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Keith Hudson: Playing It Cool & Playing It Right (Re-Release)

Be careful! This music is quite awkward, you could even say atypical. But think what you will, that's exactly why I still listen to Keith Hudson's albums with growing enthusiasm. The "Dark Prince of Reggae", who died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of just 38, had his own sound from the very beginning, which I'm not the only one who finds hypnotic.

The “Keith Hudson: Playing It Cool & Playing It Right“ (Week–End Records) exemplifies his vision of Dub-Reggae with slow riddims, complex backing vocals and pure groove. It is said that the showcase album, first released in 1981, is Keith Hudson's most admired and best work because of its wide range of variations. Hudson's singing, which is understandably not to everyone's taste, varies from gentle to driving beats and occasional rap interludes. A special feature of the album is that after moving to New York in 1976, Hudson came into contact again with Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes, Prince Buster's former protégé. They already knew each other from Jamaica. However, they did not start working together until 1981. This time Lloyd Barnes acted as executive producer.
But let's start from the beginning: Keith Hudson used the Bullwackies studio for "Playing It Cool & Playing It Right". Lloyd Barnes handled Keith Hudson's song material very carefully, because Keith had his own sound and Barnes had his typical Wackies studio sound, which always brought back memories of Perry's Black Ark. So 'Bullwackies' contribution to the 1981 album should be understood more as an exchange of ideas, advice and possible decisions. On the album, which unfortunately was to be his penultimate release, Keith Hudson reinterpreted six of his old rhythms with creative support from Lloyd Barnes.
The “Depth Charge” riddim from “Pick A Dub“ is found here in the form of “Trust & Believe” and its Dubpendant "In I Dub“ again. At the latest with “California”/“By Night Dub“ the album takes a dark turn, the drive changes noticeably. Two female singers, The Love Joys, provide the backing vocals, while Hudson sings/speaks of the “darkest night on the wet-looking road” that envelops both his head and his road trip. Distorted guitars and dark, crumbling drum beats stir a dense Dub-Mud, which obscures all signposts. Even at a slow pace, the landscape remains diffuse.
In “Not Good for Us”/“Formula Dub“ we get double and triple play of oppressively out-of-tune babble and crazy croaking. Hudson screams “too much formula ain't good for my head, ain't good for the dread”. The piano stumbles behind, the distorted guitars threaten to come off the tape, while the beat flickers out of consciousness again and again.
In “Be What You Want to Be”/“Be Good Dub“ Hudson lets percussion and guitars resonate and resonate endlessly.
I find the last piece, “I Can't Do Without You,” to be the most emotional. The lyrics alone show impressively how much American soul, funk and rock flowed into Hudson's productions at that time. In the following Dub "Still Need You Dub“ you can clearly hear the Barrett brothers – I think I can definitely hear Carly’s unmistakable drums.

The album is only a little over half an hour long, but has a noticeable vibe that reminds me vaguely of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's "Super Ape". As a whole, I always enjoy Keith Hudson's albums because they show the (dark) side of reggae that you hardly ever find on many popular reggae albums. In any case, I am happy that on the 40th anniversary of the death of a unique artist, a real classic - a psycho-acoustic journey into the depths of existence - has been re-released on LP. The uniqueness of this album would get full marks, but because of the somewhat bumpy transitions from song to Dub Unfortunately there is one star deduction.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

16 Responses to “Keith Hudson: Playing It Cool & Playing It Right (Re-Release)”

A truly short but all the more intense trip. I'm lying in the autumn sun and listening to "darkest night..." in the song "California". The contrast couldn't be greater. Somehow I also hear Gil-Scott Heron (that's also far-fetched, I know) in Keith's vocals and I have to say, the sound alone is highly psychoactive, at least for me...
Thank you Ras for re-releasing this LP…

Many thanks for recommendation, one of the most exciting albums I've ever heard. Even more than 43 years later, it's still a great listening experience. True timeless music without limits.

Yeah man !!!

