It’s fair to say
that one of my most anticipated album releases of early 2019 is the seventh
instalment in On-U Sound’s Pay It All Back series.
Earlier this
month, some 23 years after the release of the volume six, the label announced a
March 29 release date for the unveiling of a mouth-watering volume seven. Here’s
the blurb from the On-U Sound Bandcamp page (where you can also pre-order, here):
“An 18 track showcase of new Adrian
Sherwood productions featuring previews of several forthcoming On-U releases,
unique mixes, deep cuts, and unreleased tracks from Roots Manuva, Lee “Scratch”
Perry, Coldcut, Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band), Mark Stewart,
Horace Andy and more. The long-awaited latest instalment in the legendary On-U
sampler series that first emerged in 1984. In the classic tradition of the
series the tracks are stitched together with a number of special pirate radio
style segueways, making for a unique journey through the modern world of On-U
Sound! Both vinyl and CD editions come with a fully illustrated and annotated
On-U catalogue, track exclusive to physical formats and is presented in a
gorgeous colour-printed kraft board sleeve.”
The full Pay It
All Back set, volumes one through six, is the only long running compilation
series - on any label - I’ve managed collect in its entirety in the same format
… only on CD, sadly, although I had at least one, if not two, of the early
volumes on vinyl back in the day.
With the first six
volumes having provided an in-depth overview of the label’s first decade, and
nothing since 1996, volume seven is more than just a little overdue.
There have, of
course, been many other Adrian Sherwood and On-U compilation releases during that
period, but the Pay It All Back series remains the most definitive. Up until
1996, at least.
In anticipation of
the forthcoming addition, I’ve compiled a How to Buy On-U Sound (collections)
guide, and although every On-U devotee would add and delete as applicable to
create a completely different set of favourites, the ten releases listed below
all take pride of place in my own collection, roughly in order of preference.
How to Buy On-U
Sound …
15 Years in an
Open Boat (1997)
Although each Pay
It All Back volume comes with its own unique set of charms, 15 Years in an Open
Boat is perhaps the only collection to trump them all, and it currently ranks
as the most comprehensive On-U Sound overview to date, covering off the label’s
first - and surely most important - 15 year period. 29 tracks across two CDs
and/or LPs. As such, we get everything from Prince Far I’s seminal ‘Virgin’ (of
1982), through to Sherwood’s mid-90s work with the likes of Little Axe, Audio
Active, and 2 Badcard. It also ticks boxes for the hugely significant Tackhead
(‘What’s My Mission Now?’), Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (‘Jungle’), Dub Syndicate (four
tracks), and many others along the way. 15 Years in an Open Boat is an absolute
essential for any self-respecting On-U collector.
Pay It All Back
Volume Three (1991)
My pick of the Pay
It All Back bunch. Just. It opens with Strange Parcels’ ‘Disconnection’ and it doesn’t
relent across 17 FX-drenched Sherwood masterpieces. Perry and Dub Syndicate again
feature, the latter with another three gems, but there’s also arguable career
highpoints on this one for key Sherwood sidekick Gary Clail with ‘False
Leader’, and the much loved Little Annie, aka Annie Anxiety, with ‘I Think of
You’. Naturally there’s some Barmy Army (two tracks), African Head Charge, Mark
Stewart, and the late, always missed, never forgotten, Bim Sherman, who closes
proceedings with ‘Nightmare’. This one is pretty much the equivalent of an On-U
“Who’s Who” of the label’s roster as things stood at the end of its first
decade.
