I Wish I Had A Record Player

'Cause Turntable Lab is kickin' out some records that look amazing and I would really like to hear 'em. First off is a new remix of the Franki Valli & The Four Seasons song Beggin' produced by Pilooski [pictured above]. If I could install RealPlayer at work (damn, no admin access), I would take a listen to it, but even without hearing it, Turntable Lab's endorsement of it is enough for me. Here's what they have to say,

Pilooski's edit of "Beggin'" is unstoppable! Almost everyone in the office is eyeing a copy, and we can never agree on shit. Keeping all the best bits of Franki's original intact, Pilooski changes things up just enough to make "Beggin'" the dancefloor bomb it deserves to be. On the flip, the Speaker Killer remix is more of the same, while "Who Loves You" is a fun FV&TFS throwback original.

There are also a couple of 7-inchers available from TTL that I am really digging. First, there is the Herbalist 7" from Alborosie [pictured above]. Here's TTL's words:

The kush-infused fragrance continues with Alborosie's "Herbalist." Released last year, this tune is making a serious come-back thanks to the success of current big singles "Slam Bam" and "Kingston Town." B-side brick-wall dub and guest saxophone from legend Dean Fraser seals it.

Sounds tasty to me. Then there's the Skatalites Collie Bud 7" [pictured above]. According to TTL,

Fierce, fierce, fierce. Tommy McCook and the boys rock you upside the head (and feet) with this wicked ska dance crasher. That ain't no collie weed I ever tasted. Charlie Organaire does "Royal Charlie" on the flip, a pleasant stroll after the maniac mosh of the A-side. See how I didn't even make any "charlie" vs. "collie" puns?

Next up, keeping with the same theme, comes Linval Thompson's Marijuana 12" [pictured above].

(Cough cough cough) Say what? Oh yeah, right, the review. This here EP is a primo chunk of Channel One / King Tubby high-grade, 1978 vintage (a very good year). Linval Thompson's immortal cannabis anthem leads off, last seen in the bomb shelter of one Otis Jackson Jr. Another tough Linval track, ("Dread At the Control") and Barry Brown takes over for the flipside. "Step It Up Youthman" and "Big Big Pollution" date to the early days of the melodic micstro's career, and are some of the choice cuts in the catalog of this connoisseur's choice crooner. Don't be put off by the tacky graphic design, the heavy 12-inch, 45-rpm pressing means this is a record audiophiles can enjoy. Rack up another import deadstock find!

And lastly but definitely not leastly, one of my favorite albums of all time and one that used to hang prominently in our living room when I lived with Mike Lucas, the amazing, one-and-only, Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters Super Ape LP [pictured above]! This is a must-have for any dub, reggae or "Scratch" Perry fan. One of the best albums ever produced. Here's TTL's take,

For a long time, this was one of the holy grails of reggae collecting, rare as hell and legendary as one of the roots era's best, lost records. The hype is for once worth it and this thing has easily jumped up to the top of my list of Perry albums. A lot of his stuff has somehow gotten seriously over-rated, hyped to oblivion by press people looking for a latch to grab on to and hipsters doing likewise; but this is the real shit, the dreader than dread dub. If you've been wondering why everybody makes such a big fuss about him, this is a good place to start. A couple of the songs have lyrics and chatters (check "Croaking Lizard", the Prince jazzbo voiced version of Max Romeo's "Chase the Devil") but all the songs are dubbed out as hell and deep deep deep. This is the height of the roots sound and one of the heaviest I know of. If you are anything interested in roots or dub music, you have to have this record.

I especially like that these records range in price from $4 for the 7-inchers to $12 for the LPs, so there isn't anything out of my price range. It's just the record player that is the expensive part of the equation. Oh well, at least I can enjoy looking at the album covers.