| Tings an' Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Studio | Sparkside Studio, Dulwich Road, London | |||
| Genre | Reggae, dub, spoken word | |||
| Label | Shanachie [1] | |||
| Producer | Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dennis Bovell | |||
| Linton Kwesi Johnson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Tings an' Times is an album by the Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1991. [2] [3] It was Johnson's first album in six years. [4] Tings an' Times also served as the title of a book of Johnson's poetry. [5]
The album was produced by Johnson and Dennis Bovell. [6] Johnson was again backed by the Dub Band, with the sound fleshed out by the addition of accordion and violin. [7] [8] Steve Gregory contributed on flute and saxophone. [9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Robert Christgau | A [11] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [7] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [14] |
Robert Christgau wrote that "the riddims skip by on Dennis Bovell's ska-speedy tempos, graced with tricky guitar hooks and colored with fiddle and accordion that sing Hungary and Algeria and Colombia and the Rio Grande." [11] The Los Angeles Times lamented that "Johnson’s delivery is both tentative and buried a bit in the mix, lessening the impact." [7] The Orlando Sentinel opined that "Johnson's thoughtful lyrics float over gorgeous elongated reggae tracks flavored with jazz-influenced horns, accordion, piano, violin and flute." [13] The Commercial Appeal noted that Johnson's "spry quips and brusque cadences [ride] over tough rhythms." [15]
AllMusic thought that Johnson's "outlook is intensely African, and his socio-political lyrics (some in English, some in an African language) are a passionate call for democracy in Africa." [10] The Spin Alternative Record Guide praised the "increased doses of joy and irony in LKJ's meditations." [14] Trouser Press deemed Tings an' Times "an upbeat but stringently critical album that is at once traditional and modern." [1]
All tracks are written by Linton Kwesi Johnson
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Story" | 5:20 |
| 2. | "Sense Outta Nansense" | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Tings an' Times" | 6:32 |
| 4. | "Mi Revalueshanary Fren" | 5:19 |
| 5. | "Di Good Life" | 5:30 |
| 6. | "Di Anfinished Revalueshan" | 5:33 |
| 7. | "Dubbing for Life" | 4:03 |
Linton Kwesi Johnson OD, also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His performance poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell.
Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of Jamaican origin, which evolved out of dub music in Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1970s, as well as in London, England, and Toronto, Canada, cities which have large populations of Caribbean immigrants. The term "Dub Poetry" was coined by Dub artist Linton Kwesi Johnson in 1976, and further popularized by artist Oku Onoura, which consists of spoken word over reggae rhythms, originally found on the backing or "version" side of a 12 or 7 inch vinyl record.
Mystic Man is the fourth studio album by Peter Tosh. All songs were composed by Peter Tosh. It was released in 1979 by Rolling Stones Records, EMI, and Intel Diplo.
Dennis Bovell is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in England. He was a member of a progressive rock group called Stonehenge, who later changed name and became the British reggae band Matumbi, and released dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the pseudonym Blackbeard. He is most widely known for his decades-spanning collaborations with Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Unforgettable … with Love, also known as simply Unforgettable, is the twelfth studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on June 11, 1991, the album includes covers of standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. It was also her debut for Elektra Records, after being given her release from EMI Records.
Bass Culture is an album by the Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1980 on the Island Records label. It was produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell. Bovell, Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson and Webster Johnson were members of Matumbi.
Forces of Victory is the debut solo album by Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. It was released in 1979 on Island Records.
LKJ in Dub is an album by the Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1980 on Island Records. It was produced by Dennis Bovell. It contains dub versions of tracks from the two previous LKJ albums, Forces of Victory and Bass Culture.
Making History is an album by the Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. It was released in 1984 on Island Records. It was produced by Dennis Bovell.
Hail H.I.M. is a studio album by the Jamaican musician Burning Spear, released in 1980. He supported the album with a North American tour.
Farover is an album by the Jamaican reggae singer and musician Burning Spear, released in 1982.
Roy Samuel Reid, better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.
Stephen Gregory is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute.
Dread Beat an' Blood is the debut album by British reggae band Poet and the Roots released in 1978 on the Front Line label. It was produced by Vivian Weathers and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The "Poet" is dub poet Johnson and "the Roots" are Dennis Bovell, Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson, Desmond Craig, Winston Curniffe, Everald Forrest, Floyd Lawson, John Varnom, Lila Weathers and Vivian Weathers. Vivian Weathers and Winston Curniffe were school friends of Johnson's. They all attended Tulse Hill Secondary School. Most of the tracks are based on poems that first appeared in Johnson's 1975 book of poetry Dread Beat an' Blood.
Escape Artist is an album by Garland Jeffreys, released in 1981 by Epic Records. The album originally included the EP Escapades. The cover photography is by Anton Corbijn.
John Ogetti Kpiaye is a reggae session and live guitarist. He was a member of The Cats who had a No. 48 UK hit with "Swan Lake", and Matumbi, who had a No. 35 hit with "Point of View ".
"Silly Games" is a song written by Dennis Bovell that was first released in 1979 as a single by Janet Kay. The single was a hit not only in the UK, where it reached number 2 that summer, but throughout Europe. Kay's appearance singing on Top of the Pops made it the first lover's rock tune on BBC Television's flagship popular music show. The song appeared again in 1990 as a re-recording, billed as by Lindy Layton featuring Janet Kay, which reached number 22 in the charts. A remix version of Kay's original recording spent three weeks in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 62.
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a 2018 album of remixed Beach Boys recordings with new orchestral arrangements performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was produced by Nick Patrick and Don Reedman, who conducted similar projects for Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley.
Brain Damage is the third studio album by Barbadian-British reggae musician Dennis Bovell, released in 1981 by Fontana Records. His first solo album under his own name, following two dub albums released as Blackbeard, it was Bovell's first recording at his South London-based Studio 80. Having begun to feel that reggae had not progressed as much as he would have liked, he conceived Brain Damage as an attempt to fuse the genre with numerous rhythmic styles from Europe, America, Africa and the Caribbean to highlight the genre's flexibility. The musician intended not to explore the international rhythms in a standard way but to take them to what he perceived as musical extremes. The direction was also inspired by the wide array of people in his audience.
More Time is an album by the Jamaican-British musician Linton Kwesi Johnson. It was released in 1998 through Johnson's LKJ Records. "Liesense fi Kill", about police brutality, was released as a single. Johnson supported the album with an international tour. The lyrics to many songs were reproduced in Johnson's book of poetry Mi Revalueshanary Fren.
