Prince Far I And The Arabs / Cry Tuff And The Originals – Hitrun Records – 1979

Bass Ace / Dub To Africa / Good Music Brother / Glory To God

Hello Love Brother / Cry Tuff And The Originals / Give Love / Big Fight Dub

Everybody gets Prince Far I, so here you go. Top notch material from the legend that was. A load more Far I is uploaded on this site somewhere if you care to search it out.

Text below courtesy of the pressure sounds website: pressure.co.uk. BUY everything on this great roots label…

The year of 1979 was perhaps the most busy and fruitful in the tragically curtailed career of the gruff but genial reggae DJ known as Prince Far I. After some fifteen years of dipping in and out of the music field and generally skirting its fringes, he had finally during the past couple of years consolidated a following and now had a total of five albums to his name, including two prestigious releases the previous year on Virgin Records’ Front Line label with “Message From The King” and “Long Life”. As well of course as the “Under Heavy Manners” set for Joe Gibbs, which had done brisk business and sealed his reputation. Now he was pursuing new goals with a sense of urgency and had set about investing his earnings in yet more recordings, able now to fulfil an ambition to concentrate on producing his own records and those of other artists too.

He gave prompt notice of this increased activity as early as mid-January of that year with four new titles on his Cry Tuff imprint among the first batch of pre-release consigned to the UK following the Christmas and New Year recess. In addition to his own “Love by Everyone”, there were DJs Jah Thomas with “Bimbo” and Big Joe with “Nine Me Nine”, plus singer Naggo Morris reassuring that “Jah Will Explain” on the warm “Mean Girl” rhythm, a Larry & Alvin original from Studio One and a particular favourite of the Prince. He arrived here in person the following month, stating to Black Echoes’ Observer columnist a release schedule that included an album from Carol Kalphat, a various artistes “Cry Tuff DJ Session” featuring contributions from U Black, Jah Thomas, Black Skin the Prophet, Clint Eastwood and Ranking Joe, and a bass and drum excursion entitled “Crocus Bag Dub”, though none of which subsequently ever saw the light of day, at least not in these proposed formats.

What did next emerge in early March via Far I’s link up with UK label were three discomix releases featuring: Bim Sherman backed by The Heptones and with Jah Buzz appended for further diversion on “Love Jah”, George Calstock coupled with U Black for “The Ungodly”, backed with a Doctor Pablo instrumental “Righteous Melody”, and a UK release for the aforesaid Naggo Morris “Jah Will Explain”, also backed with a Doctor Pablo track “Wicked Feel It”, embellishing what one reviewer at the time fancifully described as “melodica mix-up marijuana-miracle animations.” And later that same month, a further six Cry Tuff pre-release titles that had still been awaiting pressing when the Prince left Jamaica for England now finally arrived here: Jennifer Lara, “Music By The Score”, Black Skin The Prophet, “Red Blood”, Rod Taylor, “Run, Run”, Peter Brogg’s, “I A Field Marshall”, Prince Far I, “I And I A The Chosen One” and Brigadier Jam Brown with “Freedom Fighter”.

At the beginning of April, Hitrun organised a Roots Encounter Tour of the UK, starring Prince Far I together with labelmates Bim Sherman and Prince Hammer and backed by the Creation Rebel Band. The package played a series of dates throughout the month with shows in Liverpool, Bristol, Cheltenham, High Wycombe and London engagements at Dingwalls, 100 Club, Tavistock Hall, Club Noreik, Acklam Hall and others.

During May, Prince Far I’s third album for Virgin’s Front Line label was released. “Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2” was the follow up to “Cry Tuff Dub Encounter”, which had been issued on Hitrun the previous year.

Concurrent with the Front Line release, the Hitrun set-up now put out an un-sleeved, white label limited pressing of eight new bass and drum workouts, this present set “Dub to Africa”. Boosted by his live shows, both albums sold well in the UK and figured on the reggae chart. What distinguished “Dub To Africa” from “Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2”, however, was that whereas the Front Line set employed the usual set of musicians then recording variously as The Revolutionaries, The Mercenaries, The Professionals and for Prince Far I as Cry Tuff And The Arabs, “Dub To Afrcia” drafted in Lincoln Valentine “Style” Scott (drums) and Noel “Sowell” Bailey (guitar) alongside the Prince’s regular bassist Errol “Flaba” Holt under the aegis Cry Tuff And The Originals. This was the nucleus of the session group who were to revolutionise reggae music in the early ’80s as the Roots Radics, slowing down the militant rockers sound of The Revolutionaries and ushering in the dancehall era backing newcomers such as Barrington Levy as well as established acts like Gregory Issacs and Bunny Wailer.

