Now that we are living in a digital age, many people do not bother with vinyl records anymore, and I believe it is a mistake. There is no sound like vinyl. Fortunately, Sony sells an excellent stereo turntable (PS-LX300USB USB Stereo Turntable) capable of ripping vinyl records to digital media. So, I decided to digitize one of my favorite Augustus Pablo albums, a compilation released in 1998 titled “Red Sea.”
Although this masterpiece of an album is out-of-print, you may be able to find a copy HERE.
“Red Sea” is an album by Augustus Pablo released in 1998, containing material recorded between 1970 and 1973. It was produced by Herman Chin Loy. Chin Loy is a Chinese Jamaican record producer who co-owned the Aquarius Record Store at Halfway Tree with his half-brother Lloyd A. Chin Loy in 1969.
The music on the album is among the earliest instances of Pablo’s revolutionary use of the melodica as a viable musical instrument. Chin Loy is often credited as being an influential figure in the discovery and nurturing of Pablo’s talent. He was the first to record Horace Swaby, whose recordings, like those of other keyboard players who recorded for Chin Loy, were released under the name Augustus Pablo, the success of Swaby’s releases causing the name to stick.
Chin Loy was responsible for one of the first dub albums, Aquarius Dub, released in 1973, and mixed at Dynamic studio by Chin Loy himself. In the 1970s, Lloyd A. Chin Loy built the first 24-track recording studio in the Caribbean.
1 “Red Sea” (Swaby)
2 “Iggy” (Swaby)
3 “East of the River Nile” (Swaby)
4 “Soul Vibration” (Swaby)
5 “Song of the East” (Swaby)
6 “Uganda” (Swaby)
7 “Youth Man” (Swaby)
8 “Invasion” (Swaby)
9 “I Man” (Swaby)
10 “African Rock” (Swaby)
11 “African Zulu” (Swaby)
12 “405” (Swaby)
13 “Reggae in The Fields” (Swaby)
14 “Darker Shade of Red” (Swaby)
Personnel
Augustus Pablo – keyboards, Melodica
Uziah “Sticky” Thompson – drums
Aston Barrett – Bass Guitar, Guitar
Clive Chin – Percussion
Carlton “Santa” Davis – drums
Ranchie McLean – Guitar
Herman Chin Loy – Backing Vocals
Val Douglas – Bass Guitar
Mikey Richards – drums
Alva Lewis – Guitar
Ranford “Ranny” Williams – Guitar
Mikey Chung – Guitar
Glen Adams – keyboards
Lloyd Charmers – keyboards
Geoffrey Chung – keyboards
Bobby Ellis – Trumpet
Vin Gordon – Trombone
Tommy McCook – Saxophone
LEGENDARY REGGAE 