Round 10: WILD CARD

From Howard J

The Wailing Souls - Mr. Fire Coal Man  - Studio One

For the final selection of this sound clash,
I'll let The Wailing Souls take it home for me.

Something good happens when Mr. Fire Coal Man rings that alarm!  This early Studio One track showcases a young Wailing Souls with rock steady rhythms, and perfect harmonies.

Straight out of Sir Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One - Sound Dimension, along with Lloyd 'Bread' McDonald , George 'Buddy' Haye, Rudolph 'Garth' Dennis and Winston 'Pipe' Matthews come fast out of the gate on their first, self named LP Wailing Souls with Mr. Fire Coal Man.

Delivering rock solid results over the last 30 years, the Wailing Souls are amongst a handful of Reggae artist including Culture and Burning Spear that somehow managed to keep their roots intact.  It is fair to say that The Wailing Souls are perhaps the most enduring and consistent artists of the genre.

Old time something come back again...
This track came back to me via two of my key brethren in New York, Jon and Alex.  While living in New York and with little room for my stuff, I gave my turntable and about 30 or so hand selected LP's to my friend Alex for safe keeping, knowing full well he would put it to good use.  He really took to it, and wound up converting the best of my collection to MP3.  In my search for Sound Clash materials, Jon reminded me of the original reggae starter kit I had delivered to Alex, and the three of us ripped into the collection recently to hear the best of it.

When the sirens rang and Mr. Fire Coal Man came into the room, it was something different, something fun and inviting.  A joyful cry of  "yeeaaahh" rang out and huge smiles all around as the foundation sounds of Studio One resonated throughout the room, crackling with goodness! 

I ultimately chose the track because it reminded me of why I love reggae music.  The pureness of the sound, and the raw ingenuity of Studio One, where it really all began.  Wailing Souls at Studio One pre-dates slackness and pop-induced overproduction.  This selection also heads back to the roots of one of my favorite groups of all time.  The fact that the track had come full circle back to me after so many years also made it a perfect selection. 

And one more element; that alarm. 

The sirens that ring throughout this track were designed for this Sound Clash! 
Attention!  Listen up boys, here come the Waling Souls. 

Mr. Fire Coal Man  -  Come and do your work...

Howard J
 

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