Funky Friday with Jackie Mittoo
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Track:Clean Up the Arena (extended mix)
and the frankly incredible full length mix of "Clean Up the Arena", an instrumental cut of Johnny Clarke's March 1978 dancehall killer "Peace Ina Western Kingston", produced by Edward "Bunny" Lee, backed by the Aggrovators aka the Soul Syndicate, and featuring the duelling keyboards of Jackie Mittoo (Clavinet) and Winston Wright (organ), mixed by King Tubbys. About three minutes in, this gets really wild, with drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis firing his rimshots about in "ticklers" style, with massive reverb, and the mix of the clavinet getting funkier than even Sly Stone or Stevie Wonder, as the dub mix goes crazy with reverb, echo and phlanging.
If you don't like this, then you *may* be clinically dead
Comments (6)
this song is SICK!!!!! thank you much!!!
The original song here refers to events in March 1978, when the two leading gunmen of Kingston, Bucky Marshall, who supported Michael Manley's PNP (and may have been the man namechecked in Lee Perry's "Bucky Skank") and Claudius Massop, supporter of Edward Seaga's JLP, noting the number of young men who had died in their gang wars, declared a truce, famously marked by the One Love Peace Concert, at which Bob Marley famously brought Manley and Seaga on stage and held their hands aloft.
In the ghettoes, where the youth had died it was tunes like this that carried the swing...
Is "sick" a compliment among the younglings?
Here is the dub mix by King Tubby
King Tubby sure knew how to mix a good dub.
With reference to the One Love Peace Concert, there was apoint where just before Seaga and Manley came on, Bob produced a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder. Everytime I watch it, it sends a shiver down my spine.
Last time I saw Bob was at the Glasgow Apollo in July 1980 - I knew the rumours that he was already desperately ill (there were those at Island who suspected all was worse than he claimed), but, having seem him in 1978, I wasn't really expecting the physical decline I saw. It was a really sad night.
I never saw Bob sing but I did happen to see him and his entourage walk down Oakley Street, Chelsea on their way to play football in Battersea Park.... it was a powerful moment; so to see him weakening must have been quite shocking. He taught me alot through his lyrics and melodies,