On U Sound - Pay It All Back Volume 3

Released in 1991 this probably represents a period when the On U Sound's profile was at its highest mainly due to a bit of chart action with Gary Clail ,the use of African Headcharge on a few soundtracks and some of Lee Perry's most critically acclaimed work since the days of The Black Ark. The Stone Roses even got themselves an Adrian Sherwood production for "One Love" , I seem to remember , not sure if it ever had an official release but if anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.
Anyway this is a very good comp containing all the usual suspects from the On U Sound collective including the aforementioned Lee Perry backed by Dub Syndicate singing about one of his favourite subjects , himself , and if I was Lee Perry I would too , on "You Thought I Was Dead" , the Jim Morrisson sampling Dub Syndicate track " Stoned Immaculate" and for a reminder of late 80s'/early 90s' UK suburban drudgery hear Kilroy , both morning and afternoon editions of Neighbours , CNN , housework and checkout Qs' all name checked in Little Annie's "When I Think Of You". Dub Syndicate's "Hey Ho" and African Headcharge's "My God" are both IMHO classic On U Sound tracks that if there is/was a best of On U Sound type comp representing the past 30 years they would have to be on it.The track "Blue Moon" by Barmy Army was a John Peel favourite with it's samples of football terrace chants (Man City fans singing their "theme" ) and commentary (Martin Tyler I think) and one guy I had forgotten about was Jesse Rae and who I assumed was a figment of my imagination until digging this out and checking out YouTube. A Scotsman in a funky style complete with kilt,helmet and brandishing a proper massive Claymore still performing to this day and currently up for election to become an MEP. Shows just how diverse the On U Sound - sound - is although Dub , Reggae ,Funk and loads of experimentation are never far from the surface.

A good vinyl rip if I do say so myself, have new cartridge fitted on the ol' turntable now ,after getting my head round the fact that some places charge £20 - £30 to set it up for you , sod that , can't be that difficult can it ? Not too difficult but , wow, not as easy as I thought. Will support my local Hi fi shop in the future. PAY IT ALL BACK 3 HERE .



Tracklisting


Disconnection - Strange Parcels
Heart's Desire - Strange Parcels
You Thought I Was Dead - Lee Perry & Dub Syndicate
Stoned Immaculate -Dub Syndicate
I Think Of You - Little Annie
Jack The Biscuit - Andy Fairley
Hey Ho - Dub Syndicate
These Things Happen -Mark Stewart
Ennio - Martin Frederix
To Be Free - Strange Parcels
My God - African Head Charge
Spirit Soul - Alan Pillay
False Leader - Gary Clail
Jacob's Pillow - Jesse Rae
Devo - Barmy Army
Blue Moon - Barmy Army
Nightmare - Bim Sherman







Need to set up a turntable? Pay attention and take notes.

Parliament - Rhenium

Anyone for some psychedelic funk/soul accompanied by bagpipes,yodeling,harps, jews harp,steel guitars,doo-wop,choirs and the genius of Eddie Hazel ? This is an early 90s' issue of Parliament's debut album "Osmium" with three non album singles added and renamed for some strange reason "Rhenium". "Osmium" was not surprisingly ignored on release in 1970 and has since been sampled to death by De La Soul and others.Although often labeled as a funk classic this skips across so many genres its beyond labeling and it doesn't ever sound like a band trying out different badly fitting outfits as it all works well together,retaining a sort of playful feel throughout probably due to the production of George Clinton .

Hard to pick highlights as I love it all even the ,probably intentionally, dumb nursery rhyme lyrics to "Funky Woman" - sample - "She threw them in the sink , the sink began to stink ....... Funky Woman " and "She threw them in the air , the air said this ain't fair"....... Funky Woman" all with church organ and some mean guitar playing. It even has a sort of come down track at the end, "The Silent Boatman" ,this is the one with the bagpipes.

Wiki here. Definitely one for the collection Here .

Good excuse too for a bit of this ......

Cult TV Classics

As far as I can tell this contains all the original versions of some classic TV theme tunes from the 60s' and 70s' most of which will be instantly memorable to many even if some of the actual shows themselves haven't been seen since the reign of Margaret Thatcher although a quick scan through the current TV listings will probably show, in the UK at least , that a fair few of them are still showing on ITV 8 or Bozo + 3 or one of many other such mind sapping channels. Okay a few veer towards the genre that lads mags of the mid 90s' seemed to want foist on an impressionable readership , "Lounge Music", but that shouldn't detract from the buzz you may get as your brain opens up long forgotten memory cells as you hear the theme tunes to "Joe 90", "Tomorrow People","Batman" and ,cliche ahead ,the stirring "Thunderbirds"once again. As this is ripped from a tape the quality seemed to drop a tad over the first few tracks but they are both still very much listenable as is the rest of it apart from the pointless Joe 9o remix.

Warning: Over exposure to the theme tune to Robinson Crusoe may induce those of a certain age to regress to a state of childhood and hanker for mornings in front of the telly during school holidays , or maybe it's just me.

1. Man from U.N.C.L.E.
2. Mission: Impossible [The Plot] - San Diego Symphony Pops, Lalo Schifrin
3. Mission: Impossible - San Diego Symphony Pops, Lalo Schifrin
4. Captain Scarlet "The Mysterons" - Barry Gray Orchestra
5. Captain Scarlet - Barry Gray Orchestra
6. Danger Man (High Wire)
7. Mannix - San Diego Symphony Pops, Lalo Schifrin
8. Batman
9. Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
10. Tomorrow People - Dudley Simpson
11. Stingray - Barry Gray Orchestra, Gary Miller
12. March of the Oysters - Barry Gray Orchestra
13. Aqua Marina - Barry Gray Orchestra, Gary Miller
14. Saint
15. Hi-Jacked [Joe 90] - Barry Gray Orchestra
16. Joe 90 - Barry Gray Orchestra
17. Avengers
18. Parker, Well Done - Barry Gray Orchestra
19. Thunderbirds - Barry Gray Orchestra
20. Joe 90 Remix - Barry Gray Orchestra

Wallow in nostalgia HERE