I would also say, “no matter what ‘the others’ think”, this music is also for me one of the very special jewels in reggae and Dub Cosmos. Not that I don't appreciate the finely cut gemstones in the great Reggae treasure, but when all these stones are lying in front of you, I would be particularly interested in these not so finely cut diamonds and emeralds.
These stones shine in a very special play of musical colors and thereby create a special mystical energy that is unparalleled and that you would otherwise only find in reggae and Dub finds.
I would say that Keith Hudson and especially “Playing It Cool” is really something for connoisseurs and sound gourmets who are not looking for the next radio hit that they then play over and over until they get sick of it.
Yes, but I also admit that occasionally my forehead gets wrinkled, like when I've bitten into a sour lemon, and to check, I also check whether my shoelaces are still tied tightly so that my toenails don't curl up.
“Not good for us” is a good example of this – as far as the vocals are concerned – and embodies the complete opposite of smooth radio music a la Taylor Shipp (or something like that). This AI radio music is more catchy. But not for me….
It might be awkward and - perhaps even - "atypical" for me in the "jazzy" moments that I also notice from Keith Hudson from time to time, but Keith Hudson stays far away from "simple jazz" and shows us (at least to me) how confident it is when jazz becomes something like RastaJazz. And I can also hear, from a distance, a Gill - Scott Heron, who I don't know particularly well but who I associate with a very good concert that I was able to experience a long time ago on the Loreley.
I am also glad that I am not the only one who is
Wackie - Sound reminds me of the Black Ark. I've always had that feeling, and I'm probably not the only one. The sound from the Bullwackie Studio is, just like the sound from the Black Ark, extremely psychoactive, which is probably because the walls are so saturated with ganja that a completely normal atmosphere is simply no longer possible. And that's a good thing!
With “I can’t do without you” or “Still need you Dub“ I can clearly hear the Barrett brothers, which is particularly evident to me in the drums. However, I also think I can hear this drum style in “Trust and Believe” – even if not quite as clearly. And on top of that, it sounds a lot like the “Upsetter – Sound” in the Black Ark Studio. I’m confused by this, because I think I know that the Barrett brothers were no longer with the Upsetters at the time of the Black Ark. But that doesn’t mean anything in relation to the riddims, which could have made it into the Ark much later. “Trust and Believe” plus DubVersion is pure psychoactive pleasure for me.
Not only but especially the piano (keyboard) stimulates my musical synapses and at the same time creates completely new ones.
“Playing It Cool + Dub“ was already a really outstanding piece for me on the sampler “The Hudson Affair”, although I remember it being a bit more psychoactive then than it is here. Very likely a mistake.
But also because Philipp is at “California+Dub“ has a very special moment here on the album, I would also like to emphasize again that “California ....” is also my highlight here on the album, which is a little unfair of me to put it that way, because the whole album is a highlight that you can only be happy about. I am listening to it for the first time, consciously as a whole album, but I will certainly still enjoy listening to it in 43 years, if JAH lets me ;-) ...

“True timeless music without limits.”

Yeah man!!! That tells the whole story!

I would just like to comment on the “bumpy transitions from the song to the Dub“ I have to say something against that. I actually think the transitions are almost perfect as they are. It is just a little strange when you Dub alone “calls out”, because then I also have the feeling that it just starts right in the middle without the slightest intro.
But hey! Who would be such a philistine to only look at this milestone Dubs to listen to. For me, that only works in showcase style, i.e. "complete version!!!" And if your forehead wrinkles a little, you just think of lemon ice cream and everything fits perfectly again.

“I like IceCream!” ……………………………….. lemmi

So……… I have to add something and clarify something now.
Of course, I wanted to know whether I hadn't said complete nonsense again. So I just listened to the "Hudson Affair" again and yes, I even discovered more than I remembered. The songs and DubThey have completely different names, which is nothing new in the reggae business, but I found not only "Playing It Cool …….. but also "Darkest Night ….. in California" and if I search a little longer, I'm sure I'll find more. But I'm posting here again specifically because I ended up writing nonsense. There are more versions of each riddim on "Hudson Affair" but there is nothing more psychedelic than "Playing It Cool And Right". Compared to these versions, "Hudson Affair" sounds downright smooth. I probably only remember them as being more "psychedelic" because when I listen to Keith Hudson at home I ALWAYS (!) have the right attitude (if you know what I mean).
In comparison to “Hudson Affair” it has (unfortunately) become clear to me what a great treasure lies before us here. “Unfortunately” because I will probably not get more than ones and zeros from this treasure. Oh well, what the heck, “Babylon makes the rules” …… lemmi

