Listen: Kung Fu / Sharks Sharks.mp3

Being an avid fan of British bands during the 60’s and 70’s meant I’d find a way to hear just about everything. Working at college stations and record shops helped immensely. I’d give anything a chance, and having wide tastes allowed me to get excited about a whole slew of things that never got traction, many times despite deserving it. Sharks were a mini super group to us hardened Anglofiles. Andy Fraser from Free seemed at their core – and followers of Free know he was a key member, despite ‘only’ being the bassist. He wrote songs and his playing style was specific. Sharks benefitted from this recognizable strut. Add in Snips, a vocalist with a dash of both Jim Morrison and Paul Rodgers, plus Chris Spedding, a much accomplished guitarist who’d played with all the right people – and you’ve got something of a recipe. The NME and Sounds both anticipated their debut, and so did I. The two albums they made were patchy and there was little fanfare about the live shows. Missed them when they played The US – in fact don’t really recall it, but their bio says otherwise. Nonetheless, this single was a favorite and still is. The lyrics are a touch simple, but that never put me off. Don’t care much about lyrics unless they are particularly quotable. Block them out and just listen to the music – not a problem. The Asian slant was always pretty fun I thought, especially that piano line.

Listen: King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown / Augustus Pablo King Tubby Meets The Rocker.mp3

Often credited as one of the singles to open up reggae and dub to the world outside of Jamaica, this record and Augustus Pablo have a twisted history. Duane educates me on it’s varying specifics: the vocalist here is actually Jacob Miller who achieved some notoriety with Inner Circle and Augustus Pablo somehow was able to make off with the rights to this sorta instrumental, sorta dub version and release it as his own.

Well whatever, it’s a classic. Might be the first reggae single that I actively sought out after a glowing review in one of the UK music papers, SOUNDS. Not only because it got the lead review and you could trust them in those days, but the description. Whatever it was as I don’t recall exactly but I do remember needing this record because of it. It was so worth it.