The Business: The Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

The Business: The Truth The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth

1997

Taang! Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

 Track Listing:  1. Blood Ties 2. Spirit Of The Street  3. The Truth The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth  4. One Common Voice  5.  What's The Story  6. Justice Not Politics  7. One Thing Left To Say  8.  Death To Dance (Album Version)  9. No Time 4 U  10.  SE12  11.  Crime Of The Century  12. Informer  13. Southgate (Euro 96)  14.  Hardcore Hooligan   


If you're looking for H's you're not gonna find them here...The Business are 'ardcore 'ooligans! 

"Oi! Let's throw empty bottles of Carling at Totten'am 'otspur!!"

"Carling Zest! Sod off ya bleedin' nancy!!"

Alright, enough of that...I first heard these guys back in the 90's...Mainly ordering stuff from the Taang! Catalog, which was one of my biggest hobbies back then...I can still remember getting all psyched about receiving the "Death to Dance" 7' in the mail...

My friend Cory bought "The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth" on vinyl and I borrowed his copy so much that I essentially just owned it...I recall taping it off and riding around in Joe's truck listening to "What's the Story" over and over...That choppy guitar intro ruled our worlds so much...

This record was a big deal in my little world at the time because it was produced by Rancid's Lars Frederiksen, who also produced "The Streets of San Francisco" by the Swingin' Utters, so in my eyes he could do no wrong...



Some of Lars' Rancid-ness does rub off on the Business actually...They sound a little burlier than before...the guitars beefier and some of the songs have a slightly hardcore feel...Which works for me, but then again I have a huge soft spot on my head...

Gritty, street-level punk with football-sized chants...Perfectly suited for tracks like "Hardcore Hooligan" and"Southgate (Euro 96)." The latter is probably the best song on here...The Business is always at their best on their football songs...Hell, tomorrow we cover an album that's nothing but football songs...Even so, this one hits all the right marks...

Now, everything I know about football comes from Business songs, so generally speaking I pretty much have no clue what in the hell they're talking about most of the time...Apparently this Gareth Southgate missed a fuckin' penn-ul-ee....

Which probably really sucks if you're a fan of his team, but I can't help but be happy about it, cos we get this kick-ass song out of it...

 See, look at all that silver lining...

Speaking of silver lining, we've all made it through another week of work and Friday is finally here...Well, it's always Friday at the Friday Night Record Party, but today is different...It's actually Friday...

So let's grab a 6'er of "Newcastle" (we can't get Carling here in Arizona...Not even Carling Zest for chrissakes...) Oh yea, last weekend I tried the Newcastle "Blonde Bombshell" for the first time...I pretty much bought it cos I liked the label...

Such a beautiful baby blue label...And I think the beer might have been good too..I don't really remember drinking it...I can remember pounding a few Cheladas though....

For the longest time I avoided Cheladas like the plague...Clam juice and beer?!?! But then one day my friend Andy bought me one and now they're my favorite thing on Planet Earth...So metal-y and salty...In a perfect world, I could drink these things for breakfast lunch and dinner, but unfortunately the world is only perfect on Friday night, so let's all get together and check out "Informer" by Snow...

Okay, now let's check out "Informer" by the Business...Enjoy...

Buju Banton: The Best of Buju Banton

Buju Banton: The Best of Buju Banton

2002

Hip-O/Universal Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Champion (Remix)  2. Deportees (Things Change)  3. Murderer  4. Destiny  5. Wanna Be Loved  6. Untold Stories  7. Heartbreak Lover  8. Good Body  9. Willy (Don't Be Silly)  10. Circumstances  11. Give I Strength

Huh. This greatest hits collection came out in 2002, so I guess I should have covered it earlier...For some reason I was thinking it came out later than it did, but listening back to it, this only covers the  three albums released from 1993-1997...It's a bit skimpy, but the music on it is unimpeachable...



From 1993's "Voice of Jamica" we have "Deportees (Things Change)," "Good Body," and "Willy (Don't Be Silly)," Thanks to the socially conscious lyrics and fierce intensity of his toasting, this is the moment where Buju really made a name for himself on the world stage...And these tracks still hold up..."Deportees (Things Change) famously chastises Jamaican stars who spend all their money abroad instead of back at home where the money is needed.. It's straight-forward dancehall, but compare this to other dancehall and it suddenly strikes you how head-and-shoulders above the competition this actually is...And "Willy (Don't Be Silly)" is the catchiest anti-AIDS song ever...When you hear "Anti-AIDS"  you're kind of expecting some big, morose, preachy boner-killer of song, but that's not the case here...He just giddily reminds you to wear a rubber over some happy dancehall backdrop ...Okay...I can deal with that....Whenever I hear "Good Body" I can't help but think of this guy...