Oh dear Ras Vorbei.
Actually, there's hardly anything that embarrasses me anymore, but I've stopped developing when it comes to direct debit authorizations.
I'm probably the only person in the world who hasn't been able to register with PayPal. Although the formalities aren't too complicated, I managed to "break" them. At the moment, my experts here say that it won't work with my old email address. But we'll work on it when we get a chance.
I'm not registered with Bandcamp yet and who knows what else... I admit, I'm the problem and not the solution, but I think the "oh so modern young people" who came up with Bandcamp etc. could show that they are more flexible in their minds than I am and should be able to deal with direct debits or simple bank transfers. Otherwise I can only return the "plaster in the head"...
For this disc, 28 euros wouldn't even be too much for me, but how come the 7 euro shipping costs come about? Or are the discs pressed on the back of the moon and then sent to me by space shuttle? ……
Yes, sorry, Babylon didn't want it any other way and I feel like a victim.
Thank you for your initiative Ras Vorbei. Let's see if
irie records can't do something about it too...

Until ……………… lemmi

That's an option, lemmi. Maybe your trusted music store can still get you the LP. It's not too late, because the album isn't sold out yet.

Jo Ras Vorbei !

I've just had a very good breakfast, but I still think of a somewhat snarky remark.
As far as I know, more than 1000 people worldwide read here in DubBlog or at least take a look. Therefore, in my opinion, the disc should have been sold out long ago. Or am I one of the few "losers" who don't have this disc yet and didn't even know about it. Or even "better", maybe there are a lot of people who can't or don't want to use PayPal either...
As far as I know, a certain Elon Musk - not entirely alone but still significantly involved - has become very rich through this "service" without actually having to work for it. He was just in the right place at the right time, which is not something you can blame him for. And yes, you can't blame him for not working either. It's more the opposite. What really annoys me about him is that he also instructs - or forces - people who don't "suffer" from such a syndrome (I don't think he even suffers from it) to work all day and make do with a maximum of 4 hours of sleep per night. The guy apparently has an extraordinary talent that gives him many advantages over the average citizen, but that doesn't seem to be all there is, otherwise he wouldn't produce so much space junk... And (not just his)
His "dream" of flying to Mars makes me doubt his sanity. What do you want there??? It's freezing cold, there's no fresh air to breathe and you won't find Ipanema beach there either, because it's here in Brazil. He's no longer with PayPal, but I think his shares there still "work" for him. I can't and won't support that. I also don't want to support the other guys who are getting super rich with it without really having to work for it. So PayPal and I will only be very reluctant to get anything done. As long as I can manage somehow else, they won't get rich with me. But well, Babylon makes the rules and not me. Hehe (sorry, I'll be finished soon), if it were up to me, every cent would go to a foundation that looks after the well-being of people alone, so that no more children are too thin and have to die because of it. (Oh, how noble I am today)
As long as there are people here who waste their talents on wars and flights to Mars, I will probably always have problems digesting my breakfast and simply quietly enjoying the fact that I am doing so well.
Oops, how did I get so far off topic again? I think it also has something to do with Dub and reggae. In reggae people complain and don't sugarcoat anything, period, I mean.
If that was too much of a "good thing" for you, sorry about that. Just read over it, like with Drüberwegleser(asterisk) inside... what nonsense... phew, there must have been something in my meat salad today... see you later... lemmi

Yes, lemmi, you're not the only one. It's damn difficult to take part in social and musical life without having to register permanently, have a PayPal account or a Play Store account. This digital compulsion really pisses me off. And I've decided not to play anymore. It's difficult, but it's working out. Luckily, I have my trusted record store around the corner. That way I'm even helping someone to make a living from their hobby, more or less ;-)

