that ones a few years old. the new one is 4 cds
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THE ROCKERS STORY: THE MYSTIC WORLD OF AUGUSTUS PABLO
BOX SET PRESENTS COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THE GENUIS OF AUGUSTUS PABLO AS COMPOSER PRODUCER AND MUSICIAN
FOUR CD/ONE DVD PACKAGE PRESENTS RARE RECORDINGS PLUS FIRST OFFICIALLY RELEASED PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE OF THE LATE PABLO
Augustus Pablo won world-wide acclaim as a reggae artist, credited as being one of the great architects of dub music and creator of two of the greatest reggae albums ever created: King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown and East Of The River Nile. While his dub creations are among the greatest ever produced, Pablo's talents as a composer of melodies, as an accomplished instrumentalist and as an inspired producer of some of the most profound music ever created, were expressed on both his own recordings and his productions of other artists, especially singers. As a New York Times critic noted: "Pablo is more than a gifted instrumentalist; he is a masterful pop composer whose recordings are possessed by a reflective, almost mystical sadness." Ironically, despite this recognition, only a relatively small portion of Pablo's artistic achievement is widely known. The reason for this is simple: few people who heard the music of the reclusive Pablo ever saw him in concert. Also many of his finest productions were issued in small quantities and have only been intermittently available. On June 17th 2008, just in time for Pablo's birthday later that week on the 21st, Shanachie Entertainment will release The Rockers Story: The Mystic World Of Augustus Pablo, a comprehensive four CD, one DVD box set with a twenty page booklet including extensive commentary from writers in Jamaica, England and America and many rare photos. As such it provides a definitive portrait of one of the most extraordinary musical artists ever to grace the world scene.
The four CDs in The Rockers Story cover the gamut of Pablo's artistry, moving from instrumental works to dubs to vocal productions. Disc 1 ("Classic Rockers") focuses on many of the key recordings which established his reputation in the early to mid-1970s, including such classics as "East Of The River Nile" and "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown," as well as his ground-breaking productions of such major vocalists as Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell and Leroy Sibbles of The Heptones. Disc 2 ("Roots Rockers") presents a selection of deep roots reggae, showing off his ability on clavinet and xylophone as well as his trademark melodica. Such relatively obscure but talented singers as Earl Sixteen, Delroy Williams, Paul Blackman and Norris Reid come to the fore here as well as his collaborations with Lee "Scratch" Perry and Vivian "Yabby You" Jackson. Disc 3 ("New Style Rockers") traces the evolution of Pablo's music into the 1980s and later into the "digital" era. Included on the disc is his biggest hit in the dancehall realm, Jr. Delgado's "Ragamuffin Year," as well as a re-working of his breakthrough hit "Java" and a rare vocal by Pablo himself. Disc 4 ("Rockers Rarities") presents his first released recording ("Higgy Higgy"), rare recordings for other producers, and a selection of tracks highly sought-after by collectors, some previously only available on vinyl (Pablo's "Twin Seal," Asher & Trimble's "Humble Yourself" and vinyl-only extended mixes) as well as previously unreleased works by Earl Sixteen and Lloyd Hemmings.
The DVD disc presents the first official release of video footage of Augustus Pablo in concert performance, featuring one song each from his 1986 JapanSplash appearance and from PitSplash, another Japanese festival. These are followed by extraordinary, previously unreleased footage shot in Jamaica by Jerry Stein and Jeff Roth, producers of the documentary Word Sound Power. These segments capture Pablo and Hugh Mundell in a leafy glade by a river, Pablo playing guitar and melodica and Mundell singing prayerful, chant-like songs. A short interview segment with Pablo follows.
The booklet features commentary by: Lol Bell-Brown, co-author of Augustus Pablo: Original Rocker, a discography and career overview, who gives a perspective of Pablo's impact on the UK scene; Herbie Miller, who has served as manager of such artists as Peter Tosh, Judy Mowatt and The Skatalites and served as road-manager for one of Pablo's Japanese tours, gives a perspective of Pablo's significance on the Jamaican music scene and Randall Grass, who wrote one of the first American articles about Pablo in 1980 and knew him throughout his association with Shanachie Entertainment. The booklet includes many never-before-seen photos of Pablo as well as artists he worked with such as King Tubby, Hugh Mundell, Jacob Miller, Jr. Delgado, and others. The box cover photo is a luminous portrait of Pablo by noted photographer Kate Simon.
Augustus Pablo was born Horace Swaby on June 21, 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica where his father was an accountant. As a youth, from his bedroom window he was mesmerized by the reverberating music from the outdoor sound systems in neighborhoods down the hill towards town and frequently snuck out of the house to go and hear the music firsthand. He taught himself to play piano and by secondary school was cutting class with future Wailers keyboardist Tyrone Downie to practice on the chapel organ. Soon he was skipping school to prowl record shops and recording studios in downtown Kingston, soon starting a sound system of his own. In 1970, he was discovered hanging around Aquarius Records by proprietor Herman Chin-Loy, who was fascinated by Pablo's uncanny ability to play a melodica and brought the youth into the studio to blow melodica on some instrumentals that were released under the name Augustus Pablo. Soon after, Pablo's schoolmate, Clive Chin, the song of Randy's Records owners brought Pablo to the studio to record. The resulting recording Java, became a major hit in Jamaica and introduced Pablo's signature minor-key "far east" sound. An album followed and Pablo became an in-demand session musician, playing piano, organ, clavinet and melodica for many different producers.