Damn you, 80's PBS for spoiling a 90's Buju Banton song! And for making me check out some naked guy's lower intestinal tract!!



"Champion (Remix)," "Murderer,"  and "Untold Stories," all come from his 1995 classic "Til' Shiloh." I'm sure you can recall me raving over all of these just the other day..."Untold Stories" still stands as his finest moment, often drawing comparisons to Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Well, I'm not going to go that far, but it is an easy favorite of mine and the best song here... 



The track "I Wanna Be Loved" was originally on "Til' Shiloh" but the version here is a latin-tinged collaboration with Argentina's Los Pericos that comes from the 1996 compilation "Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin"...Actually, I'm not sure "tinged" is the right word to use here...Howabout Latin-soaked...This jumps right out because it's so much busier (musically speaking) than the rest of its surroundings...I might like it better than the original version......

Also from 1996, we have "Heartbreak Lover." This song wasn't on any of Buju's albums...It originates from Maxi Priest's "Man With the Fun" record...Buju is just a guest star on it...Good song...Smoother and more R&B than everything else on here...



Representing 1997's "Inna Heights" we have "Destiny," "Circumstances," and "Give I Strength." All strong tracks that highlight the roots-reggae/toasting hybrid...One of the best things about doing this blog is sometimes I'm forced to revisit things I had previously under-appreciated...In this case it's "Circumstances," which is acapella dancehall...I love acapella sections of songs, but I've never been that into songs that have no instrumentation at all,  but this overcomes any previous reservations I might have had...You pretty much just get to hear how on-his-game the guy is...and the harmonies sound so cool too...Very happy I got to rediscover this song...

Something a little more comprehensive would've been nice, but as far as quickie cash-ins go, this isn't a bad entry point...Although, I would still probably start with "Til' Shiloh."

So let's check out a song from that (and this) album..."Untold Stories" by Buju Banton...Enjoy...

Buju Banton: Buju and Friends

Buju Banton: Buju and Friends

2004

VP Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: Disc 1: 1. Bonafide Love (feat. Wayne Wonder)  2. Who Say (feat. Beres Hammond)  3. Little More Time (feat. Beres Hammond)  4. Wicked Dickie (feat. Nadine Sutherland)  5.Hotness  (feat. Heavy D & the Boyz)  6. Love Dem Bad (feat. Red Rat)  7. Teaser (feat. Bounty Killer)  8. Get It On (feat. Wayne Wonder)  9. What I'm Gonna Do (feat. Nadine Sutherland)   10. I Do (feat. Fundisha)  11. We Set the Principal (feat. Beenie Man)  12. Ring the Alarm (feat. Tenor Saw)  13. Watch How You Flex (feat. Ed Robinson)  14. A So (feat. Tony Rebel)  15. Weary (feat. Culture)  16. Hang On (feat. Gregory Isaacs)  17. I Dare Not Be Ungrateful (feat. Leroy Sibbles)  18. 54-46 That's My Number (feat. Toots Hibbert)

 Disc 2: 1. 23rd Psalm (feat. Morgan Heritage)  2. Massa God World  (feat. Wayne Wonder)  3. Complaint (feat. Garnett Silk)  4. Give I Strength (feat. Ras Shiloh)  5. We Will Be Alright  (feat. Luciano)  6. Mother's Cry  (feat. Jah Mali)  7. Sound in the Air  (feat. LMS) 8. Can You Play Some More  (feat. Beres Hammond)  9. My Woman Now ( Beres Hammond)  10. Childish Games (feat. Marcia Griffiths)  11. Closer (feat. Marcia Griffiths)  12. "Poor Old Man (feat. Stephen Marley)  13. Want It (feat. Twiggy)  14. Make My Day (feat. Brian Gold & Tony Gold)  15. Commitment (feat. Wayne Wonder  16. No More Misty Days (feat. Rancid)  17. Tribal War (feat. Brian and Tony Gold, Tony Rebel, Terry Ganzie)  18. Good Times (feat. Fat Joe & Beres Hammond)  19. All Will Be Fine (feat. Sons and Daughters Choir)


A compilation album, featuring previously released duets (I have a good number of these tracks on other albums)... 37 tracks spread over two discs and clocking in at over two and a half hours...And all wrapped in an ugly-as-sin album cover...

