Cover Versions (and Stuff) Feb 24th 2012

Tonight's show was all about cover versions / alternate versions. Always great fun to do, these shows tend to lean more towards ska than reggae. This could indicate a lack of imagination on the behalf of ska bands but I prefer to think it's just that they recognise when a song can be improved by the application of some ska!

Here's the list:

1. Reggae Girls (aka The Ebony Sisters) - Rescue Me (Fontella Bass)
2. Simmertones - Dr Who (Ron Grainger)
3. Smoke Like a Fish - Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple)
4. Dreadzone - Iron Shirt (Max Romeo)
5. Pete Johnson - Crying In The Rain (Everley Brothers)
6. The Upsetters - My Girl (Temptations)
7. Marcia Griffiths - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
8. Begoña Bang-Matu and The Shake It Up's - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) (Staple Singers)
9. Suburban Legends - I Just Can't Wait to Be King (Disney)
10. The Butlers - Sock It To 'Em J.B. (Rex Garvin / Specials)
11. Hot 8 Brass Band - Ghost Town (Specials)
12. The Shake Spears - Summertime (Just about everyone!)
13. Alpha Blondy - I Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
14. Krystal/Shabba Ranks - Twice My Age (Terry Jacks)
15. Jackie Mittoo - Ska-culation (Chantays)
16. The Gaylettes - Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
17. Reel Big Fish - Take On Me (Live) (Aha)

Postscript: some of the tunes I played tonight went down with some listeners like a fart in a spaceman's suit. I can only apologise! Should you be brave enough, you can hear the show on soundcloud and try to guess which ones went down so badly!

More Stuff than Reggae? Rich's Reggae (and Stuff) Feb 17th

It's quite an eclectic playlist for tonight's show. I saw Lee Perry earlier in the week and this is reflected in the list, along with a tune from his support act, the wonderful Laid Blak. The playlist had a bit of everything this week; some soul, a couple of cover versions, a fair bit of ska, a couple of seriously funky tunes and even some steel drums! Hope you enjoyed the show. If you haven't had a listen yet you can find it on my soundcloud page.

1. Tommy McCook - Freedom Sounds
2. Bombskare - Drum Boogie
3. Delroy Wilson - Get Ready (12 Inch Mix)
4. Ska Flames - Kiss Bam Bam
5. Fimber Bravo - The Way We Live Today
6. Lee Fields and the Expressions - You're The Kind Of Girl (Grant Phabao Remix)
7. Keith Rowe - Groovy Situation
8. Max Romeo - Chase the Devil
9. Bob Marley and Lee Perry - Shocks of Mighty, Pt. 1
10. Winston Edwards - Big Daddy Amin
11. Niney and Friends - Dub 51
12. Laid Blak - Shabba
13. Talisman - Free Speech 7" Mix
14. Baba Brooks - Teenage Ska
15. Roland Alphonso and the Upsetters - Roll On
16. The Boris Gardiner Happening Feat. Leslie Butler - Ghetto Funk

It's Ladies Night!

Tonight's Fusion On Air show was a Ladies Of Reggae special, celebrating female vocalists with some sweet reggae (and stuff):

1. Marcia Aitken - I'm Still In Love (3:23)

2. Sophia George - Girlie Girlie (3:00)

3. Cynty & The Monkees - Lady Lady (2:58)

4. Hollie Cook - Milk & Honey (3:39)

5. Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop (2:01)

6. Sister Nancy - I Am A Geddion (2:57)

7. Phyllis Dillon - A Thing Of The Past (2:42)

8. Dawn Penn - I'll Never Let You Go (2:50)

9. Althea - Down Town Thing (3:37)

10. Full Experience - Young Gifted And Broke (3:29)

11. Nora Dean - Ay Ay Ay (3:01)

12. Rita Marley - Call To Me (1:59)

13. Angelique - Cry (4:04)

14. Hortense Ellis - Woman of the Ghetto (3:05)

15. Susan Cadogan - I Say A Little Prayer (2:11)

16. Cynthia Richards - Conversation (2:26)

17. Claudette - Queen of the World (2:18)

18. Cimarons - We Are Not the Same (3:30)

19. Marcia Griffiths - Feel Like Jumping (3:35)

Huge thanks to Mick for putting this show summary vid together:

Rich's Reggae (and Stuff) - Fusion Launch Night 3rd Feb

This is the playlist for my first show for the all new Fusion On Air:

1. Prince Francis - Rock Fort Shock (2:37)
2. Roy Shirley - Hold them (2:44)
3. Marvells - Rock Steady (3:04)
4. Dennis Alcapone - Upsetter Version (2:56)
5. Count Ossie - Meditation (2:31)
6. Jackie Mittoo - This Scorcher (2:00)
7. The Humanitarians - Look Within (4:44)
8. Urang Matang - Bobby Baboon (2:34)
9. Tenor Saw - Fever (4:35)
10. The Beat - Big Shot (2:29)
11. Laurel Aitken - Pussy Price (3:01)
12. Tommy McCook - The World Needs Love (2:12)
13. Don Drummond - Silver Dollar (2:58)
14. Sister Nancy - Bam-Bam (3:16)
15. Mungo's Hi Fi - Did You Really Know (feat. Soom T) (4:32)
16. Susan Cadogan - Do It Baby (3:07)
17. U-Roy - Pumps and Pride (feat. Tarrus Riley) (3:47)
18. Vin Gordon - Liquid Horns (3:19)

Putting this together gave me so much pleasure, I hope that came across on the air. I have been told I sound dour, dull and even apologetic. Oh well, not to worry! If you want "Hey guys, let's go craaaaazy" I suggest commercial radio; if you want real music being played by a music lover because it makes them smile or moves them then give Fusion a try!

Dispelling the ConFUSION

You may have seen me tweeting and re-tweeting recently about me having another crack at internet radio, this time with new station Fusion On Air. The main reason for me once again dipping my toes into the waters of DJism is simply that I've really missed the buzz of hearing a tune, wanting to share it and having the outlet to do so! Fusion are launching this evening (Sunday 3rd Feb) with three one-hour shows. My slot this week is the middle of the three at 8pm UK time but I'm not going to have a set showtime, or a set type of show. This week it's just a selection of reggae (and stuff) that has made me smile over the last week or two; future shows may follow that format or may have a theme of some sort. Next weekend I'll be presenting an hour of Women of Reggae, the only male voice you'll hear will be mine - and I keep that to an absolute minimum. Please pop along to have a listen live or stream the shows on mixlr. The ethos behind Fusion is simple "Just for the love of music, and the fun of it!"; no rampant egoism, no commercial pap, no superstar DJs - just decent music that we wanted to share. You can find Fusion on Twitter as @FusionOnAir. Here's some ConFUSION music to whet your appetite in the mean time!