NEVER ENOUGH COOL RULER

I feel sorry for dem yutes today. Dem too cool for this Lovers Rock business. Dem only wanna Gun Spree talk and Pum Pum lyrics. Where is the poetry in that? Lovers Rock deh say is for likkle school girls and "sentimental ole fools".  GREGORY ISAACS is wah Grandma listen to .

 Yeah...it's dem yutes loss. 

In the wake of Gregory's passing many "best of" see the light of day. Most are good but a few really stand out. This TAD'S release will have your heart breaking and your eyes tearing.

ISAACS old record label AFRICAN MUSEUM struck a deal with TAD's before JAH reached down from Heaven and tapped Gregory's soul on the shoulder. So this be the official best!

Of course reggae giant VP Records couldn't sit still. And this is the product of their squirming. 

Big big tunes. A lot of the same big big tunes. So price or brand loyalty are the tings to consider. Both sets contain the essentials.

Even if the Cool Ruler just read off the ladies names out of a phone book and backed it over with a smooth Riddim I would be happy. 

Now imagine if Gregory recited Willie the Shake's Romeo et Juliette.  

It would of been the greatest love song of all time...

I will gave respect to TROJAN RECORDS. In the old days before digital remastering...their collection was unmatched.

The forever EXTRA CLASSIC. Long outta print.

THE COOLER RULER!

I approach his newer material with serious trepidation. Why? Only because the critics say his day was back in the 1970’s. Actually those critics are the same fools that claim Reggae’s glory has long since faded into ancient history. Yep, how do you explain the thirty plus years of massive musical masterpieces that were created since then? I never gave ‘em any credence before, so why start now. I did so wrongfully with this 2003 Jetstar release. You can’t blame me for not trusting my ears to Jetstar. Although, I should of known better with them too, because their forte is this sweet stuff. Jetstar are the pastry chefs of Reggae music. Baking aural confections like Ambilique, Al Campbell and Peter Hunningale.

Back to Mr. Gregory Isaacs …I figured while he was lounging around enjoying retirement age, that he might be a little hard up for some cash flow and agreed to spend a few minutes working some routine tracks. Tunes of throw away type. There never seems to be a shortage of ‘em. Sure wouldn’t be the first time a record company insulted an artist of The Cool Ruler’s stature with an album worth of junk.

No way. JETSTAR put the old man back to work full time with this disc!

Ruff Cutt’s Tony Phillips recorded this sixteen-tune daydream at Cave Studios in London. When I read Cave Studios in the liner notes I pictured the place cold and dank but this CD shines warmth. Gregory must have brought the tropics with him. Stashed away in his luggage where customs couldn’t sniff it out. Studio wiz Jazzwad shares in the creativity. Morgan Heritage splits writers credit on the title tune, “Here by Appointment.” Does Denroy’s many idren have a version of this tune or did they only supply the Riddim?

“Here By Appointment” has that vintage feel finely layered over modern Lovers Rock Riddims. Clean, clear and concise grooves that lightly bounce. Yes, he is disengaged from the beat but he embraces the mood. In fact he wraps his arms around the melody. That is the Mr. Gregory Isaacs personal signature. He enjoyed these tunes. It shows.
Now this CD has been spinning in my car for a few weeks straight. Mainly, I have to say because I am too lazy or too forgetful to change it: but like a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, once song one begins this CD sucks me right in. I even find myself driving the long way home.

GUSSIE'S 12' RULER!

Sticks and stones may break yer bones but these words are kickin’ my ass up and down the keyboard. I juss can't get to the point. This should be an easy one too…I remember hearing most of these hits when they had that new hit smell. What does a new hit smell like? It kinda smells like Napalm in the morning. You know…incendiary. That Shabba tune was making big waves on regular radio. Even the music channels on the idiot box were showing the Mr. Loverman video in heavy rotation. So here goes before I over bake this post…

Augustus Gussie Clarke cut his teeth in the music biz cutting dub plates but he soon moved on to sit in the big chair. That of a music producer, and this big chair obviously sat well with him because he is held responsible for unleashing two monsters of the age, I-Roy’s Gussie Presenting I-Roy and Big Youth’s Screaming Target. Both made massive impact on the DeeJay scene. Both pressed by England’s Trojan Records. After a few earlier false starts for everybody involved, these true debuts proved the doubters wrong. That feat of sonic engineering came near the beginning of the Seventies, but as the decade disappeared year after year into becoming the 1980’s, Gussie’s rep kinda took a step back.