To be totally honest, I have no idea who a good number of these performers are (LMS, Jah Mali, are just a few examples of artists whom I've never run across before) and some I only know from Buju Banton albums (Garnett Silk, Beres Hammond), but that's probably attributable to my sheer ignorance of modern Jamaican music...

Being  a compilation with countless different contributors (spanning a lengthy period of time),  a surprising majority of the tracks work...I counted maybe 5 or 6 skip-worthy tracks...

 I have no idea who Red Rat is, but his performance On "Love Dem Bad"  here absolutely makes my ears bleed...To give him a fair shake I decided to youtube another one of his songs, but the incessant yelping was too much...I dig his Vanilla Ice eyebrows though...

."Commitment" with Wayne Wonder is also particularly hellish for me...Maybe if I was into smoove R&B I'd be into it...But yuck...

I tend to lean more towards the duets with the classic reggae legends than the ones with modern dancehall artists and rappers...But again, that's probably due to listening to pretty much only classic Jamaican music..I can't help it! I love that era! Most of the new stuff I hear leaves me cold...

 

Buju teams up with Toots Hibbert (who I consider to be the greatest Jamaican artist of all time, so I
 might be a bit biased here...) for a spirited take on the Maytals "54-46 That's My Number." It's also great to hear him with old-schooler Gregory Isaacs, who brings the soulful smoothness to "Hang On"...

 I also love "Weary" which features reggae legends Culture (who we'll cover very soon-ish...I'm almost done w/ the "B" sections and will very soon get into the "C"'s ...So get your bong ready for the Culture section!) I love Joseph Hill's voice...He always sounds so congested and snotty...Kind of a reggae version of Al Green...but rougher...

Buju also does a cover of  "Ring the Alarm" by Tenor Saw. It's not technically a real duet, seeing that Tenor Saw had been dead for well over a decade by this point, but any day you get to hear Tenor Saw do "Ring the Alarm" is a good day...Tenor Saw was early dancehall but his voice was so melodious...If you've never heard the 80's original, you've got to check it out, if you're into reggae...I posted a link below...Now you have no excuse...

(Come to think of it, just a month or so ago , I did the Big Audio Dynamite section and noticed that on the "Megatop Phoenix" record, they also do a snippet of "Ring the Alarm" on the track "Rewind." I meant to mention it there, but failed to for some reason...I was probably running late for work or something...)



I originally picked this up after falling in love with the Rancid collaboration "No More Misty Days."  There's actually two different versions of this song that I know of...The version I  heard first was the more raw and rocking take that was included on the "Give 'Em the Boot II" compilation... The version on "Buju and Friends" is the same one included on his 2000 album "Unchained Spirit"...



This version is a little weaker (and waaaay longer) with a more chilled-out feel (and the guitars being more U2 than street punk)...Still an excellent track with checking out...One of his best, but surprisingly not my favorite track on here...My favorite has to be...

"23rd Psalm" with Morgan Heritage! So great! Extremely serene, with beautifully quiet singing and instrumentation....I have fond memories of driving around Tucson at night playing this song over and over...It never fails to make me feel completely at peace with the world in a way few songs do...I have zero idea who Morgan Heritage is but...damn! They really bring out the best in Gargamel...I should check them out someday...

...Ulp! I just checked 'em out...They're pretty awful...Maybe they used to be cooler or something...Either way "23rd Psalm" is amazing...

It's excessive length means "Buju and Friends"  is a lot to take in (and therefore, probably not the best place to start if you're just getting into him). The album is probably best enjoyed best broken up into smaller listening sessions than the marathon I just endured, but at the same time it actually works pretty well at showcasing Buju Banton's many sides....It's pretty cool to have all these in one place....

Let's check out "No More Misty Days" by Buju Banton and Rancid...Enjoy...

Buju Banton: Friends For Life

Buju Banton: Friends For Life

2003

VP/Atlantic Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Paid Not Played  2. Tra La La  3. Teaser  4. Excerpt of a Speech by Marcus Mosiah Garvey  5. Up Ye Mighty Race  6. All Will Be Fine (feat. Sons And Daughters Choir)  7. Maybe We Are  8. Mama Africa  9. Hooked On The Love  10. Get It On  11. Friends For Life  12. Good Time  13. Damn  14. La Da De Da  15. Pensive Mood  16. Feeling Groovy  17. Spectacular  18. What Am I Gonna Do  19. Mr. Nine


My smattering of Buju Banton albums are really all over the place...I just have a few here and there, so I'm by no means an expert on the man and his work, but whenever I run across one of his records , I'll always check it out...

