So the tune we'll discuss today in the imaginary seminar that occupies a certain part of my brain is….
"When Jah Come" by Devon Irons (pictured below) - look it up everybody - a 7 inch on Lee Perry's Upsetter label. Recorded, I would think, around 1976 and released in '77. Why? Because a little dive into some of the aspects of this tune illustrates nicely so much of the vital and enduring appeal of, as Bob Marley said it, Roots Rock Reggae.
Firstly, the object itself, a "dinked" seven-inch vinyl record, "dinked" because it has the big hole in the middle that requires a 7" adapter to go over the little central post on a turntable. One of the lovely things about Lee Perry's Upsetter label is that there are so many versions of it, some also called Black Ark after his famous studio, all of them with rough edged lithograph style printing that says to you on first sight, underground music, rebel music, important music. This particular 7" (pictured below) is a US pressing, the label is yellow non-glossy paper with a simple design, less visual magic than the other "holy grail" tune from Lee and Devon - "Vampire", the Jamaican 12" on Black Ark, the most sought-after tune of my late teens (I never did get one but was the guardian of one for a few years - we think only 50 were pressed). But both are beautiful things. I would defy anyone who is (a) not a fascist and (b) has a medium-to-strong collecting instinct, not to fall in love.
One more detail worth mentioning. These two tunes, especially the latter, have become real anthems in the reggae scene worldwide, absolute classics. With that in mind, it was lovely/sad to hear a few years ago that Devon Irons, working on a farm somewhere in rural Jamaica, had only just found out about the status of his tunes with Mr Perry from all those years ago.
To the music. While so much of the charm and beauty of older vintage reggae is in it's ramshackle, antique sound; not so on the 7" of "When Jah Come". This is modernist music. Mid-paced, moody, tight and sparse, "discipline style" - such a useful phrase from the JA music lingua. There's a rare and powerful synergy going on between the musicians in the live room and Mr Perry, Scratch, in the control room. Mikey "Boo" Richards on drums, Boris Gardner on bass, Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar, "Scully" Sims on percussion, and so on (Google - AI knows... and God).
Devon's vocals are extraordinary, loud and totally confident. He's "licking out". He doesn't sound like any other singer. It's in the perfect key for him, he can go high and low. He has a very individual slow vibrato and a way of opening up his voice at the end of words. The subject matter is fairly ambitious, from the beginning of creation to the final apocalypse! All very appropriate these days of course. Turns out they were right all along, the Rastas…
The playing just doesn't get much better than this. Of particular note for me are Mikey's drum fills - economical, functional and so few of them; and Chinna's complimenting guitar licks, so crucial in the intro and throughout, sometimes harmonised and soaked in the spooky, mystical, magical, weedy vibe of "hill and gully" Jamaica as the sun goes down... but the whole becomes one animal. Everything working together, nobody showing off or fighting for attention. Just another session for the guys, they're knocking them out quick back then.
But it's a bigger moment for Devon and he rises to it. As far as Mr Perry's part goes, well, this is blueprint Black Ark sound. The non-mad understated mix showcases Devon perfectly, all the focus is on his incredibly commanding vocal; but the potential for it to go into outer space is all there for the dub mixes. And how great that Scratch left in the funny toms at the start, so good for the dubs too. There's also a fantastic "DJ" toasting version by Johnny Lover voiced in New York by Scratch's mate Brad Osbourne of wonderful Clock Tower records fame who pressed my 7".
I'll stop there and we can speak again when you've had a listen, I'm probably running out of theartsdesk-compliant words. But it's all here, why I love reggae so deeply, and having been privileged to have known and worked with very many of "The Greats", I can tell you that none of the above is a surprise or a freak one off. Of course it was like this, it still is. This is a great and honourable tradition.
- Holding It Down, the new album from David Hill and Nick Manasseh's Soul Revivers project, featuring Johnny Clarke, Susan Cadogan, Vin Gordon and others, is available via Acid Jazz this Friday, 28th August.
- More New Music on theartsdesk
Below: listen to "The Good Book" by Soul Revivers featuring Johnny Clarke
