - 96 part 1
Quality: 85.93 MB | 192 kbps | 44100 Hz | Stereo | 62:34 min.

Massive Attack - Any Love (Massive Attack)
Smith & Mighty - Walk On (Three Stripe)
McKelz Smith & Mighty - Mix me Down Maestro (Three Stripe)
The General - The Time To Rhyme (FFRR)
Fresh 4 - Wishing On A Star (Ten)
Smith & Mighty - Anyone (Three Stripe)
Receiver - Irrational (Swarf Finger)
The Wild Bunch - The Look Of Love (4th & Broadway)
Smith & Mighty with McKelz & Tammy Payne - Seeds (White Label)
Wilks - A & R Man (White Label)
Dub Ghecko - Love To The Power Of Each (Dub Head)
Dub Ghecko - Love To The Power Of Each (Dub Head)
Smith & Mighty - Killa (FFRR)
Blue & Red/ Freddie - Blessed (Acetate Pressing)
Blue & Red - Unity (Acetate Pressing)
Blue & Red/ K.Oil - Don Anything (Acetate Pressing)
Tamlins - Baltimore Remix 2 (Acetate Pressing)
Tamlins - Baltimore Remix 3 (Acetate Pressing)
Smith & Mighty - Heavens In (Acetate Pressing)
Bally Sagoo - Ghuraliya (Columbia)
Virginity - Rainbows (More Rockers)
Flyn & Flora - New World (White Label)
Jazklash - Off The Edge (White Label)
Jazklash - BQE (White Label)
Smith & Mighty - Same (More Rockers)
Smith & Mighty - Higher (More Rockers)
More Rockers - Another Day (More Rockers)
More Rockers - Sound Boy (More Rockers)
More Rockers - Show Love (Acetate)

Download Part 1

Smith & Mighty - Essential Mix 11 - 24 - 96 part 2
Quality: 78.98 MB | 192 kbps | 44100 Hz | Stereo | 57:30 min.

More Rockers - 162 (Acetate)
More Rockers- Nightfall (More Rockers)
More Rockers - First Time (More Rockers)
More Rockers - Frush (Acetate)
More Rockers - Das Ya One (More Rockers)
More Rockers - 1 2 3 Break (More Rockers)
Silent Poets - Talk Is Toy (Acetate)
Jazklash - Than The Haze (Acetate)
More Rockers - Bibo (Acetate)
More Rockers - Cure (Acetate)
smith & mighty - Down In Rwanda (More Rockers)
Flyn & Flora - Bass Speaker (White Label)

Download Part 2


Rockers Hi-Fi: Live on Back To The Basics, 1997
BTTB-X-Series: Rockers Hi-Fi

Rockers Hi Fi - "Xmas-Intro" (Different Drummer)
Primal Scream - "Vanishing Dub" (Creation)
The Angel - "Strange Times" (Om Records)
Organic Synthetic - "Space Walkin'" (Funk 21)
Omni Trio - "Sanctuary (Original Mix)" (Moving Shadow 1997)
Coast - "Shield" (Pepper)
pHrack R - "Yardstick" (Fused & Bruised)
Shantel - "Hey Girl" (No Info)
George D. Geckeler, M.D. Coupling - "No Info" (Philips)
Rhythm & Sound - "Music A Fe Rule" (Rhythm & Sound 1997)
DJ Bigfoot - "Hello" (Covert)
Scuba - "No Info" (No Info)
DJ Wally & DJ Swingsett - "Hungry In The Abstract" (Ubiquity 1997)
Tekware - "Nostalgia" (Grand Larcency)

Download mix


Rob Smith - Live at Groovalistic 11/2002
No Tracklisting available - this mix starts off dubby/housey and then moves into Bristol-style Drum'n'Bass. Very good mix!