I just so happened to start with his classic "Til' Shiloh" after hearing his collaboration "No More Misty Days" with Rancid...(Which we'll cover tomorrow...I just realized that Buju Banton is the second Rancid-related dancehall/reggae artist that starts with the letter "B" that I've covered in the span of a week...Maybe Rancid and Beenie Man will put out a record in these next coupla days and I can make it a three-peat!)

I like "Friends For Life"...Look at that big smile on Buju's face on the album cover...It's that kind of record...A real good-time record...There's even a song on it called "Good Time" and I had a damn good time listening to it!

The album starts out with a run of three straight up dancehall tracks...On first listen it seemed like this album was going to be a return to his his older, slack style... Which I don't mind at all as long as we get songs like "Paid Not Played," (which is a first-class summer single)...but suddenly after the Bounty Hunter collaboration, "Teaser"  we jump right from lusting after J-Lo and Tyra Banks...

...to a speech by Marcus Garvey...

...and next thing you know, we're balls-deep in a suite of socially conscious songs...Which I think is the style that suits his thunderous voice best...As a vocalist, he's really come a long way...By this point, he's just as likely to sing as he is to toast (often mixing the two styles) and issn't afraid to take on ballads either. (check out "Maybe We Are" and "All Will Be Fine"). This section of the album culminates in an exceptional cover of  Peter Tosh's "Mama Africa."



He hews to the original version very closely, but he does manage to put his own stamp on the song, thanks to his distinct delivery...It feels a little weird naming a cover as the album's highpoint, but man...It's so great...

It does have some stiff competition though...I for one, also love the bouncy ska style on "Feeling Groovy" and he definitely saves the best for last on the anti-gun album closer "Mr. Nine"...Even "Pensive Mood" wins me over big time after initially scaring me with some instrumentation that reminds me of early 80's Stevie Wonder and an opening proclamation of "LADIES!!" that can't help but bring Jerry Lewis to mind...But once it gets going all is forgiven...Like I said this is a feel good album...

There's a couple of duds (the back to back bummers " La Da De Da " (which couldn't be more inconsequential) and "Damn" (which sums up everything awful about turn-of-the-millenium hip hop) but for the most part this is yet another solid release from Buju...Here's looking forward to some new music from Gargamel in  2019 (when he's scheduled to be released from prison)...

Until then, let's check out "Feeling Groovy" by Buju Banton...Enjoy...

Buju Banton: Til' Shiloh

Buju Banton: Til' Shiloh

1995

Island Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Shiloh  2. 'Til I'm Laid to Rest  3. Murderer  4. Champion  5. Untold Stories  6. Not an Easy Road  7. Only Man  8. Complaint  9. Chuck It So  10. How Could You  11. Wanna Be Loved  12. It's All Over  13. Hush, Baby, Hush  14. What Ya Gonna Do?  15. Rampage  16. Sensemilia Persecution  17. Champion (Remix)

Hot shit, this is a good album...If you're into Jamaican music, this is a must-have...If there's a greater dancehall artist out there I don't know of him and if he's made a record better than "Til' Shiloh" I haven't heard it...Let me put it this way...It's better than his greatest hits album...



On this record Buju infuses his signature dancehall style with a heaping does of roots reggae and pop...Every song has a killer chorus and Buju doesn't sing so much as roar like the Lion of Judah...

 After the quiet, hymn-like title track opens the album, "'Til I'm Laid to Rest" comes on  and Buju sings of his spiritual homeland with a righteous, guttural voice that moves mountains (See, there used to be this mountain range smack dab in the middle of Kingston , but Buju yelled at it and it moved to the Ozarks...)

(P.S. this photo is probably not of the Ozarks...)

If you check out Buju's pre "Voice of Jamaica" music (the record before this one) you'll find a radically different character...



Sure his commanding voice was always there, but lyrically he  was preoccupied with guns, sex and violence...Very much in the vein of American 90's hardcore  rap...Hell, to this day he's probably most famous for his ridiculously homophobic track "Boom Bye Bye." But here the lyrics are mostly devoted to love, spirituality, social commentary and most surprisingly on the excellent single "Murderer," non-violence...And the music also shifts from the standard electro-dancehall backing and into the realm of live instruments...

As much as I enjoy dancehall, I tend to think of it as a genre better suited to singles...Generally speaking,  albums in the genre tend to sound a bit homogenous and I  often find myself getting  tired of dancehall albums pretty quickly, so I think the wide variety of music on "Til' Shiloh" really sets it apart from the rest of the pack..There's the usual hard rhythms ("Chuck It So," "Champion") but there's also nice touches like the acoustic guitar on album highlight "Untold Stories," the African feel of "'Til I'm Laid to Rest," or the slick soul on "Complaint" (a duet with the late Garnett Silk (who just about has the smoothest voice I've ever heard...))

