Disclaimer: We reviewed this song already in episode 93, but we honestly forgot! So, we reviewed this song as if we never had before, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did the second time around!

This week, we dive into some early UB40 music and review the song “One in Ten” from the 1981 Present Arms album. This album precedes the “Red Red Wine” era of the band and has a much more roots and dub sound. We get into the simplistic chord progression and the distinctive instrumentation happening - including lead guitar, lead horns, 8 bar bass phrasing and so much more. We hope you enjoy this early UB40 style and dive into the rest of this album!

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This week we’re celebrating what would be Bob Marley’s 80th birthday! For this occasion, we brought back our Wailers expert, Dan “Thundermon” Battaglia. We talk about our favorite Bob Marley songs and what they mean to us. We talk about the recent biopic, “One Love” and Dan shares fun anecdotes and stories about Bob Marley and the Wailers. Dan also ties this into a brief background on Leonard Peltier who Dan works very closely with regarding his wrongful imprisonment case. Leonard was recently granted clemency by the Biden administration. It’s a packed episode and we had a lot of fun sharing these stories!

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This week we listen to and break down “Just Magic” and the dub version by Kiko Bun. This is not the first time we’re featuring a track by Kiko Bun and certainly will not be the last. We break down this self produced track and the classic 80’s rubadub style that pays homage to the Jamaican classics. We hope you like these tracks as much as we do. Dig into the rest of Kiko Bun’s catalog for more amazing music!

You can hear these tracks on Bandcamp, all major streaming platforms and on Youtube.

Kiko Bun on Bandcamp

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We are stepping in to the new year with Steel Pulse’s 1984 hit “Steppin’ Out.” We talk about Steel Pulse’s progressive style and sound and get into the intricate details of this track that make it such a catchy classic.

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For the last episode of the year, we listen to the scorcher “One in a Million” by Half Pint. We talk about the track’s simplicity despite being a catchy hit in early Jamaican dancehall. We encourage you to dig into the Half Pint catalog and learn about where and how this style originated as it continues to inspire so many.

In the latter portion of this episode, we pay tribute to those reggae legends that we lost throughout 2024. These singers and players have left a legacy for us that will live on forever, and we encourage you all to do some digging of those names you are not familiar with. Here is a comprehensive list of those we talk about in the episode:

• Aston “Familyman” Barrett - The Wailers / The Upsetters
• Don Kinsey - Word Sound and Power / The Wailers
• Peter “Peetah” Morgan - Morgan Heritage
• BB Seaton - The Gaylads
• Gregory Lee - Hepcat
• Tony Tuff
• Desi Jones - Chalice
• Delroy Williams - The Mad Labs
• Errol “Don” Mais Producer of many
• Cornel Marshall - Third World
• Lynford Manning - The Abyssinians
• Floyd Anthony Perch - Papa Kojak

We wish everyone an amazing Holiday season and a happy New Year, and we will continue to bring you more dub in 2025!

This week we listen to the brand new single from Flying Vipers, “Show Me” and the dub version, “Show & Tell.” This is their first release with Easy Star Records and both versions showcase Kellee Webb on lead vocals. We talk about the warmth and vibe of the tune, and its interesting orchestration. We look forward to seeing what else Flying Vipers has coming up!

You can hear this track on Bandcamp, all major streaming platforms and on Youtube.

Flying Vipers Bandcamp

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This week we listen to two tracks: “Anywhere But Here” & “Valentine’s Day” by The Steady 45s. We discuss how the band stays true to the traditional style of early 60s Jamaica in terms of songwriting, the way the music is performed, and the recording quality. Both tunes are from the 2017 album Trouble in Paradise, where they showcase the band’s impressive range from one song to the next. We hope you enjoy these songs and our breakdown of them as much as we enjoyed talking about them!

steady45s.com

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This week we are joined by a fellow member of the Rootfire family, Jim The Boss. Jim just released a Halloween themed dub album called “Jim The Boss Presents: Dubs From The Grave.” We talk about the creation of this album, his backstory of getting into reggae music and some of Jim’s past accomplishments. He also shares details about some fun and exciting projects he has coming up. We had a lot of fun discussing this project with Jim and playing out this album. We encourage you to check it out on Bandcamp, where there is also merch available for the album.

Jim The Boss Presents: Dubs From The Grave

Cool People Podcast by Jim the Boss

A Conversation in Dub Merch