The title track “Dub To Africa” had already seen service as the rhythm for both Peter Brogg’s “I A Field Marshall” and the Prince’s own toast of the same “I And I A The Chosen One”, and if fact the dub version of “I A Field Marshall” had been called “Dub To Africa” on Cry Tuff single release, though it was actually the flip on “I And I A The Chosen One”, itself originally titled “David”, which was utilised now. For the rest, The Originals laid pared down reworkings of former Studio One rhythms like “College Rock: (“Glory To God”) and Dawn Penn’s “You Don’t Love Me” aka “No No No” (“Hello Love Brother”).

The previous six months’ itinerary could hardly continue at the same hectic pace and the remainder of 1979 was relatively quiet for Prince Far I. In July, Hitrun put out bassist Errol Holt’s vocal cut to the “Hello, Love Brother” rhythm, cheekily reinterpreting “No No No” as “Yes Yes Yes” coupled with a Rod Taylor effort, “No One Can Tell I About Jah”, and in September the label dusted down Peter Brogg’s “I A Field Marshall” (retitled “Higher Field Marshall”) together with the Prince’s version “I And I A The Chosen One” and coupled with this Prince Far I featuring Brigadier Jam Brown on “Loved By Everyone” for UK discomix issue, and later the same year surfaced “Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 3” on the Daddy Kool label and the first of four Prince Far I LPs for Trojan, “Free From Sin”. Prince Far I died tragically in September 1983.

18 comments
  1. alistairliv
    alistairliv
    December 9, 2008 at 9:44 am

    This is awesome.

  2. dan i
    dan i
    December 9, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    one of the best Al, one of the best

  3. baron von zubb
    baron von zubb
    December 9, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    Massive!

  4. john
    john
    December 10, 2008 at 10:26 am

    majikal…..give me this over the apostles any day

  5. John No Last Name
    John No Last Name
    December 10, 2008 at 10:23 pm

    Er Okay John, no arguements there, but isn’t that a bit like the Eddie Izzard sketch where he’s talking about the French Revolution and they are offering everyone the choice of ‘cake or death’. ‘Er let me think about that…I’ll take cake’.

  6. Jim V
    Jim V
    December 10, 2008 at 10:52 pm

    Give me a website where they both co-exist…

    I love both…thanks for all the music so far.

  7. john
    john
    December 11, 2008 at 12:35 am

    yep, cake anytime over the apostles

  8. Nic
    Nic
    December 11, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    Snore…

  9. devotionalhooligan
    devotionalhooligan
    December 11, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Top notch mate.

    Noah House Of Dread at some point would be sweet.x

  10. Robert G van Dijk
    Robert G van Dijk
    April 20, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Bless! Thanks very much!

    I enjoyed your Uptempo’s Sugar Minott post and I’m looking forward to this LP.

    It’s a wonderful album and I’d love to hear it’s vinyl issue in full.
    Unfortunately the link for the B side is deleted.

    Will you please re upload ?
    Thanks in advance!

    Best regards,

    Rob,
    Amsterdam

  11. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    April 20, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    I will reupload shortly and let you know.

  12. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    April 21, 2011 at 12:50 am

    All reuploaded now for your pleasure.

  13. Robert G van Dijk
    Robert G van Dijk
    April 24, 2011 at 11:58 am

    Brilliant! Thank you very much!

    Best Regards

    Rob,

    Amsterdam

    BTW: if you got any requests for rare reggae albums, you got my mail. There’s a good change I can help …

    BT2ndW: MF declines the download.
    I’ll try again later, but I wonder if there’s something special with the link I should know tho’ ?

  14. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    April 25, 2011 at 12:46 am

    Media fire seems to be behaving itself at the moment, I can get the link uploaded with no fuss at all. Maybe your firewall needs adjusting or something if you are still having trouble uploading…

  15. Robert G van Dijk
    Robert G van Dijk
    April 25, 2011 at 11:06 am

    Irie!

    Sorry to bother you again but it’s not working.

    I can get to the download page, but after I request the file I get:

    The website declined to show this webpage
    HTTP 403
    Most likely causes:
    •This website requires you to log in.

    The link to the A side works fine; I just checked.

    So it’s not likely to be a firewall or other issue overhere.

    It would be nice if you could take another look at it.

    Best regards

    Rob

    Amsterdam

    Btw: it’s ‘down’loading I’m after, not uploading, I’m assuming that your use of ‘up’loading is just a slip of the tongue …

  16. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    April 25, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    I upload the link, you download the link. Yeah slip of the tongue / finger / mind as written above!
    I have tried to download the link on some random neighbours laptop PC (not logged in as me) and it works fine and gets played and / or saved to documents to play later.
    I do not know what is happening with things over your side. Sorry. But the links seem fine my end…

  17. Robert G van Dijk
    Robert G van Dijk
    April 25, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    I’ll have to go try and find what’s wrong over here than.

    Thanks for your efforts

    Bless

    Rob

    Amsterdam

    EDIT: It works like a charm now?
    Dunno whappen …
    I didn’t alter any settings –
    but I just took it! Thanks for sharing!

  18. Philbert
    Philbert
    September 11, 2020 at 11:21 am

    Great music but sadly mp3

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