ASTON FAMILYMAN BARRETT - FAMILYMAN IN DUB

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FAMILYMAN IN DUB


TRACKLIST


Cobra Style Dub
Steppers Rock
Familyman Skank
Rebel I Am
E.T. Special
Pleasing Dub
Dubbing Naturally
Dub Combination
Pickney Dub
A Distant Dub
Tribute To Y Mas Gan
Elegant Dub
Iron Rock
Dub Maker


Producer : Aston Barrett


Engineer : Aston Barrett & Errol Brown
Mixing Engineer : Oswald Palmer
Recording Engineer : Oswald Palmer


Backing Vocals : Jimmy Riley
Drums : Hugh Malcolm & Carlton Barrett
Bass : Robbie Shakespeare & Aston Barrett
Guitar : Aston Barrett
Rhythm Guitar : Eric Fratter
Lead Guitar : Eric Fratter
Synthesiser : Tyrone Downie & Earl Wire Lindo & Ian Winter & Aston Barrett
Piano : Aston Barrett & Tyrone Downie & Ian Winter
Organ : Aston Barrett & Earl Wire Lindo
Trumpet : David Madden
Trombone : Vin Gordon
Saxophone : Glen Da Costa
Percussions : Aston Barrett & Bongo Herman
Clavinet : Earl Wire Lindo
Repeater : Bob Marley & Peter Tosh & Carlton Barrett
Clarinet : Herman Marquis
Syndrums : Hugh Malcolm
Funde : Bunny Wailer

ASTON FAMILYMAN BARRETT - MACKA DUB

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MACKA DUB


TRACKLIST


Bradsta Dub Aston Barrett (2:48)
Ista Episode Aston Barrett (2:50)
Dub in My Soul Aston Barrett (3:09)
KC Black Aston Barrett (3:12)
Gubs I Rock Aston Barrett (3:51)
Hawks Theme Aston Barrett (4:17)
Mike-O-Lete Aston Barrett (3:29)
Phillip Showcase Aston Barrett (2:21)
Capo Dub Aston Barrett (3:33)
Shotman Chow Aston Barrett (3:13)
Synco-Session Aston Barrett (3:33)
[Untitled Hidden Track] The Barrett Brothers (2:46)


Artist: The Barrett
Release Date: 1994
Genre: Reggae




BASS: Maurice, Familyman
DRUMS: Carlton Barrett, Tad Dawkins, Sparrow Martin
GUITAR: Rick Frater, Bobby Chung
PIANO: Glen Adams, Mr. Wire
ORGAN: Glen Adams, Mr. Wire
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Michael Scudder


PRODUCED BY: Brad Osbourne
MIXED BY: Phillip Smart
ENGINEERED BY: Mike

This wonderful reissue is a collection of dubwise instrumentals by a crack session group led by the celebrated drum- and bass-playing siblings Carlton and Aston "Family Man" Barrett, both famous for their part as the rock-solid foundation on which Bob Marley built the Wailers. This album was previously available only in Europe, where it was reportedly considered something of a collector's item, and it's easy to see why: this is some of the finest instrumental reggae ever recorded. This pickup band, consisting mostly of little-known session players, delivers spare, haunting one-drop rhythms with the kind of taut, resilient confidence normally heard only from veteran ensembles like the Aggrovators and Roots Radics. The production could be a little more adventurous, and the constant problem with dub collections of this type is that they leave you dying to hear the original, vocal versions. But there's no denying the raw insistence of the groove the Barrett brothers set up, and ultimately this disc stands with the best of the genre.

****ASTON FAMILYMAN BARRETT - TRENCHTOWN ROCKING****

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TRENCHTOWN ROCKING


TRACKLIST


1. Judge Not 3:10
2. Jammin 3:41
3. Is This Love 3:43
4. Who the Cap Fit 4:45
5. One Drop 3:40
6. Bad Card 3:35
7. Duppy Conqueror 3:50
8. So Much Trouble in the World 3:45
9. Chant Down Babylon 3:32
10. War 3:42
11. Rat Race 3:30
12. Africa Unite 2:50
13. Kinky Reggae 3:57

name: Aston Francis Barrett (aka Familyman or Fams)
born: November 22, 1946 in Central Kingston, Jamaica


position in Wailers: bassist, guitar, background vocals, songwriter, producer, percussion, backbone of Wailers


The Wailers News crucial picks (some of the songs Familyman shines on): The Wailers' "Black Progress"; Bob Marley & The Wailers' "War"; The Upsetters' "Return Of Django"; Harry J. Allstars' "Liquidator"; Familyman's own "Well Pleased" and "Cobra Style"; and needless to say nearly any other bassline Familyman has laid down is crucial!


life: Music was very big in the Barrett family, with both Familyman's father and grandfather being accomplished musicians. Familyman is a self-taught musician, having created his very own bass, a one-stringer at an early age, where he would play with his brother Carlton, who would play drums on empty paint cans. It wasn't until some time later that Familyman received his first real bass, which came from a member of the vocal trio group The Gaylads. Familyman's first band was called the Hippy Boys and consisted of Max Romeo on vocals, Alva "Reggie" Lewis on guitar, Glen "Capo" Adams on keyboard, Carlton "Carlie" Barrett on drums and Familyman on bass. The musicians in this band later went on to form The Upsetters, Lee Perry's unbeatable backing band, recording some of the most well-known Lee Perry & The Upsetter tracks, including "Clint Eastwood," "Return Of Django," "Eastwood Rides Again," among many others. The first song that the Hippy Boys recorded for Lee Perry was "Medical Operation," and usually whenever the group had recording sessions, they used the name the Hippy Boys, but when they performed live they went under the Reggae Boys.


