CEDRIC CONGO MYTON - INNA DE YARD

.....

CEDRIC CONGO MYTON - INNA DE YARD

TRACKLIST


Romeo & Juliet
Congo Ashanti
Children Crying
Form a Gang
Open Up the Gate Of Zion
Yoyo
Wisdom (aka Musical Foul)
Forever Young
Cock Mouth




Label : Makasound / Inna De Yard
Produced by Earl Chinna Smith & Cedric Myton
Ecrit by Cedric Myton


[b]Credits:
Guitars : Earl Chinna Smith, Jeremayah, Emmanuel I,W Mcanuff
Percussion : Alphonso Craig, Kiddus I, Emmanuel I, Bro Alric, Jah Youth
Horns : Dizzy Moore, Leslie Samuels
Keyboards : Lloyd Palmer
Drums : Kush McAnuff, Alphonso Craig
Melodica:Lloyd Palmer




Recorded in Chinna’s yard, Kingston 10, November 2004 by Jah Clive, except “For ever young” & “Cockmouth” recorded in Jah Clive’s Yard, summer 2005, by Jah Clive.

INNA DE YARD - LIVE IN FRANCE

.....

INNA DE YARD LIVE IN FRANCE

TRACKLIST


01. All Stars – Rivers of Babylon
02. Earl Chinna Smith – Satan side
03. Kiddus I – No salvation until
04. Matthew McAnuff – Be careful
05. Cedric Congo Myton – Fisherman row
06. Linval Thompson – Inna the hills
07. Derajah – Oh yeah yah
08. Earl Chinna Smith – Homegrown
09. The Viceroys – So many problems
10. Earl Chinna Smith – Mr. Chatterbox


Artist : Inna De Yard All Stars
Album : Live In France
Genre : Reggae
Source : Retail CD
Label : Inna De Yard / Makasound

JUNIOR MURVIN - INNA DE YARD

.....

JUNIOR MURVIN - INNA DE YARD

TRACKLIST


Police & Thieves (Intro by Danny Dread)
Gipsy Woman (feat. Next yard's dog)
Badman Posse (Intro by Chinna)
Rescue The Children
Closer
Roots Train
Salomon
World Inflation
Ain't No Sunshine


Title Inna De Yard
Artist Junior Murvin
Label Inna De Yard-Makasound
Format CD
Date May 25, 2007


Inna De Yard, Makasound's sister label, returns here with a sedate and atmospheric meditation of a record from Junior Murvin.


To some roots fans, the Inna De Yard series has always been of noble intention -- but has occasionally proved a little hit and miss sound/engineering wise -- suffice it to say however, the soon come Murvin release hits the target spot on, with an excellent fusion of roots meditativeness, soul and jazz.


Engineering wise, it is significantly more polished, edited and mastered than previous releases in the series too -- which makes it a markedly smoother, more pleasurable listen.


If you thought you never again needed to hear yet another cut to "Police And Thieves" -- think again, as Junior drops into the deeply contemplative trance of the rhythm, his near perfect vocals leading the flow, immaculately, still inspired after all these years. A sinewy bass creates an undertow, pinning down the ethereal vocals to time and place. An eerie melodica fades in and out of the dreamlike mix.


Next up, "Gypsy Woman" sounds like Bill Withers meets Nina Simone and Ernest Ranglin.


"Bad Man Posse" has a Rockers Meet King Tubby's style bass drop, and a timely lyric about the utter pointlessness of following any kind of bad man posse -- "So many men lost their lives innocently, because of following the wrong posse. Don't go there son. Please throw away your gun. Which (kind of man) do you want to be? Take your choice."


"Roots Train" has a classical acoustic jazz groove from Chinna, what sounds like an acoustic double bass line, melodica melody and harsh Studio One sounding percussion, rooting it firmly in the mid/late 70's meditative period.


"Salomon" is another groove from the "Police and Thieves" set, though the rhythms and patterns are slightly reworked here, changing the vibes into more of a folk tune. Chinna leads the track with some almost Mozart or even Bach influenced baroque classical picking -- sophisticated, focused, calm, masterful and cerebral -- Chinna at his finest, year 2007 style.


Murvin's voice hasn't faded or degenerated at all over the years -- check it out, and grab yet another version of these great tunes originally out of the Black Ark.

INNA DE YARD ALL STARS

.....

