Super Cat - Boops! (1986)

Digital dancehall from an Afro-Jamaican deejay with an effortlessly smooth, unrelenting flow. It's been hot and sweaty as hell here in Portland, OR, so here's some hot and sweaty music to match.

Track listing:

1. "Pops"

2. Move Up

3. What a Ride

4. Terminator

5. Charity

6. Boops

7. Vine Yard Party

8. D.J. Daddy

9. Jamaica Jamaica

10. How Cat Go America

Love got a hold

You should also hear:

Big Youth - Screaming Target (1972)

U-Roy - Dread in a Babylon (1975)

Supermax - Supermax Meets the Almighty (1981)

Related:

Supermax - World of Today (1977)

London Aircraaft - Rockets (1984)

More excellence from weirdo disco great Supermax, this time with a more abstract, psychedelic bent. For the A-side, this lands us in 80s Eloy-ish territory at times, while on the flipside, it's more like a very plastic form of reggae -- one that entails chanting "Viva la ganja" and "Natty, natty, natty dread." Though these moments are questionable at best, the whole package is just so fucking weird, I can't help but love it.

Track listing:

1. As Long as There Is You

2. Tonight

3. Hammer

4. Today I Fall in Love Again

5. Madness

6. We Are the Gang

7. Aya Jah Jah

8. Superdub

9. Sunshine People

Woke up this morning and saw myself

In a completely different life

I saw some things I can't explain

You should also listen to:

Adrian Gurvitz - Sweet Vendetta (1979)

Change - The Glow of Love (1980)

Augustus Pablo - This Is Augustus Pablo (1974)

Instrumental roots reggae and dub from melodica player Augustus Pablo. To me, the melodica almost always sounds melancholy, and that holds true here.

Track listing:
1. Dub Organizer
2. Please Sunrise
3. Point Blank
4. Arabian Rock
5. Pretty Baby
6. Pablo in Dub
7. Skateland Rock
8. Dread Eye
9. Too Late
10. Assignment No 1
11. Jah Rock
12. Lovers Mood

Shakedown

You should also listen to:

The Upsetters -
Return of Django (1969)

Linval Thompson -
Negrea Love Dub (1978)

Doe Maar - Skunk (1981)

Hey there everybody. Got back last night from a week at the beach, during which I apparently forgot about the internet. It was great. Here's a record that I put on during one late-night porch hang. Skunk is a puzzlingly great fusion of old-school ska and new wave, straight outta the Netherlands. Taps so effectively into the nervous energy at the core of both genres that you often can't really tell where one ends and the next begins. Then they throw in a lil' dub for good measure.

Track listing:
1. Sinds 1 Dag of 2
2. Te Laat
3. Bella Donna
4. Smoorverliefd
5. Nederweit
6. Nix voor Jou
7. Mis
8. Ruma Saja
9. De Laatse X
10. Dansen met Alice

Some girls

You might also like:

The Upsetters -
Return of Django (1969)

Björgvin Gíslason ‎-
Örugglega (1983)

The Upsetters - Return of Django (1969)

A little slice of instrumental reggae/rocksteady heaven courtesy of the house band for Lee Perry's record label, Upsetter. Makes me want to get high and cruise.

Track listing:
1. Return of Django
2. Touch of Fire
3. Cold Sweat
4. Drugs and Poison
5. Soulful I
6. Night Doctor
7. One Punch
8. Eight for Eight
9. Live Injection
10. Man from M.I.5
11. Ten to Twelve
12. Medical Operation

Ice on my head feels nice on my head

If you like this, listen to:

U-Roy -
Dread in a Babylon (1975)

Bunny Wailer -
Blackheart Man (1976)

Linval Thompson - Negrea Love Dub (1978)

Tasty, space-brained dub. School started back up this week for your ol' pal DEAR_SPIRIT, but that doesn't mean I can't desperately cling to the last dregs of summer by strapping on a pair of headphones and listening to reggae while my wife snores next to me on the couch.