Download Part 1
Download Part 2

Mikey Dread - Beyond World War III

Mikey Dread - Beyond World War III
Record date: 1982
Label: Heartbeat
Album style: Dancehall, Dub, Lee Library, Rockers

Tacklist:
1. Break Down The Walls
2. Jah Jah Love (In The Morning)
3.The Jumping Master
4. Israel (12 Tribe) - Stylee (Extended Play)
5. Warrior Stylee (Extended Stereo Style)
6. Money Dread
7. Rockers Delight (Extended Play)
8. Mental Slavery (Extended Play)
9. World War III

Producer: Mikey Dread
Mixing Engineers: Bill Price, Mikey Dread, Scientist
Engineers: Mervyn Williams, Maxie
Backing Band: The Roots Radics
Studios: Channel One (Kingston, JA), King Tubby's (Kingston, JA), Aquarius (Kingston, JA), Wessex Sound (London, UK)

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Linval Thompson & Friends - Rockers From Channel One

Linval Thompson & Friends - Rockers From Channel One
Label: Trojan
Record date: 1978-80
Album style: Dancehall, Deejay, Dub, Lee Library, Rockers, Roots, Vocals

Tracklist:
1. Linval Thompson - Dreader Than Dread
2. Ranking Dread - Natty On The Rock
3. The Revolutionaries - Africa Love Dub
4. Linval Thompson - I Love Marijuana
5. Ranking Dread - Marijuana In My Soul
6. Big Joe - Smoke Marijuana
7. Linval Thompson - Africa Is For Blackman
8. Ranking Dread - Africa
9. Linval Thompson - I Love Jah
10. The Revolutionaries - Wicked Dub
11. Dawn & Christine - Holy Mount Zion
12. The Revolutionaries - Shockin' Rock
13. Linval Thompson - Never Push Your Brother
14. Trinity - Freedom Style
15. The Revolutionaries - Roots Man Dub
16. Linval Thompson - Love Is The Question
17. Big Joe - Love Can Conquer
18. Ranking Dread - Poor Man
19. Linval Thompson - Stop Loving
20. Trinity - Easy Does It
21. Linval Thompson - Lion & Tiger
22. The Revolutionaries - Seventy Nine Rock

Producer : Linval Thompson
Backing Band : The Revolutionaries
Recording Studio: Channel One (Kingston, JA)
Mixing Studio: King Tubby's (Kingston, JA)

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Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Deluxe Edition)

Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Deluxe Edition)
Label: Shanachie
Record date: 1972-75
Album style: Dub, Lee Library, Reggae, Rockers, Roots, Tubby
Notes: A true classic. Bonus tracks 13-16.

If you had to pick just one album to represent dub "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown" is the disc. The title really says it all: the collaboration between the premier engineer and the top roots producer of the mid-’70s resulted in definitive King Tubby interpretations of some of Pablo’s deepest rhythms. It also demonstrated conclusively that a studio engineer could be considered as creative as the singers, musicians and visionary producer who made the music. A dub is essentially a remix In the hands of an engineer as good as King Tubby (1941 – 1989) it became an artform, and an incredibly popular one.

For this ground-breaking disc, Pablo assembled a brilliant cast: the Upsetters/Wailers drum and bass duo of Aston "Family Man" Barrett and brother Carlton, guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith, horns-men Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall, Bobby Ellis, Vin Gordon and bassist Robbie Shakespeare. All sessions were recorded by the engineer Errol "ET" Thompson at Randy’s Studio on North Parade. Pablo then took the tapes to King Tubby for mixing. He initially released instrumental, deejay and vocal cuts as 7-inch 45s on his Hot Stuff, Rockers and Pablo International labels, between 1972 and 75, but as the vogue for dub albums exploded in 1976, Pablo compiled twelve of his b-side dubs to make this set.

The centrepiece of the album is "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown", a killer dub version of Jacob Miller’s vocal "Baby I Love You So" which almost single-handedly defined dub for a non-Jamaican audience when it was released as a single by Island Records (UK) in 1975; it also appeared on the company’s massive-selling "This Is Reggae Music" sampler.

