Saturday, March 12, 2016

Fire On The Mountain: Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead Vols. 1 & 2



Disc 1
1. Casey Jones (Wailing Souls)
2. Touch of Grey (Mighty Diamonds)
3. Catfish John (Toots)
4. Row Jimmy (Judy Mowatt)
5. Uncle John's Band (Joe Higgs)
6. Franklin's Tower (Steel Pulse)
7. Fire on the Mountain (Chalice)
8. Wharf Rat (Michael Rose)
9. Eyes of the World (Freddie McGregor)
10. Cassidy (Lasana Bandele')
11. Good Lovin' (Dennis Brown)

Disc 2
1. Truckin' (Wailing Souls)
2. Althea (Culture)
3. Sugar Magnolia (Chalice)
4. They Love Each Other (Judy Mowatt)
5. Turn On Your Lovelight (Toots)
6. Sugaree (Gregory Isaacs)
7. Shakedown Street (Marcia Griffiths)
8. Birdsong (Ken Boothe)
9. Wheel (The Congos)
10. If I Had the World to Give (Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus)
11. Black Muddy River (Israel Vibration)
12. Stop That Train (The Workingmen feat. Sly & Robbie, Warren Haynes and Merl Saunders)
13. Fire on the Mountain - Ryabinghi mix (Chalice)

It's safe to say that most record collections that include the Grateful Dead also include at least a couple of reggae albums; the audiences for the Dead and reggae share a love for easy, loping rhythms and homespun harmonies, not to mention a countercultural bent. Never, however, has the connection between the Dead and reggae been made more explicit than on these two amazing collections of Dead covers; produced and released by the short-lived Pow Wow label in the mid '90s, these two volumes feature a Who's Who of reggae stars including "Toots" Hibbert, Culture, Joe Higgs, Steel Pulse, Mighty Diamonds, Judy Mowatt, Dennis Brown, Michael Rose, Ras Michael, Gregory Isaacs and many others performing a variety of Dead songs and songs associated with the band. And, although the liner notes (reproduced here) claim that none of the Jamaican artists were familiar with the Dead's music prior to these recordings, the 24 performances here include some definitive interpretations. Out of print for years and a real find!

Download
Format - FLAC (Torrent): HERE!
Format - Mp3 (V0): HERE!

4 comments:

  1. Played these til the skipped in college! Great set, great upload. Thank you

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  2. I too played the hell out of this my senior yr of HS.

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  3. Dude...nice score! It's been decades since I've heard the first LP. Didn't even know they made a 2nd one. It's like Christmas all damn year long. Many thanks again!

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  4. Loved these reggae versions. Jerry would have wholeheartedly acknowledge these tributes

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