Oh Giovanni, you wouldn't believe how good it makes me know that I'm not the only person in the world who is really fed up with this whole digital development.
Your record store is just around the corner from you. So there are still a few corners on our planet where paradise hasn't been completely eliminated yet.
I don't know if this is really the right "place" to open Pandora's box even further, but this is one of the few "places" where my comments against digital fascism are not immediately deleted. When I then hear that around 70% of kids who are eligible to vote, along with the other Facebook and co. zombies, are yearning for discipline and order and are joining brutally conservative parties or at least voting for them, then I am even in favor of shutting down this whole mess immediately as anti-democratic!!! WTF is going on here???
"People, just stay cool! Why are you always acting like that?" Fed up of freedom or what? I think that radiation from computers not only affects the eyes (which has of course become a great business for opticians), but also, in the form of brainwashing, people's minds. Before you think that I've already been exposed to too much radiation, I'll just say that I can't rule it out ;-) Side note: Söder and Merz want to withdraw the pseudo-legalization immediately and thus indirectly "force" us to drink beer legally again. They are also completely irradiated because, in their beer mood, they don't have a spark of sense for justice. I could even imagine that they invented the AfD. (I got a high dose of radiation, so it could be wrong. And every week I get a plastic chip card to digest, which doesn't exactly make my overall situation any better). Vegan doesn't help either, because the stuff is completely wrapped in plastic and to make something like meat out of "biocardboard" you probably have to extrude a few yellow bags through the meat grinder. (Don't worry, I hope I'm writing complete nonsense here... but I'm really not sure). End of subordinate clause.
What was before the subordinate clause again? Oh yes, I'm irradiated! And now I'm going to really let it out.
Quantum physics – quantum entanglement (for Einstein it was still a “spooky external effect”, today we are already working with it). Even at the risk of recommending myself for the “funny farm”, I would like to take the opportunity to indicate that I do not consider thought manipulation through radiation to be science fiction. If I am not mistaken, the transmission of information is no longer necessary due to quantum entanglement, since it is simultaneously present in all photons.
(light quanta?) from the same source from which they were emitted. This makes the transfer of information even faster than light. Since we humans are also made up of atoms and thus mostly of light quanta or photons, I do not consider the transfer of information and in our case brainwashing through quantum entanglement to be out of the question. Even if it is only through the "spooky external influence" ....
Ok lemmi ……. Topic missed (!? ) Here is the DubBlog and not the science forum of Anton Zeilinger!!!
I just slipped into it again. I didn't know where my lines would lead me. But you can see where I ended up, or rather where I ended up. I'm completely blown away by it. "Spooky alien effects" are exactly my thing. Reality is not what we think we think or something like that and for me that fits perfectly with the magical effect that comes from the vibrations of the loudspeakers, from which intelligent people, mostly Dub and reggae music - for me, downright "spooky" - pours out. I just wanted to mention in passing that the less intelligent creatures prefer to listen to Ballermann and Apree-Ski music, even though they are studying or have studied. I couldn't care less, but I have to admit that I suffer a lot from it on every ski holiday.
OK, now I've completely lost the thread, but I would like to make it clear that I don't want to come across as a competent or even intelligent quantum physicist. Or, to take the wind out of the sails of certain readers, I would also like to add that I don't want to "make a name for myself" here, at least not consciously. It's just my way of dealing with my madness, because I've been at a point for a while now where I've come to the firm conviction that the whole of humanity, and therefore every single person, has gone mad, or is heading straight for madness. But I know from the past that it's similar to the driver who took the wrong exit onto the motorway but still thinks that he's constantly being approached by a huge number of wrong-way drivers (star) ;-).

“Flyer, greet the stars for me” …. I’m going to the goal ………lemmi

Ah, I forgot something important!
“Think I’m crazy, think I’ve gone mad, but Germany was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the last European Championships too.” Whatever, it was still quite nice.
No, I wanted to really emphasize my fascination with the effect of music.
When I consider that only completely invisible vibrations are emitted from the loudspeakers and that almost everyone experiences a physically perceptible - often very intense - reaction as a result, without being stroked in any way or touched in any other material form, I am simply completely blown away.
It's similar with visual stimuli. The great thing about it is that you don't have to fly to the moon or even Mars to get it.
The roots of good music only grow here on earth.
So, I think I got it now …………….. lemmi

Errrr sorry! Me again.

Of course it’s called “spooky LONG-RANGE action”!!!

I had the feeling the whole time that there was “something” not quite right about my text ;-)

QED…………………. lemmi

“However, I also imagine that I can hear this drum style in ‘Trust and Believe’ – even if not quite as clearly.”

That’s it, lemmi! It’s the “Depth Charge” riddim, which was already featured on “Pick A Dub“ was heard. And as part of the 2nd Street Dreads, the Wailers Riddim Section Aston and Carly Barrett were instrumental in it.

Understood ! Thanks Ras Vorbei !
I am of course pleased that my “absolute pitch” is still able to “phone connoisseur” quite well. But I think that many people here have already figured that out, which could also be due to the fact that you can hear reggae and Dub You can only really hear and, above all, feel something if you have “absolute pitch”.
Everything is relative anyway, because I remember writing a long time ago that I really do not understand what many DubHeads to “Pick A Dub“ so great. Well, it's still not in my “Top 5 of all time” but I could understand if there were many who thought to themselves, “yeah, if I had perfect pitch like you, I'd rather have mine” or something like that...

So long …………………… lemmi

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