Using his custom sliders, Tubby eases Miller’s voice in and out of the mix, adding stabs of guitar and melodica. Carlton Barrett’s explosive snare fills further serve to punctuate the elastic rhythm, which was first cut for producer Herman Chin Loy’s 1973 album Aquarius Dub. Similarly, "Frozen Dub" propelled the Heptones on a recut of their Studio One classic "Love Won’t Come Easy". Hopefully someone, some day, will undertake to present this crucial set in all its glory, with alternate mixes. ~elrockers.org

Tracklist:
1. Keep On Dubbing
2. Stop Them Jah
3. Young Generation Dub
4. Each One Dub
5. 555 Dub St.
6. Brace's Tower Dub
7. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
8. Brace's Tower Dub No. 2
9. Corner Crew Dub
10. Skanking Dub
11. Frozen Dub
12. Satta Dub
13. Black Gunn*
14. I Ruthland Close*
15. 1-2-3 Version*
16. Silent Satta*

Producer: Augustus Pablo
Mixing Engineer: King Tubby & Errol Thompson
Drums: Carlton Barrett
Bass: Robbie Shakespeare & Aston Barrett
Guitar: Chinna
Organ: Augustus Pablo
Piano: Augustus Pablo
Tenor Saxophone: Dirty Harry
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis
Trombone: Vin Gordon
Clavinet: Augustus Pablo
Mixing studio: King Tubby's (Kingston, JA)
Recording studio: Randy's (Kingston, JA)

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Augustus Pablo - Rockers Story

Augustus Pablo - Rockers Story
Label: RAS
Record date: 1974-87
Album style: Dub, Lee Library, Reggae, Rockers, Roots

Rockers Story is the fifth collection of Pablo's extended family of recordings and artists. Like many successful Jamaican Reggae stars, his talent, production skills and certainly finances have provided opportunities for a whole new generation of young singers and musicians. This record showcases some unknowns, lesser­-knowns and recently established stars in their own right. The late Hugh Mundell, who was bearly into his teens when he penned the chillingly prophetic (in terms of his own short stay on the planet) hymn is included herein.

DJ's who toast in a style closer to U Roy than to the dance hall trend of the 80's such as Dillenger, Ras Bull and the mysterious Prince lrey (sounding almost too much like Mundell) complement the singers Delroy Williams and Barry Reid. Tetrack, whose principal writer, Carlton Hines, has become one of the most prolific song writers in reggae today, began under Pablo's tutelage. Two of the trio's songs which do not appear on previous albums are included here. The Lennon/McCartney chestnut World Without Love is given the Rockers treatment here as well. It is very common for pop tunes to be redone with a reggae beat in Jamaica just as all aver the world. However this ditty bears the patented murky bass, slashing riddim guitar and crisp drumming that raises it out of the piano bar repertoire.

The Rockers label was named far Pablo's late brother Douglas Swaby's sound system which mashed up the island in the early 70's. It had became a training ground far musicians, a source of new and innovative rhythms and a vehicle for praises for the Most High. Together with his brother Garth, Pablo also kept a record store going an Orange Street in Kingston - Rockers International - and ran his own publishing company. ~elrockers.org

Tracklist:
1. Augustus Pablo - 555 Crown Street
2. Dillinger - Take It Easy
3. Ras Bull - Guide I Jah
4. The Rockers All Stars - Zambian Step
5. Delroy Williams - Think Twice
6. Tetrack - I'm Not Satisfied
7. Augustus Pablo - Power Of The Trinity
8. The Immortals - World Without Love
9. Prince Irey - Freedom Of Speech
10. Barry Reid - The System
11. Augustus Pablo - Struggle In Soweto
12. Tetrack - Pure Worries
13. Hugh Mundell - Africa Must Be Free

Producer: Augustus Pablo
Organ, Clavinet, Piano: Augustus Pablo
Bass: Aston "Family Man" Barrett
Drums: Carlton "Carlie" Barrett
Guitar: Earl "Chinna" Smith
Saxophone: Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis

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Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile (25th Anniversary Edition) (re-post)

Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile (25th Anniversary Edition)
Label: Shanachie
Record date: 1977
Album style: Dub, Instrumentals, Lee Library, Reggae, Rockers, Roots
Notes: This is a re-post (click to view PMX's excellent original write-up), except that this is actually the special 25th anniversary edition of East Of The River Nile which includes 6 rare bonus tracks, including the never-before-on-CD original version of the title track, dubs of key album tracks and two other rare singles.