By 1973 Pablo began releasing his own productions on such labels as Rockers, Hot Stuff and Yard and later, Message. Pablo's productions featured ultra-heavy rhythm tracks and unique textures and melodies, as well as "Roots-and-Culture" lyrics on vocal numbers – all of which helped usher in the classic "Rockers" style of reggae that dominated the golden age of roots reggae during the Seventies. A close association with King Tubby, the inventor of dub music, helped Pablo become one of the great exponents of dub music along with Tubby and Lee Perry. Ignoring commercial trends, Pablo's music was highly respected by reggae insiders and he began to develop a following in the UK and United States. His landmark King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown album made tremendous impact in 1976 while East of the River Nile, hit another peak in 1977. Reclusive by nature and uninterested in fame or fortune, Pablo recorded only when inspired and often retreated to a simple existence in rural areas of Jamaica. In the Eighties his touring was infrequent, which only added to this mystique. As reggae evolved into the "digital" era, Pablo continued to follow his muse, nonetheless often experimenting with digital rhythms, sometimes in combination with traditional Nyabinghi percussion. Often in ill health over the years, Augustus Pablo died suddenly of complications from a rare nerve disorder in Kingston in 1999 at the age of 46. The Rockers Story: The Mystic World Of Augustus Pablo is testament that Augustus Pablo's rich legacy lives on!
Street Date: June 17, 2008
check out especially disk 5 dvd!
DISC ONE: CLASSIC ROCKERS
1. AUGUSTUS PABLO EastOf The River Nile
2. JACOB MILLER False Rasta
3. A. PABLO 555Crown St.
4.A. PABLO 555 Dub
5.THE HEPTONES Love Won�t Come Easy
6. DILLINGER Take It Easy
7. A. PABLO Frozen Dub
8. JACOB MILLER Baby I Love You So
9.A. PABLO Cassava Piece
10.A. PABLO King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
11. A. PABLO Skanking Easy
12. A. PABLO Skanking Dub
13. JR. DELGADO Blackman Heart
14. HUGH MUNDELL Africa Must Be Free(By The Year 1983)
15.A. PABLO Park Lane Special
16.A. PABLO Keep On Dubbing
17. JAH LEVI Selassie Verandah
DISC TWO: ROOTS ROCKERS
1.JAH INEY El Rockers I
2. EARL SIXTEEN Changing World
3.AUGUSTUS PABLO Havendale Rock
4. HUGH MUNDELL Why Do Black Men Fuss & Fight
5. A. PABLO Rockers Meet King Tubbys Ina Fire House
6. A. PABLO AP Special
7. PAUL BLACKMAN Earth Wind & Fire
8. DELROY WILLIAMS Think Twice
9.A. PABLO Israel In Harmony (12� extended version w/ dub)
10. A. PABLO/LEE PERRY Vibrate On
11.A. PABLO Silent Satta
12. NORRIS REID Black Forces
13. A. PABLO Ital Sip
14. A. PABLO Thunderclap
15. TETRACK Let�s Get Started
16. A. PABLO/YABBY YOU Pablo Dread Ina Red
DISC THREE: NEW STYLE ROCKERS
1. AUGUSTUS PABLO Earth�s Rightful Ruler
2. A. PABLO Jah Light
3. NORRIS REID Entrance To Jah World (extended 12� mix with dub)
4. A. PABLO King David�s Melody
5. A. PABLO Short Man Dub
6. JUNIOR DELGADO Ragamuffin Year
7. A. PABLO Java
8. A. PABLO Upful Living
9. JOHNNY OSBORNE Rude Boy
10.A.PABLO Creation Blues
11.A.PABLO Drums To The King
12.JUNIOR DELGADO One Day
13.A. PABLO Zion Way Dub
14.A. PABLO Eastern Code
15.WILLIE WILLIAMS No War
16.A. PABLO Drum Song
DISC FOUR:AUGUSTUS PABLO: RARE ROCKERS
1.AUGUSTUS PABLO Iggy Iggy
2. A. PABLO Pablo In Dub
3.A. PABLO Hap-Ki-Do
4. HUGH MUNDELL Stop Them Jah (extended 12� mix)
5. ASHER & TRIMBLE Humble Yourself (7� version)
6. ROCKERS ALL-STARS Humble version
7. DELROY WILLIAMS Foxhole
8. ROCKERS ALL-STARS Son Of Man Dub
9. SISTER FRICA One In The Spirit (extended 12� mix)
10. A. PABLO Twin Seal (extended 12� mix)
11.THE IMMORTALS Can�t Keep A Good Man Down (7� mix)
12. PABLO ALL-STARS Can�t Keep A Good Dub Down
13. EARL SIXTEEN Freedom Fighter
14. A. PABLO Third Eye
15.AUGUSTUS PABLO ALL-STARS Third Eye Version
16. JAH LEVI Zion A Fe Lion
17. ROCKERS ALL-STARS Abashanti Dub
18.A. PABLO Full Up (12� extended version)
DISC FIVE: DVD VIDEO
1. Frozen Dub - Live Concert Performance
2. Rockers Rock - Live Concert Performance
3.Acoustic performance with Hugh Mundell
4. Pablo Interview
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