Big Youth's 1972 Screaming Target changed forever how my ears heard music. Oh course this happened to me in the early 80's. Hey I was 9 years old in 1972.


My wife's favorite chanter of verse and rhymes. I don't wanna scare any of my readers but at somepoint I used to wear a similar suit. Wonder how I didn't get gunned down! That was that New Jack Swing era of the 90's.

Then the “Me Decade” changed everything. The 1980’s started with brand new sounds. Brand new digital technology and most of all, the Casio Drum machine; it shook the world of riddim up. The island would never be the same. Deejays popped up everywhere. Everybody a DeeJay now and they are all spouting off the same rhetoric over the same preset beat. Natural selection weeded out the imitators quick enough. Left standing were a cast of young upstart producers and a whole new generation of fast talkers. They easily filled the big chairs. And they filled the charts with hit after hit. They all had fresh faces to promote. The emerging Dancehall style was becoming the new musical language spoken. Business JA style would still be as lawless as ever. Some things never change, but this sudden shift in musical taste must have caused some gray dreads to the Roots Rockers.



Gussie was now a seasoned professional, which meant he no longer had street level player cred. Gussie should have gotten trampled under that mad rush of talent and technology but no, he was completely reinvigorated. Gussie was old news no more.
Gussie helped a lot of the roots era singers’ transition over to the digital dancehall side. The Eighties were now in full swing. He made sure that the Dennis Browns and the Gregory Isaacs were not the last decade’s chart leftovers. With an updated re-cut of The Mighty Diamonds tune “Bodyguard” Gussie reintroduced the harmony trio to whole new generation. And without causing any disrespect to their original take. Never a stranger to new talent, Gussie is responsible for two of the international breakout Shabba Ranks best full-length releases, Mr. Maximum and Rapping with the Ladies. Both records were big world wide sellers for Greensleeves and both can found on their Reggae Legends series 4 CD box set. Later on that very welcomed into my home set.



This 12’ Ruler is dancing with your lady Dancehall. I say that due to the good balance of the playful male too female duets. This Gussie comp is still perfectly suited for a festive Friday night though. Ironically Mr. Gregory Isaacs, the King of Lover’s Rock, his included tunes are more of social politics and not of affairs of the heart. No overtly offensive slack tunes either.



I stumbled across this VP Records release long after I bought the Greensleeves disc. It's VP's version of the above record but with a few tunes switching places. Most notably for me is lead off tune by The Mighty Diamonds! I never get sick of hearing "Pass the Kutchie". That is a big big smile tune.

MORE TRIBUTE

Okay... I sorta rushed my Gregory Isaacs tribute to the presses. When Sugar Minott left behind his earthly possessions, I took too long to respond. I spent more time researching and listening than actually typing. In the mean time some beautiful pages were written in the man's memory, so I decided that my two cents were worth just that; two cents. So I pushed delete. But with the Cool Ruler I relied on the what came quick off the top of my head and did my research after the fact.

Apparently what came off the top my head was wrong. Ernie B's didn't even have a CD copy of Extra Clasic. New or used. Although, they did have a few original copies in vinyl. Amazon listed a few copies of the Trojan CD edition for big bucks. Crazy. I wonder who holds the copyrights now? African Museum? Did Gregory Isaacs even own his African Museum record and publishing company by this point? Extra Classic is the Cool Ruler's best singles from 1975/76. This is way to important to be outta print. Hey suits are ya listening?

While I was loitering around Ernie B's online store, I came across this...



