Roots Archives Forum

Anyone got/heard yet?

I don't own the (now OOP) Pressure Sounds version, so I was thinking of getting this...

Anything on the new reissue that makes it worse than the old one?

Pressure Sounds version = Blood & Fire version, even.

I bought the JR release recently because I only had the B&F version on mp3.
It sounds legit to me. I know there's a lot of controversy around JR and they've had some shady releases. I haven't listened to this lp side by side with the B&F but I don't hear anything that sounds suspicious, like digital delay plug-ins you can hear on some of the other "rare dubs" they've put out.
I think I may have figured out a good way to tell: if it says on the back cover "Unreleased Versions" it means they're new mixes. I dont know that for certain, but its what I suspect. The Tappa Zukie in Dub does not say anything about it being an unreleased or alternate mix.

I'm no expert, so I could be being fooled, but I've definitely been able to hear that some of the dub effects on the JR releases don't sound authentic, and I'm just not hearing that on this release.

There are some good things about JR, at least the couple I have: nice thick vinyl, sturdy sleeves and jacket, low price

Forgot to mention: it's an absolutely killer dub album! The first cut ( to Prince Alla-Bosrah) is worth the price alone.

Yeah, I've got the B+F release as mp3. It's a great album.

FWIW, the stuff that JR have licensed from Tapper Zukie seems (AFAIK) to be legit and un-messed-with.

Makes me wonder if the other tapes, the ones from Bunny Lee's archives, arrive at JR HQ in the state that they are released (i.e. remixed, retitled, miscredited) already and JR are only putting out what they have/are told to by the rights holder...

By the way, do you know anything about the Prince Alla, Songs from the Royal Throne Room that just came out on Kingston Sounds/Jamaican Recordings? It has 3 Alla tracks I've never heard or seen, and can't find any info on. On first listen there's something off about them, so because of JRs track record I'm wondering if these tunes are legit too.

flashman wrote:By the way, do you know anything about the Prince Alla, Songs from the Royal Throne Room that just came out on Kingston Sounds/Jamaican Recordings? It has 3 Alla tracks I've never heard or seen, and can't find any info on. On first listen there's something off about them, so because of JRs track record I'm wondering if these tunes are legit too.

Haven't heard it, sorry. Does the vocalist sound like a homeless guy that Bunny Lee paid in food to sound a bit like Prince Alla?

Ha! Could be. It just sounds a bit overdubbed. And there's no backing vocals like the rest of the album. And he's struggling a few times to stay in key!

Not to go too off topic, but speaking of those "shady" releases from Jamaican Recordings, has that label ever made a statement about the authenticity of those releases in question? Seems to me if the case was really that they are just releasing "unreleased" tracks given to them by the legit copyright owners (like, Bunny Lee doing digital overdubs?? Ya right), they would make some sort of statement about it. Just curious.

The Jamaican Recordings / Kinston Sounds folks just put out what's delivered by the producers, overdubs / digital delays an'all. The Prince Alla LP is the Heaven Is My Roof album plus three recent new vocals, all offered to the label by Tapper Zukie. The TZ In Dub album is the same as the original 1976 dub, and is a must have if you don't already have it.