INNA DE YARD ALL STARS

TRACKLIST


01. The Viceroys – Heart Made of stone
02. Jr Murvin – Rescue the children
03. Jah Youth – Well Ah Oh
04. Chinna – We got love
05. The Mighty Diamonds – Country living
06. The Viceroys – Ya Ho
07. Kiddus – No salvation until
08. Ras Michael Jr – White Line
09. Prince Allah – Great Stone
10. Jr Murvin – Gipsy Woman
11. Linval Thompson – Guiding Star
12. Congo – Congo Ashanty
13. Kiddus I – A prayer
14. Chinna – Homegrown


Various - Inna De Yard All Stars
Artist
Various


Title
Inna De Yard All Stars
Label
Makasound
Format
CD
Release date
Nov 2007

Reggae's potential in an acoustic setting has not yet been adequately explored on record. Tanya Stephens released some live versions MTV unplugged style, Richie Spice cut the wonderful Outta The Blue on a rhythm with a passing resemblance to the theme from the TV show Firefly, and of course, who could forget Buju Banton's Untold Stories? But the benchmark of reggae sans wires has to be the Bim Sherman, Adrien Sherwood and Talvin Singh Collaboration Miracle, now sadly unavailable on vinyl or cd.


The Inna De Yard Series was conceived by the guitarist Earl Chinna Smith to take reggae back to the yards of Jamaica ("Yard") that it originally came from. Featuring just an acoustic guitar and voice, and in some cases other rudimentary backing, these off-the-cuff performances resulted in albums from Kiddus I, Cedric Myton, Linval Thompson and others, released on a Makasound subsidiary, also called Inna De Yard. Although a little rough and ready sounding in comparison to the beautifully crafted Miracle, they are a fascinating journey into the roots of roots, and this Best Of, including a couple of unreleased gems, is as essential as Sherman's genre-bending 1997 release.


On hearing track one, The Viceroys harmonising dolefully on Heart Made Of Stone, it becomes obvious that reggae don't need no bass, putting paid to the essentialist dogma (tacitly accepted by many) that low frequencies occupy a similarly privileged position to that of the electric guitar in rock. On the contrary, with complete equality between the instruments, slotting together a jigsaw of sounds, rather than a series of plodding minor variations on the same theme, reggae can truly be said to be the sum of its parts.


The songs have been chosen perfectly (which is to say, had Reggae News been given the job of selecting the tracklisting, these are the ones we would have picked!) and the resulting compilation is one of the strongest from the Makasound stable. Junior Murvin wakes us up a little with a simple drums, bass and guitar arrangement on Rescue The Children, Jah Youth tells of his concerns about reduced sperm count (!) before delivering a mournful chant on Well Ah Oh, and Chinna offers a lilting version of his and Freddie McGregor's soulful We Got Love - complete with guitar solo and scat singing - that feels like we are sharing something very private and special indeed.


Ya Ho by The Viceroys is another full band affair recorded Yard style, while the smoky voice of Kiddus I (unchanged after all these years) gives a dark forecast over Smith's fretwork on No Salvation Until; a foreboding performance of almost unbearable tension. Ras Michael Jr's White Line is a moody strummer that could almost be the work of Richie Havens, and Cedric Myton's frenzied, ritualistic acoustic take on Congo Ashanty will have the Mojo crowd quivering with delight.


Then there are the previously unreleased tracks: The Mighty Diamonds' harmonies on Country Living are a dealmaker for anyone thinking of seeing them live, while Prince Alla's bass-drum, flute and guitar march through Great Stone is an apocalyptic beast that slouches of its own accord.


The coarseness of some of the recordings and the one-take approach has led some reviewers to lament the lack of budget and finish given to the project, but this is missing the point by a country mile. Once you stop treating this as an "unplugged" style album and see it as a post party back garden jam just for you, the versatility and history of the music and the power of this collection become clear.




Reviewed by Angus Taylor

EARL "CHINNA" SMITH AND IDRENS - INNA THE YARD

.....

INNA THE YARD

TRACKLIST




01 - CHINNA - Homegrown
02 - JAH YOUTH - Well Ah Oh
03 - ISRAEL VOICE - All with life
04 - EARL SMITH JR - Dem no know
05 - CHINNA - We got love
06 - RAS MICHEL JR - Medecine man
07 - CHINNA - Satan Side
08 - EMMANUEL I - Grow Spiritually
09 - CHINNA - Mariwana
10 - KEN BOB - A chapter a day
11 - CHINNA - Humble Servant
12 - THE MAESTRO - Are you ready
13 - CHINNA - Daniel


Recorded in Chinna's yard, Kingston 10, mid-august 2004, by Clive "Dub King" Geffrey & Earl Smith Jr.




Musicians :
Guitars : Earl Smith & for themselves The Maestro, Ken Bob, Emmanuel I, Michael Henry
Percussions : Jah Youth, Ken Bob, Emmanuel I, Earl Smith
Faraway drums : Kush McAnuff

LINVAL THOMPSON - INNA THE YARD

.....

INNA THE YARD

TRACKLIST




01 - Inna the hills (Intro by Kiddus I)
02 - Jah guiding star
03 - Hit dem with de one drop
04 - Good gracious woman
05 - Mercy mercy mercy
06 - Jah Jah dreader than dread
07 - Ease up
08 - Train to Zion
09 - Gimme back (feat. Israel Voice)


Recorded in Chinna's yard, Kingston 10, November 2004, by Jah Clive




Musicians : Guitars : Earl “Chinna” Smith, Jeremayah, Emmanuel I
Percussions : Alphonso Craig, Kiddus I, Emmanuel I, Bro Alric, Jah Youth…
Horn : Derrick Hinds
Keyboards : Lloyd Palmer
Drums : Kush McAnuff, Alphonson Craig

THE VICEROYS - INNA DE YARD

.....