East Of The River Nile... I consider this to be the perfect introduction to Augustus Pablo. I first heard this album in 1979 and had to keep playing it over and over again. It's moody, it's tense, it's smooth and heavy. Just like its creator. The last time I worked with Pablo was in 1998. My last memory of Pablo was being in Ariwa studios with smoke so thick that we could not see the desk! This is not an instrumental album. this is not a dub album. This is something else, I am not sure what it was ahead of Its time In '79 and still sounds brilliant in 2002. Totally hypnotic! ~Neil Fraser [aka The Mad Professor]

Tracklist:
1. Chant to King Selassie I
2. Natural Way
3. Nature Dub
4. Upfull Living
5. Unfinished Melody
6. Jah Light
7. Memories of the Ghetto
8. Africa (1983)
9. East of the River Nile
10. Sounds from Levi
11. Chapter 2
12. Addis-A-Baba
13. East Africa*
14. East of the River Nile (original)*
15. Memories of the Ghetto Dub*
16. Jah Light Version*
17. Islington Rock*
18. Meditation Dub*

Producer: Augustus Pablo
Engineers: Ernest Hookim , Errol Thompson , Lee Perry , Prince Jammy , Sylvan Morris
Bass: Aston "Family Man" Barrett , Bagga , Clayton Downie , Robbie Shakespeare
Drums: Carlton Barrett , Max Edwards , Noel "Alfonso" Benbow
Guitar: Earl "Chinna" Smith
Melodica, Clavinet, Piano, Organ, Strings: Augustus Pablo
Percussion: Everton DaSilva
Studios: Harry J's, Channel One, King Tubby's, Black Ark
Give thanks to Jah-Malla band for playing on "Chant To King Selassie I" and "Natural Way"

Rastafari Iration: Give Thanks to King Selassie I for His Inspiration.

Psalm 150:
1. Praise ye, the Lord, Praise God in his Sanctuary, praise him in the firmament
2. Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to his excellent greatness
3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with the psaltery and harp
4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and organs
5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals; praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals
6. Let every thing that breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

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Augustus Pablo - Rockers Meets King Tubby In A Fire House (Re-Issue w/ Bonus Tracks) (re-post)

Augustus Pablo - Rockers Meets King Tubby In A Fire House (Re-Issue w/ Bonus Tracks)
Label: Shanachie
Record date: 1980
Album style: Dub, Lee Library, Reggae, Rockers, Roots, Tubby
Notes: This is a re-post (click to view PMX's excellent original write-up), except that this is actually the CD reissue w/ bonus tracks 10-13.

Tracklist:
1. Rockers Meet King Tubbys Inna Fire House
2. Short Man Dub
3. Zion Is A Home
4. Dub In Matthew's Lane Arena
5. Jah Say Dub
6. Son Of Jah Dub
7. Simeon Tradition
8. Selassie I Dub
9. Jah Mouly Ital Sip
10. Son Of Man Dub*
11. Rasta To The Hills*
12. Twin Seal Dub*
13. House Of Dub Version*

Producer: Augustus Pablo
Engineer: Augustus Pablo, Prince Jammy, King Tubby
Drums: Albert Malawi, Leroy Horsemouth Wallace, Mikey Boo Richards
Bass: Junior Dan, Michael Taylor, Robbie Shakespeare & Bugsy
Rhythm Guitar: Cleon, Fazal Prendergast
Lead Guitar: Chinna, Dalton Brownie
Organ: Augustus Pablo
Piano: Augustus Pablo
Horns: Deadly Headly
Melodica: Augustus Pablo
Percussions: Teo Benjamin, Sticky, Jah Levi
Strings: Augustus Pablo
Studio: King Tubby's (Kingston, JA)

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Augustus Pablo - Rockers Meets King Tubbys In A Fire House

Augustus Pablo - Rockers Meets King Tubbys In A Fire House
Label - Shanachie
Released - 1980/1989 re-issue
Style - Reggae, Dub, Rockers, Lee Library

Another classic selection from the Lee Library cassette-only vaults. I've probably listened to this album well over 500 times in my life, and its one of those classic albums that gets better and better each time I hear it. Augustus Pablo left a lasting legacy of insanely good records - not just his own records, but other records and studios he's played for. His contribution to the Reggae world (and Music world in general) is monumental. Anytime you hear dancehall, reggae or dub music with melodica instrumentation - Augustus Pablo was the ORIGINAL. And the best.