Familyman's very first recording session took place as a member of the Hippy Boys in 1968 on "Watch This Sound" by the Uniques, which featured on vocals Jimmy Riley, Slim Smith and Lloyd Charmers. Familyman also played on the first international reggae hits like "Liquidator" by the Harry J. Allstars. Familyman's status as a musician increased when he and the rest of the Hippy Boys recorded their first songs with The Wailers, including the songs "Black Progress" and "Hold On To That Feeling." The Hippy Boys/Reggae Boys/Upsetters officially joined forces with The Wailers in 1969, becoming a full band unit, and Familyman has remained a member of The Wailers ever since. In 1970, Familyman and Carlton Barrett joined the Youth Professionals, a side project with Tyrone Downie, who would later become a keyboardist for Bob Marley & The Wailers.


The quality and output of Wailers songs featuring Familyman are easily some of the best reggae ever recorded, and it was Familyman's bass that was the backbone for The Wailers sound. With Bob Marley & The Wailers, Familyman recorded on every Island Records' album, touring the world dozens of times over, performing other duties besides bass, including acting as the band's musical director and helping to mix and produce several of these classic albums. After some time off following Bob Marley's death in 1981, Familyman helped to put The Wailers Band back together, releasing several albums including "I.D.," "Majestic Warriors," and "Jah Message," as well as still continuing to tour the world over as the band's backbone, all the while furthering the message of Bob Marley & The Wailers. Unfortunately, as with most of the members of The Wailers over the years, they have not received just royalties for their works in helping to create the sound behind The Wailers.


What is often forgotten about Familyman is the fact that he has lent his talents to countless other reggae and non-reggae artists over the years, including John Denver, Burning Spear, the Tennors, Glen Brown, Johnny Clarke, Alpha Blondy, Joe Higgs, Big Youth, Yabby You, Junior Byles, Jacob Miller, Justin Hinds, Israel Vibration, and the list goes on and on. He has also worked with nearly every Jamaican producer, including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Duke Reid, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, Clive Chin, Coxson Dodd, and many others. Familyman is also a musical teacher, taking younger artists under his wing, and mentoring them in music. Among Familyman's past students include singer Senya, Brinsley Ford who later went on to lead Aswad, Bob Marley's own son Julian, and also bassist Robbie Shakespeare. In fact, in many early sessions that Robbie Shakespeare played on, Familyman not only tutored him, but chose to play guitar so that Robbie could play bass. Familyman is also an accomplished producer as well as recording his own songs, many of which have been released on his Fam's record label. In 1999, Heartbeat Records released an album and its dub companion, entirely consisting of Familyman produced material, including several of his own compositions, recorded over the years since the 1970s. "Cobra Style" and "Familyman In Dub" show that Familyman is in top form in whatever he does. Among the many other instruments that Familyman is well versed in, are the mini moog, piano, and as heard on the "Cobra Style" albums, Familyman also constructed one of the earliest, if not the earliest, drum machine, which he called The Rhythm King. Certainly "The Rhythm King" is easily a title that Familyman has held for over 30 years.

ASTON FAMILYMAN BARRETT - COBRA STYLE

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COBRA STYLE


TRACKLIST


1. Cobra Style
2. Back Weh
3. We're Gonna Make It
4. Eastern Memphis
5. Guided Missile
6. Babylon
7. Elegant Shape
8. Distant Drums
9. Children of the Ghetto [Disco Mix] - Aston Barrett, Grant, Olive
10. My Girl - Aston Barrett, Robinson, Smokey
11. Well Pleased
12. Woman in Love
13. Work
14. A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like) [Disco Mix]
15. Cobra Style [Disco Mix][*]
16. Well Pleased [Disco Mix][*]


Product Details
Audio CD (March 2, 1999)
Original Release Date: March 2, 1999
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Heartbeat / Pgd

Before there was a Robbie Shakespeare, there was Aston "Familyman" Barrett, who, in reggae's earliest years, wielded the music's heaviest bass. As Bob Marley's bassman and arranger from the late '60s until Marley's tragic death in '81, Familyman (along with his drummer brother, the late Carlton Barrett) was a key element of the Wailers sound. But he also was an integral part of other productions by seminal studio legends like Treasure Isle's Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs, Sonia Pottinger, Lee Perry, Niney the Observer, and Studio One's Clement "Coxsonne" Dodd, and even provided weight for the vocals of the late John Denver. This record takes its title from a minor-key vamp honed to perfection by the bass hero, and it performs the service of rescuing from vinyl oblivion some of Barrett's lesser-known but nonetheless great moments, whether laying down rock-solid foundations for the sublime tenor Jimmy Riley's soaring "We're Gonna Make It" and the Wailers' "Distant Drums" (by the original lineup of Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer), or rumbling like distant thunder through reggae "dubs" or instrumentals. Bonus tracks in this priceless collection include extended remixes, a.k.a. "disco" mixes, of "Cobra Style" and "Well Pleased."