Pay It All Back
Volume Two (1988)
Where it all
started for me, on vinyl, and while the On-U Bandcamp page appears to insist that
Volume Two is short and sweet at just nine tracks in length, the album in hard
copy form (CD) consists of 16 tracks, most showcasing Sherwood’s love of reggae
at the rootsy end of the spectrum; opening with Perry & Dub Syndicate’s
‘Train To Doomsville’, and closing with Dr Pablo’s melodica-driven ‘Red Sea’. Everything
in between is a genuine On-U classic. Highlights include two Bim Sherman
collaborations, with Singers & Players on ‘Run Them Away’, and Dub
Syndicate on ‘Haunting Ground’. Singers & Players back Prince Far I on two
tracks, and Far I’s own, immortal, ‘Bedward The Flying Preacher’ is another obvious
stand-out. There’s two great contributions from African Head Charge, and three
Mark Stewart/Maffia offerings across the second half.
Sherwood At The
Controls Volume 2 1985-1990 (2016)
A recent raiding
of the On-U archives from just a couple of years back. I thought the most
important aspect of the two recent Sherwood At The Controls releases - will
there be more in this series? - was the way each one highlighted the label’s evolution
from its earliest post-punk roots, and this volume serves to showcase
Sherwood’s early forays into a fledgling form of industrial EDM with tracks
from the likes of Mark Stewart (with ‘Hypnotized 12 Mix’), Tackhead (‘Mind at
the End of the Tether’), Keith Le Blanc (‘These Sounds’), Ministry (‘All Day
Remix’), and KMFDM (‘Don’t Blow Your Top’). But the dub/reggae staples - Perry,
Dub Syndicate, Sherman, and AHC - also feature prominently enough, and At The
Controls Volume 2 at its best presents a hybrid mix of all of the genres Sherwood
found himself tinkering with across the late 80s. Which means this one is
perhaps the most eclectic of all the albums featured on this list.
Pay It All Back
Volume Four (1993)
The importance to
Sherwood and On-U Sound over the years of key individuals like bassist Doug
Wimbish and guitarist Skip McDonald can never be overstated, and their
omnipresence is the most immediately obvious thing about the material found on
Volume Four: collectively, individually, or as key members of Strange Parcels -
effectively Tackhead in disguise - with that collective contributing five out
of the 14 tracks on offer. Elsewhere, we get McDonald, aka Little Axe, in a
“solo” guise with ‘Hammerhead’, and in partnership with Wimbish on ‘Stop The
Clock Part 2’ ... all of that before we even start on the duo’s involvement
with various other On-U projects - see Barmy Army, Dub Syndicate etc. And
McDonald is credited with co-production on ten tracks here. Curiously enough
though, my choice cut from Volume Four has to be the Norman Grant-produced
Twinkle Brothers dub-with-strings extravaganza that is ‘Don’t Betray Me’. A
shout out, also, to the mournful social commentary of Jalal’s ‘Mankind’.
On-U Sound - Dub
Xperience: The Dread Operators (1996)
Given that it was
released on Cleopatra Records, and includes material lifted from the Cherry Red
imprint, pesky purists might insist this one’s not authentic to the On-U label,
but one quick glance at the track-list should be enough to quell the concern of
any sceptic; things don’t get much more early On-U Sound than Creation Rebel - Eskimo
Fox, Style Scott, Sherwood, et al - with five tracks, including two co-credits with
New Age Steppers, or Singers & Players, with four tracks, including ‘Autobiography
(Dread Operator)’, which serves as an opener and title track. Prince Far I
features with ‘Quante Jubila’, and Voice of Authority, effectively Sherwood
himself, is there with ‘Middle East Power Station’. However you wish to frame
it, Dub Xperience: The Dread Operators, is pure foundation-era On-U Sound, and
a few years after its release as a standalone document, compiler Matt Green saw
fit to include it as one third of a wider On-U Sound box set, also released on
Cleopatra.