Thanks / praises to the Lee for giving me a headstart on the real shit! I could have easily been stuck with an older brother who was lame and had no musical interest, but I got lucky!

(review from AMG):
As is often the case with albums that come from deep within the insular world of 1970s Kingston, the title of this one bears a little bit of explanation. "Rockers" was the nickname given to melodica player and producer Augustus Pablo; on this album, as on several other classics of the genre, he is teamed up with dub wizard Osbourne Ruddock (better known as King Tubby) to deliver a set of dub mixes derived from singles by Hugh Mundell, Delroy Williams, and others. (King Jammy, one of King Tubby's protégés, also contributes a few mixes here, but is uncredited.) "Fire House" is an ironic reference to the Waterhouse section of Kingston, where King Tubby's studio was located. On this collection, Pablo's sound predominates: his eerie melodica lines snake in and out of the mix, and the gentle-but-firm grooves that always typify a Rockers production are in full force. King Tubby contributes the special element of dubwise alchemy that was his own trademark, administering echo and delay at judicious intervals and keeping the general atmosphere mysterious and seductive. Because of the nature of the music and its consistently high quality, highlights are a bit difficult to pick out, but they include the very dread "Zion Is a Home" and the equally fine "Dub in a Matthews Lane Area," which could be used as a master class in dub technique.


Tracklist:
1 Rockers Meet King Tubbys In A Fire House
2 Short Man Dub
3 Zion Is A Home
4 Dub In A Matthews Lane Arena
5 Jah Say Dub
6 Son Of Jah Dub
7 Simeon Tradition
8 Selassie I Dub
9 Jah Mouly Ital Sip

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Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile

Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile
Labels - Message (JA) / Shanachie
Released - 1978/1989 re-issue
Style - Dub, Reggae, Rockers, Lee Library (of course)

Credits:
Bass - Aston "Family Man" Barrett , Bagga , Clayton Downie , Robbie Shakespeare
Drums - Carlton Barrett , Max Edwards , Noel "Alfonso" Benbow
Engineer - Ernest Hookim , Errol Thompson , Lee Perry , Prince Jammy , Sylvan Morris
Guitar [Lead] - Earl "Chinna" Smith
Photography [Cover Photo] - Walsh's Photo Studio
Producer, Melodica, Clavinet, Piano, Organ, Other [String Assemble] - Augustus Pablo
Written By - Horace Swaby

Notes: Recorded at Harry J's, A & R, Channel One, King Tubbys & Black Ark Studios.

This is a Lee Library classic selection. From the original cassette-only Lee Library collection! I'm talking Motorhead, Yngwie, X, old R.E.M, Eek-a-Mouse, Ozzy, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Steel Pulse etc.

These two Augustus Pablo tapes were highly influential to my musical development. They are two classic masterpieces; everyone needs to know how superb a musician, producer and songwriter Augustus Pablo really was. RIP Dr. Pablo.

Rastafari.

(review from AMG):
The best of the pure instrumental albums in Pablo's catalog, East of the River Nile finds the melodica master stretching out on various keyboards and strings as well on earthy, meditative tracks like "Chant to King Selassie I," "Jah Light," and "Natural Way." Though this is explicitly a non-dub occasion, "Natural Way" does get its own version with "Nature Dub." ~ John Bush, All Music Guide


Tracklist:
1 Chant To King Selassie I
2 Natural Way
3 Nature Dub
4 Upfull Living
5 Unfinished Melody
6 Jah Light
7 Memories Of The Ghetto
8 Africa (1983)
9 East Of The River Nile
10 Sounds From Levi
11 Chapter 2
12 Addis A Baba

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