Track listing:
1. Rock Me in Dub
2. Channel One in Dub
3. Thompson in Dub
4. Negrea African Dub
5. Jah Jah Children Dub
6. Lion Dub
7. Natty Dread Dub
8. Roots Dub
9. Jamaican Colley Dub
10. Africa Love Dub

No way they can stop us

You should also check out:

U-Roy -
Dread in a Babylon (1975)

Scientist - Rids the World of the
Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981)

Scientist - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Scientist - Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (1981)

Spookiest dub reggae record you'll ever hear. If you're worried about the return of the curse of the creature's ghost, you can stop: Scientist has your back.

Track listing:
1. The Voodoo Curse
2. Dance of the Vampires
3. Blood on His Lips
4. Cry of the Werewolf
5. The Mummy's Shroud
6. The Corpse Rises
7. Night of the Living Dead
8. Your Teeth in My Neck
9. Plague of Zombies
10. Ghost of Frankenstein

Don't go back to the witch house!

U-Roy - Dread in a Babylon (1975)

Summer is here, y'all, and apparently this year that means that I'm listening to a lot of reggae, so here's some choice dancehall with tasty dub vibes.

Track listing:
1. Runaway Girl
2. Chalice in the Palace
3. I Can't Love Another
4. Dreadlocks Dread
5. The Great Psalms
6. Natty Don't Fear
7. African Message
8. Silver Bird
9. Listen to the Teacher
10. Trench Town Rock

Fly away

Want more?

Big Youth -
Screaming Target (1972)

Bunny Wailer -
Blackheart Man (1976)

Scientist - Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (1981)

Spaced-out, posi dub vibes. Pretty hard to have a bad time while this one's on.

Track listing:
1. Beam Down
2. Red Shift
3. Time Warp
4. Cloning Process
5. Pulsar
6. Laser Attack
7. De Materialize
8. Fission
9. Super Nova Explosion
10. Quasar

Burning

The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana (1976)

Every time I write about reggae, I feel obligated to mention that I don't know much about it as a music genre, scene, cultural force, or otherwise. This means that all of the records that I hear surely are barely scratching the surface, and it's probable that, for those in the know, posting Satta Massaganna is a bit like posting Souvlaki or In the Nightside Eclipse. However, it's also entirely possible, even likely, that most of my MASSIVE readership know as little about reggae as I. So I'm going with it. After all, I read on Wikipedia that it's a "classic roots reggae album."

Track listing:
1. Declaration of Rights
2. The Good Lord
3. Forward Unto Zion
4. Know Jah Today
5. Abendigo
6. Y Mas Gan
7. Black Man's Strain
8. Satta Massaganna
9. I and I
10. African Race
11. Leggo Beast
12. Peculiar Number
13. Reason Time
14. There Is No End

There is a land far, far away
Where there's no night, there's only day

Big Youth - Screaming Target (1972)

Debut LP from reggae deejay Big Youth. Raw, analogue production, out of tune instruments, and often redlining vocals? Should be a big hit with lo-fi black metal purists.

Track listing:
1. Screaming Target
2. Pride and Joy Rock
3. Be Careful
4. Tippertong Rock
5. One of These Fine Days
6. Screaming Targets (Vers 2)
7. The Killer
8. Solomon A Gunday
9. Honesty
10. I Am Alright
11. Lee A Low
12. Concrete Jungle

Lightning flash

Burning Spear - Studio One (1973)

Great first LP from reggae legend Burning Spear. Booming bass, tinny percussion, a thick instrumental mix, reverb-y vocals, and not too much Jah talk, which, I think we all can agree, can get old pretty quick.

Track listing:
1. Ethiopians Live It Out
2. We Are Free
3. Fire Down Below
4. Creation
5. Don't Mess with Jill
6. Down by the Riverside
7. Door Peep Shall Not Enter
8. Pick Up the Pieces
9. Get Ready
10. Journey
11. Then a Come
12. He Prayed

Brain food

Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man (1976)

If you didn't already know, you might still have guessed that Bunny Wailer was one of the original members of The Wailers. Blackheart Man is his highly acclaimed first solo album. I don't know all that much about the genre, but I do know that this is easily some of the best roots reggae that I've heard.

Track listing:
1. Blackheart Man
2. Fighting Against Conviction
3. The Oppressed Song
4. Fig Tree
5. Dreamland
6. Rastaman
7. Reincarnated Souls
8. Amagideon (Armagedon)
9. Bide Up
10. This Train

No trial