(I've never heard "Silky Mood," but just looking at the album cover makes me want to wear a robe and smoke a calabash pipe...)

  60's ska and 70's reggae tends to cast such a large shadow on Jamaican music,  it's very hard to move beyond that era, but Buju Banton helped me make that transition, so if you've played Bob Marley's "Legend" one too many times and are looking for something a bit more contemporary, give this a shot...

Oh yea, speaking of Bob Marley, do any of you ever have this happen? You play any album made in Jamaica and invariably someone will ask you if you're listening to Bob Marley? I think a lot of people are under the impression that Bob might have been the only person to record a reggae or ska record...The most egregious example of this happened when I was giving a co-worker a ride home a few years back when I still worked at America Online...This dude seriously thought that Adam Sandler's "Ode to My Car" was Bob Marley!!

Think of that!! Bob Marley, whose discography is largely dedicated to fighting the injustices of poverty and oppression  takes a couple minutes to bitch about his piece of shit car not having a CD player...

Oh well, let's check out "Til' I'm Laid to Rest" by Buju Banton...Enjoy...

 

The Buggles: Adventures in Modern Recording

The Buggles: Adventures in Modern Recording

1981

Carrere Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Adventures in Modern Recording  2. Beatnik  3. Vermillion Sands  4. I Am a Camera  5. On TV  6. Inner City  7. Lenny  8. Rainbow Warrior  9. Adventures in Modern Recording (reprise)


The front cover is cool and all, but this is all about the back cover...Flip this thing over and BOOM!

 BAD-ASS TRAPPER KEEPER ARTWORK!!

Here are some other cool Trapper Keepers...

Think about everything that was great about "The Age of Plastic." The  catchy songs, the exciting production, the cool space-age concept...and then take all that away and you have "Adventures in Modern Recording."  Not that the album is bad or anything...I enjoy it alright, but listening to this directly after "The Age of Plastic" might make your head explode...However, if you listen to Yes' "Drama" first then you should be able to ease right into this...On the other  hand, listening to "Drama" directly after "The Age of Plastic" would also probably make your head explode, so...either way...



But yea, this a good companion to "Drama." Sort of a slick, adult prog-pop and it even shares a song with that album...They even do a more chilled-out version of "Into the Lens" which is titled "I am a Camera"...



I want to fully enjoy this song, but goddammit, Mr. Show ruined it for me...Whenever I hear Trevor Horn sing "I AM A CAMERA..." I can't help but sing...

"A CAMERA AM IIIIIII......"  It's impossible not to...It's sung in the exact same melody and everything...Oh well...

The album starts out incredibly strong with the bombastic title track, which does its best to ease us into this new sound...Very much in line with their first album, but ditches all the sci-fi elements and drops us into the here and now...Some real drums might have helped the album somewhat (the entire thing is done with drum machines, as far as I can tell...) but you get used it...It's fun, glossy and catchy and a good way to kick things off...Love it!

Once that song's done you're greeted to the acapella lines: "All will be revealed before the next move..."  And holy cow, it couldn't be more Yes-like...Eventually "Beatnik" reveals itself to be jivey, funky synthpop, but man...Am I alone in wishing that Yes would have continued in the "Drama" line-up a couple more albums instead of the "90125" route?  



There's definitely some cool songs here..."Lenny" is atmospheric and moody but resolves into a beauty of a chorus, "Vermillion Sands" is also a  highlight...very grown-up and spongy...I could probably do without the few minutes of digital foxtrot at the end, but...whatever...The only song I out-and-out don't like at all is "Rainbow Warrior." Drawn out, melodramatic and cheesy..I like the "Time...Is All...Your Measuring..." break though....But in the end, it's such a relief when the reprise of the title track comes in at the end...It does a pretty good job of reminding me why I liked the album in the first place...



Honestly, when I first played this record I didn't especially care for it, but once I got over my expectations (I really really like"Age of Plastic") it's not such a bad little album...I think you'd have to be in head-over-heels in love with 80's production to be into it, honestly, but if drum machines and Fairlights are your thing, then jump right in....

This was the Buggles final record...Hell, Geoff Downes is barely even on it..The duo moved onto other projects...Trevor played with Art of Noise and became a big-time producer, virtually defining the sound of the 80's and Geoff Downes moved onto Asia who had some cool album covers...

 

But the Buggles are where it's at...So let's check out "Adventures in Modern Recording"...Enjoy...