Superlative 70’s dub masterpiece from the Blackheart Man Bunny Wailer

Subtle interpretations of cuts from Bunny’s ‘Blackheart Man’ album together with contemporaneous Solomonic disco mixes with unsung dub masters Sylvan Morris and Karl Pitterson at the control tower

At the same time that Neville ‘Bunny Wailer’ Livingston recorded his debut solo long playing masterpiece, ‘Blackheart Man’, he was also creating a series of singles for his own Solomonic label. These records were every bit as good, at times even better, but they have never been released outside of Jamaica. Until now…

At the same time that Neville ‘Bunny Wailer’ Livingston recorded his debut solo long playing masterpiece, ‘Blackheart Man’, he was also creating a series of singles for his own Solomonic label. These records were every bit as good, at times even better, but they have never been released outside of Jamaica. Until now…

At the same time that Neville ‘Bunny Wailer’ Livingston recorded his debut solo long playing masterpiece, ‘Blackheart Man’, he was also creating a series of singles for his own Solomonic label. These records were every bit as good, at times even better, but they have never been released outside of Jamaica. Until now…

Invaluable hard Dancehall steppers by Family Man produced in the twilight of the Digital era.The Ragga sound at its peak after the Digital Revolution, Family Man still remains to be the trusted person of influence. His iconic hard steppers style bass line is non exceptional at this era, so deep like in immovability like a mountain. Ashanti Wah recorded this piece a few times after, however none of them comes even as close as this cut. Officially first time to be released as a single.

A minor chord killer instrumental - the corpus of all the Family Man sounds. It is also a monumental piece of the Wailers Band. Like Eastern Memphis, this is one of the most talked about Family Man masterpiece. It clearly shows Family Man’s musical versatility not only as a bassist, but as a master musician. Although funnily enough it was the time when Jamaica was largely dominated by Deejays and Dancehall, the world famous Wailers Band never betrayed their fans by tightly keeping their “Wailers Sound”. It is a pleasure to listen to the strong belief and confidence in their music.

Recorded at the same session as Cobra Style, this is a peace and love instrumental that touches your heartstrings. Perhaps designed by Family Man himself, this is a piece to chill out after being done by the killer, Cobra Style as it was originally recorded on the B-side of the same 12” ? a must have for the owner of the latter. Although the instrumentals have traditionally been recorded since the 60’s, due to the cut down on the recording cost, it started to diminish since the end of the 70’s and it was really rare to see them in the 80’s, so that make it an undoubtedly precious and prestige instrumental. Comparing this to Cobra Style, there could be an endless discussion arguing which one is better however since they have such different musical concepts to each other, leave them alone to appreciate the true listening experience.

The finest instrumental dub that deserves the name, Familyman and the Rebel Arms. A piece never really got released back then.It is Familyman’s specialty to express his infinite creativity on instrumentals. As expected, he easily achieved higher dimension with these two minimalistically structured pieces. Nothing but a Familyman’s sound played by no other than the Wailers band themselves. In addition, he may have played this superb synthesizer himself.Guaranteed you won’t hear this sort of sound anywhere else.

A dignified roots vocal that represents the sounds of the Wailers of the time. In the 60’s, as known as the prime of time for Rocksteady, Jimmy Riley used to sing for a vocal group called the Uniques. Back then, Familyman was playing as a part of the infamous session band, the Hippy Boys in the heart of Kingston.The first ever recording of those two goes way back in 1968, so it must have been quite a reunion in this studio session.This piece was recorded around about the same time as the Cobra Style, and exactly as Familyman plotted, the veteran, Jimmy achieved the great Wailers sound.

In the 60’s, as known as the prime of time for Rocksteady, Jimmy Riley used to sing for a vocal group called the Uniques. Back then, Familyman was playing as a part of the infamous session band, the Hippy Boys in the heart of Kingston.The first ever recording of those two goes way back in 1968, so it must have been quite a reunion in this studio session.This piece was recorded around about the same time as the Cobra Style, and exactly as Familyman plotted, the veteran, Jimmy achieved the great Wailers sound.

Beautifully shinning golden female Lover's Rock.At this time, the Wailers band didn't play much of those sweet love songs, however this 7” definitely proves Familyman’s versatile musical orientation. A truly tight rhythm section beautifully blends with this rather unknown singer’s superb voice making these nothing but a masterpiece. A heart calming double-sider.

Jackie Mittoo’s all time classic interpreted deadly by Familyman, backed with the one off style instrumental accompanied by astonishingly cool chant.It would never be possible to mass-produce this kind of highly creative and artistic piece by mainstream producers. This would only have happened by the world’s top class band that they are.

A nyabingi style killer instrumental of the roots classic Love Thy Neighbours by Jesus Dread a.k.a. Vivian Jackson.Created by a combination ? the diversity of a series of personalities of the Wailers with the strict Rastaman, Vivian Jackson, this authentic Rastafari sound comes with no compromise.

This is the quintessence of the Wailers lead by Familyman, playing a killer horn instrumental and the dubwise. Arguably one of the most accomplished reggae instrumentals to date. The Wailers consisting of the Barrett brothers is without a doubt the number one band of the era, showcasing their full confidence which later gets praised by the entire world. The bold and courageous, yet ambitious and highly spirited, everything you need to get out of the Caribbean ghetto to the world is heard in this miraculous recording.

A classic Rasta Man song sung by Bunny Wailer, the most devoted Rastafarian out of all the Wailers. This unforgettable Rasta Man Anthem was released just before one of the most important roots reggae album to date, Blackheart Man dropped. Unlike the original release, this single take is backed with a dub cut.

Recorded in 1973 accompanied by the Wailers, this truly rare masterpiece was fronted by Don Hutson, an executive of the severe Rastafarian organization, Twelve Tribes of Israel. Produced by former Jamaican National Football Team player, Allan ‘Skill’ Cole, it was released by Tuff Gong in 1973 and known as an extremely rare shot that collectors have been searching for all over the place. This beautifully sparkling classic spiritual reggae piece is undoubtedly one of the top 10s released in 1973. If you love reggae, we presume that you won’t be able to avoid this masterpiece.

One of the many spiritual and cultural classic lyrics that Bunny Wailer has written, and this is an exclusive single take. The lyrics - written soon after he was arrested due to the possession of Marijuana, can be heard as “Fight Against Conviction” on one of the most important roots reggae album to date, Blackheart Man, although this recording is an early take released in 1974 by the Wailers.

In 1966, Bunny Wailer started singing spiritual lyrics before anyone else, and this masterpiece he sung about returning to Africa was written while he was still recording for Studio One. Although it was originally recorded for Studio One, it has never seen the day of light. Then Lee Perry recorded it again and released in 1971. This particular take was recorded especially for the album in 1976 and released from Island Records UK as a single.