The Viceroys
Inna de Yard


TRACKLIST


01 - Heart made of stone
02 - Ya Ho
03 - Mission Impossible
04 - I Guarantee my love
05 - So many problems
06 - Love Jah
07 - Last night
08 - Slogan on the wall
09 - Shadrach, Meshach And Abendego
10 - Rising the strength of Jah




Recorded in Chinna’s yard, Kingston 10, November 2005, by Clive “Dub King” Geffrey & Earl Smith Jnr.
Produced & arranged by Earl “Chinna” Smith & The Viceroys.




Musicians : All guitars : Earl Smith, Bo-Pee, Sangie Davis, Wesley Tinglin (acoustic)
Keyboards : Robbie Lynn, Lloyd Palmer
Percussions : Jah Youth, Kiddus I, Red, Burchel, Kush McAnuff, Ras Appa, Alphonso Craig
Drums : Alphonso Craig, Kush McAnuff



LIRICS
My Mission Is Impossible


They say that I won't get no where
So they say, that's what they say
They say that I won't reach my goal
So they say, that's what they say
Oh yeah,
Now they're saying my mission is
impossible
Yes they're saying that I just can't make it
But I know they're wrong, yes they're
wrong
My mission are possible
Sing it baby : my missions are possible


The heights of great men reached and
kept
Were not attained by sudden flights
But then while their companion slept
Were toiling up through the night


Chorus

THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS - INNA DE YARD

.....





INNA DE YARD


01 - Country Living
02 - Bodyguard
03 - Poor Marcus
04 - 4000 Years
05 - I need a roof
06 - Leaders of black country
07 - When the right time come
08 - Go seek your rights
09 - Have mercy
10 - One brother short




Recorded in Chinna’s yard, Kingston 10, mid-February 2007, by Clive “Dub King” Geffrey & Earl Smith Jnr. Produced & arranged by Earl “Chinna” Smith & The Mighty Diamonds All songs written by The Mighty Diamonds




Musicians : Guitars: Earl Smith Percussions: Jah Youth, Ken Bob, Emmanuel I, Burchel, Kiddus I… The Mighty Diamonds are Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson & Donald "Tabby" Shaw

KIDDUS I - INNA DE YARD

.....

INNA DEYARD


tracklist




01 - A prayer for you
02 - Going Jah Jah's way
03 - No salvation until
04 - Economical woes
05 - The world should be a better place
06 - Reached their peeks
07 - Better equity
08 - Troubled time (summer version)
09 - Take good care of me
10 - Troubled time (winter version)


Recorded in Chinna's yard, Kingston 10, august 2004, by Jah "Dub King" Clive


Musicians : Earl "Chinna" Smith, Jah Youth, Kiddus I, Kush McAnuff, Kevin I, Ras Michael Junior...


Studio : Mixed by Jah "Dub King" Clive at Bunny Lee Mastered by Serial P at Dubwise Factory


The second in what will hopefully become an ongoing series from Makasound, Kiddus I's Inna de Yard continues the acoustic, guitar-driven sound of its predecessor by Earl "Chinna" Smith. It was even recorded outdoors in the same "yard". As on Smith's Yard, the music here doesn't always feature the typical reggae "one-drop" rhythm; much of it is strumming and owes as much to folk as it does to reggae. But as Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" has shown, such as sound can work within the reggae realm, and work well. That said Kiddus I's album isn't quite as astounding as Smith's, but Smith's benefited from the inclusion of several remakes culled from his 30-year career. Presumably, the songs on Kiddus I's set are all originals. Kiddus I himself is a mysterious figure. His song "Graduation in Zion" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1978 film Rockers, but little has been hear of him since the early '80s. In fact, this is, amazingly, his first album. Where's he been? I don't know, but I'm glad he's back. If Kiddus I is at all rusty, it doesn't show here. His voice is firm and engaging, a bit like Luciano (Granted, he pre-dates Luciano by quite a few years.). The opening tune, "A Prayer," is a solid introduction to the album's placid sound, while the second, "Where Are You Going," builds on it in classic fashion, shaping an evocative masterpiece. "No Salvation Until" is one of the few tracks with a standard one-drop rhythm, which lends a more militant sound. "Reached Their Peaks" likewise is darker in tone, but is balanced out by the Winter Version of "Troubled Time," a lively, rambling spiritual that invigorates for 10 minutes straight. Kiddus I's Yard continues the organic experience of Smith's album, made all the more hypnotic by Kiddus I's evocative vocals.