Pay It All Back
Volume One (1985)
The first release
in the Pay It All Back series, yet one I was forced to work my way back to
after buying all the rest, given its relatively rare status for the decade or
so after its release (here in New Zealand, pre-internet, at least). A couple of
tracks featuring here would resurface again on Volume Two - it probably depends
on what release/version/format is being discussed - but obviously Volume One was
crucial in that it meticulously covered off the label’s earliest output. Which
means it contains some of Sherwood’s most rudimentary and experimental
production work. The sort of stuff fans of the label would later come to know
(and love) as easily identifiable signature moments - his explorative use of space,
echo FX, and sampling, being at its most raw and cutting edge during this
phase. Highlights include Dub Syndicate’s ‘Must Be Dreaming’, and African Head
Charge’s ‘Timbuktu Express’, but there’s state-of-the-art work too from Singers
& Players, New Age Steppers, and Mark Stewart’s Maffia.
Sherwood At The
Controls Volume 1 1979-1984 (2015)
At The Controls
Volume 1 was all about excavating some of the super early Sherwood stuff that
might otherwise have been forgotten about. Again, as with the template or
formula explored further on Volume 2, it brings into sharp focus Sherwood’s
links with punk, new wave, and post-punk; bands like The Fall (with ‘Middle
Mass’), The Slits (‘Man Next Door’), and Shriekback (‘Mistah Linn He Dead’)
take pride of place, all blending seamlessly with the obligatory portions of
dub on offer here - see work offered by the usual suspects, Prince Far I,
Singers & Players, and African Head Charge. Naturally, Mark Stewart’s
seminal ‘Learning to Cope with Cowardice’ is right at home, and Vivien
Goldman’s album closer, ‘Private Armies Dub’, will doubtlessly be of some interest
to trainspotter types. For my money, this one is not quite as listenable as
Volume 2, but it’s a hugely important document all the same.
Pay It All Back
Volume Six (1996)
From a personal
listening/consumer perspective, Volume Six was all too quickly overshadowed by
the release of the more expansive 15 Years in an Open Boat set (see above) the
following year. Had I known at the time that it would be the last Pay It All
Back release for nearly quarter of a century, I might have been inclined to
give it a little more ear/air time and love. I did, however, give Audio
Active’s ‘Paint Your Face Red’, and Bim Sherman’s ‘It Must Be A Dream’, plenty
of long-term love, and although it probably won’t be a universally popular
choice amongst hardcore On-U devotees, I think ‘Japanese Record’ is something
close to the best track Dub Syndicate ever recorded. They’re all highlights
here. At just 12 tracks, in relation to other releases in the series, Volume
Six was a relatively brief offering.
Pay It All Back
Volume Five (1995)
Hmmm. Keen
observers will note the album cover I’ve posted above is rather different to
the more widely recognised/official On-U cover for Volume Five. That’s because,
in order to stay true to my own collection, I’ve posted the Restless Records
(US) version. And while I’ve always been vaguely aware that my Restless Records
Pay It All Back was a black sheep in terms of sleeves, it was only in the
course of writing this blogpost that I became aware of the inconsistencies
within the track-listing for each version … I’m not sure of the issues
surrounding licensing, but the Restless Records release includes 2 Badcard’s
‘Rock To Sleep’ instead of ‘Weed Specialist’, Gary Clail’s ‘Another Hard Man’
instead of ‘One Flesh And Blood’, and Tackhead’s ‘Laws Of Repetition’ rather
than Doug Wimbish’s ‘Life In Arena (version 1)’ … all of that said, this
volume’s highlights come in the form of Dub Syndicate’s ‘Roots Commandment’,
and Bim Sherman’s ‘Can I Be Free (From Crying)’, which are among the ten (of
13) tracks included on both editions.
Of course, this is
a far from complete “how to buy On-U” guide, and with a focus only on
collections or compilation releases, I’ve ignored so many gems within the wider
catalogue - terrific albums released by Perry, Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, Audio
Active, African Head Charge, and Sherwood in a “solo” guise, to name just a few
- but I may yet cover off a few of those in a future blogpost … for now it’s all
about looking forward to Pay It All Back Volume Seven, and an appreciation of just
how we got here in the first place ...
I’ll leave you
with some Audio Active:
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