"Tighten Up" - Trojan Records UK Landmark Reggae Compilation
Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 08/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"By the time "Tighten Up" was released in early 1969 (and only operating since July of 1968), Trojan Records of the UK had released a staggering 108 singles and 25 albums to a voracious cosmopolitan British public. But Trojan knew that they needed a way to expand the nation's knowledge of their excellent catalogue, so they hastily put-together this 12-track ragbag of 7" singles as a compilation, priced it cheap (14 schillings and 6 old pence to you pal!), put a lovely fetching cover on it and plopped it into the racks of every Woolworths store across the land.
Named after the opening song on Side 1 by The Untouchables, by their own admission, Trojan hadn't expected much of "Tighten Up". Happily for them and us, they were wrong! It sold in large quantities and was hugely influential in introducing reggae music not just to the youth of Britain, but to many other countries as well. It became a genuine phenomenon - spurning 7 more volumes up to Vol. 8 in 1973 where it simply ran out of steam and Volume 9 was shelved. This astonishing 48-track 2CD DELUXE EDITION released Monday 11 August 2008 is a massive overhaul of that legendary beginning - and what a peach it is too!
There's a lot on here, so let's get to it:
DISC 1 (66:04 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 12 are the original UK LP released January 1969 on Trojan Records TTL 1
Tracks 13 to 24 are the B-sides of Tracks 1 to 12 in exact order
(it should be noted that many of the B-sides were by different artists to those on the A, a common practice for reggae 7"s at the time)
DISC 2 (66:33 minutes):
Called "Tighten Up - The Alternatives", Disc 2 is the A-sides of 24 UK 7" singles released between July and November of 1968. ISLAND LABEL collectors should also note that 8 of the 24 are from the coveted "WI" series (3126 to 3159) appearing here on CD for the first time anywhere to my knowledge. The other tracks include songs from Trojan's affiliated labels, Blue Cat, Amalgamated and High Note. The sound quality on Disc 2 is far better than Disc 1 - and the track choices are simply sensational - beautifully done!
PACKAGING:
Each of the two foldout flaps has colour adverts on both sides, very cool and fantastically evocative of the period, while the 20-page fact-filled booklet is penned by LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT. This is worth noting because along with MICHAEL de KONINGH, both authored the fabulous book "Young, Gifted And Black - The Story Of Trojan Records" (see my review of it posted a few months ago). They did extraordinary work on the label's full discography, most of it published in the public domain for the first time anywhere, so this knowledge of the album and the label who put it out means that the booklet is properly in-depth - filled with pictures of tasty 7"s and promo-photos of the artists, discussions of each song, producers of the tracks, catalogue numbers, release dates... really great stuff.
SOUND:
Mastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering, the liner notes don't mention what tapes (if any) the songs were mastered from. This is not surprising. Reggae music was invariably recorded on a shoestring budget - and that's what you get here - extreme lo-fi - most of the tracks sound like they were recorded in a bucket with someone holding a microphone over it! But that is of course what makes them so magical and charming. There is no pretension to audiophile here. This is party music - it's meant to be blasted out over a dancehall stack - pumped out of your stereo with a beer in your hand and your friends out back dancing in the sunshine! It's not all bad - it isn't - it's just that the sound does vary wildly, great one second, muddy and crackly the next. But I'm not sure that fidelity matters with this lovely album or indeed reggae music in general, because I'm sitting here grooving to "Soul Limbo" by BYRON LEE and THE DRAGONAIRES and it's hard to believe that any human being could resist this brilliantly joyful calypso/reggae groove - no matter what the sound quality is! Disc 2, as I said, is better sounding than Disc 1, but it's all about `feel' and once you accept that, there's so much goodness on offer here...
SONGS:
The album is heavy on cover versions - The Beatles, Ben E. King, Wilbert Harrison, PP Arnold and ""Watch This Song"" which is Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" under another name. "I'll Be Around" by The Kingstonians is a slow and fabulous song - one I suspect soul lovers will want to investigate. Island collectors should also note that tracks 7 and 19 on Disc 1 are the A & B of Island WIP 6051 and to my knowledge make their CD debut here. Disc 2 simply offers up more of the same - discovery after discovery...and for those who already own the excellent 2002 Sanctuary version with 25 tracks, thankfully there's little duplication on either disc.
To sum up, I've loved hearing this album again and its cleverly chosen additions. "Tighten Up DELUXE EDITION" is fun, evocative and a warm reminder of days when music seemed new and life-changing. It transported me back to a time when I played sampler albums like this to death - when my sister and me bopped around the dansette in the front room of our home and just couldn't get enough - going back to flip it over to Side One again once we'd finished! This is a great re-issue and about time that reggae music in general got the DELUXE EDITION treatment from a major label that it deserves. Mash it up indeed. Thoroughly recommended.
PS: To those at Universal - it would be nice to see "Club Ska '67" on Island given the same deluxe treatment as this - and what about "You Can All Join In", "Bumpers", "El Pea", "Nice Enough To Eat" and....
PPS: Along with "Strangers Almanac" by WHISKEYTOWN and the two ELTON JOHN sets "Elton John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" (see separate reviews), this is without doubt the best issue in the DELUXE EDITION series so far in 2008 - in my opinion this a REISSUE OF THE YEAR."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1