Customer Reviews

I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet...... - By: Der Spiess, 10 Nov 2008
Excellent album much overlooked because of the title track. Some of the extras are excellent & be you skin or not this is an album which'll enhance you reggae collection. Come on get "Stompin'"

---

"Let's Start Getting Happy Now...Yeah Yeah Yeah...." - By: Mark Barry at Revival Records, Berwick Street, 30 Sep 2008
Sporting artwork you'd hide from your ailing Auntie Flo & her dodgy ticker, "Skinhead Moonstomp" has always been something of a misunderstood beast. Many people thought the reprobates depicted on the front alleyway cover 'were' Symarip & maybe for that reason, the album never received the attention its deserved outside of the white British working class 'skinheads' who embraced this hugely influential 1970 reggae album with near religious fervour. The group (pictured on the rear) is actually the Jamaican 7-piece THE PYRAMIDS under their nickname. They were also known as SEVEN LETTERS, THE BEES & for touring purposes SYMARIP & THE SKINHEADS. Hopefully this fabulous & bravely chosen 29 September 2008 DELUXE EDITION 2CD reissue will change all that.

There's a lot on here - so let's gets to it.

DISC 1 (63:10 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Skinhead Moonstomp" by SYMARIP issued April 1970in the UK on Trojan Records TBL-102
(13 to 23 (with 1 & 2 on Disc 2) are BONUS 7" singles issuedin 1969 on the Trojan affiliated "Doctor Bird" Label with the group credited as SEVEN LETTERS.)
Track 13 is "The Fit" [aka "Wish"], Doctor Bird DB-1208 [B]
Tracks 14 & 15 are "Please Stay" & "Special Beat", DB-1194 [A & B]
Tracks 16 & 17 are "Flour Dumpling" & "Equality", DB-1195 [A & B]
Tracks 18 & 19 are "Mama Me Want Girl" & "Sentry, DB-1206 [A & B]
Tracks 20 & 21 are "Soul Crash" & "Throw Me Things", DB-1207 [A & B]
Track 22 is "There Goes My Heart", DB-1208 [A]
Track 23 is "Bam Bam Baji", DB-1209 [A]

DISC 2 (69:16 minutes):
Track 1 is "Hold Him Joe", DB-1209 [B]
Track 2 is "Tomorrow At Sundown", DB-1306 [B]
(the album track "Fung Shu" is the A-side, Track 11, Disc 1)
Tracks 3 & 4 are "Parson's Corner" [aka Vindication] & "Redeem", Treasure Isle TI-7054 [A & B]
Tracks 5 & 6 are "La Bella Jig" & "Holiday By The Sea", Treasure Isle TI-7055 [A & B]
Track 7 is "I'm A Puppet", Attack ATT-8013 [A], Track 3 above as "Vindication" is its B]
(Tracks 8 to 18 credited as THE PYRAMIDS)
Tracks 8 & 9 are "Feel Alright" & "Telstar", Trojan TR-7755 [A & B]
Track 10 is "Geronimo", Duke DU-80 [A]
Tracks 11 & 12 are "To Sir With Love" & "Reggae Shuffle", Trojan TR-7770 [A & B]
Track 13 is "All For You", Trojan TR7803 [A]
Track 14 is "Stingo", Trojan TR-7814 [B]
Tracks 15 & 16 are "Mosquito Bite" & "Mother's Bath", Creole CR-1003 [A & B]
Tracks 17 & 18 are "Can't Leave Now" & "Teardrops", Creole CR-1006 [A & B]
Tracks 19 to 23 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - 23 is credited to ROY ELLIS & RICO'S BAND
(3 to 18 are BONUS 7" singles issued between 1970 & 1971 on the affiliated Trojan labels listed above - & along with 13 to 23 on Disc 1 - all are non-album tracks)

The 20-page detailed booklet has an essay on the band, the album's history & the scene surrounding it by LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT co-author of the superb book "Young, Gifted & Black - The Story Of Trojan Records" (see separate review). Front & rear cover are reproduced on the front & back pagesin colour, there's pictures of those lovely & rare UK 7" labels that get collectors weak at the knees, unique foreign picture sleeves, industry adverts, a complete singles & album discography from 1969 to 1971 - & even interviews with the band's principal songwriters MONTY NEYSMITH & ROY ELLIS. Both discs reflect the original Trojan label design & there's a collage of photos of the band reproduced beneath the two see-through trays - all of it very nicely done. (It's also not a BOX SET as Amazon says - it's a DELUXE EDITION 2CD setin the now familiar plastic wrap for the series with a four-way foldout digipak beneath.)

The tapes have been mastered by TIM DEBNEY at Fluid Mastering & the sound quality is similar to the "Tighten Up" DELUXE EDITIONin August of 2008 - a mixed bag of the fantastic & the cruddy. This is not audiophile territory - it's reggae music - recorded on a shoestring & all the more gritty & wonderful for it. Having heard this LP on battered vinyl for years, I found most tracks a revelation.

Musically, this is party time. The chugging brass & Ska groove of "Phoenix City" is utterly irresistible & you can just `hear' the roots of THE SPECIALSin "Try My Best". The extras are cleverly chosen too - not only are they very rare 7"s (many making their CD debut) - they're anthems of the time for that scene. Almost all of the singles have the same set up - a sung A-side with an instrumental on the B - both of which are killer. The cover version of the Joe Meek/Tornados 1962 classic "Telstar" on the back of "Feel Alright" is a typically cool example. At 46 tracks, I'll be dipping into this for years.

Summing up - coupled with the 2CD set of "Tighten Up Volume 1" from August of this year (see separate review), someonein Universal is making damn good choices! It's so good to see great Reggae & Ska get the DELUXE EDITION treatment it has always deserved. A highly recommended purchase & a voyage of musical discovery you'll not regret taking.

PS: the title of this review is the spoken intro to the classic floorfiller "Skinhead Moonstomp"