This seems to be a good thing that is catching on. VP Records in conjunction with their Greensleeves divsion gathers together four usually impossible to find records from a particular artist and then box sets 'em. This series of Reggae Legends releases is out to restore lost musical masterpieces from their collective catalogs. The trend so far is releases from the mid 80's to the mid 90's. That lost generation between the classic roots era and now. And at a nice price ta boot! I'll rave about the Cocoa Tea set at a later day. When I do, I will rave up the Shabba Ranks boxset from them as well.



I am not gonna lie to ya, Mr. Isaacs did his fair share of throw away tracks, but his uniquely languid approach could make light weight lyrics turn out heavy vibed. It was his gift.

Tonight my turntable belongs to Mr. Gregory Isaacs

Damn good thing my daily position in life is not that of a blogger. Umm, what has it been? Almost a month? My family would of starved! This morning while I was trying to look interested and upright sitting on those hard wooden benches at the traffic tribunal, my mind was drifting on soft lovers rock riddims. It was two stiff hours before my wife’s name was called. She pleaded guilty to speeding and asked for leniency with her good driving record. I was busy running my blog over in my head. Today would be the day I finish up those “book reports” and 12-inch rulers posts I started. Sadly, not to be…



…A tiny blurb in the BBC News caught my eye; “ Reggae star Isaacs dies aged 59.” What?! Mister Gregory Isaacs passed away after battling lung cancer.



He was correctly nick named Cool Ruler. The Lovers Rock phenomenon is basically his creation. And if you argue against that theory at least I know you will agree that he perfected it.



Don't have any Cool Ruler in your CD selection to spin? This Trojan collection is great place to begin. I believe it is still being issued. I know the Cool Ruler Virgin Lp is long outta print. Extra Classic rolls up to the starting line with the smoking Dread anthem "Mr. Cop." That tune is a Lee Perry production filled with the Black Ark sound. One classic after another till ya reach halfway thru, and "I'm alright (loving pauper)", greets your ears. That tune should send shivers. Trojan fills the last half with the B-side dub versions. All killer cuts. A 5 outta 5.



The heavy roots era is when Isaac’s star shone super nova bright. Not that the 80’s decade gave him a cold shoulder, because he dropped his biggest seller, “Night Nurse” in 1982. This record's relaxed vibe will take you to the warm waters of sunny beaches even if your stuck in the middle of nowhere. So metaphorically get sand between your toes and sip a cup. Soak it in.

Every couple of years the Cool Ruler makes a small comeback. Maybe he drops a new record. For the most part, they're all good. Maybe he even does a greatest hits tour. It was about that time and I figured he would be gracing a festival somewhere close this coming summer.



Speaking of those best of hits discs, it seems like every Reggae record company under Jah's blue sky has pressed a version of their own Gregory's Greatest. Same goes for Dennis Brown. Be wary, there appears to be infinite number of duplication. So buy wise.



Tonight my turntable belongs to Mr. Gregory Isaacs.

Mr COOL RULER!

No waxing poetics today. No picking up the pieces today. Just rolling the stone nice and lazy like. Not an ounce of animosity shaking my bones. Today is a hazy humid day overshadowed by a thunder head leering off in the distance. I got my fingers crossed it blows in soon. I am hoping it splits open the sky above my home. That would be a sigh of relief. The much needed rain bouncing off my roof.



Extra Classic is an album's worth of A side singles and their flip B side dubs. Each tune is gold spun from different producers controlling different studios. If you have never heard a Gregory Isaacs record before then prepare to slow time down. Not stop it, just lay the groove so far back that the clock seems to tic the minutes off a few seconds late. Gregory delivers his words with the patience of a Saint. Gregory sings songs filled with love. Deepest affection for Jah. Brotherly respect for his fellow sufferah, and big romantic gestures towards the ladies. Gregory could be called a Rastaman cupid-his arrows strike their bullseyes straight thru the heart, but his arrows float in the air a little longer than gravity usually allows. That is Gregory's gift. Defying laws graciously.