Tighten Up Volume 2

Artist(s):

Various Artists

Label: Trojan
Publisher(s):

Trojan

Studio: Trojan
Manufacturer: Trojan
Binding: Audio CD
Format(s): Deluxe Edition
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £5.99
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours

Track Listing

Number of discs: 2
1.

Long Shot Kick De Bucket - Leslie Kong, The Pioneers

John Jones - Derrick Harriott, Rudy Mills

Fire Corner - Clancy Eccles, King Stitt, The Dynamites

Wreck A Buddy - Joe Gibbs, The Soul Sisters

Reggae In Your Jeggae - Dandy, Robert Thompson

Fattie Fattie - Clancy Eccles

Return Of Django - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters

Sufferer - Derrick Harriott, The Kingstonians

Moonlight Lover - Arthur "Duke" Reid, Joya Landis

10.

Come Into My Parlour - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Bleechers

11.

Them A Laugh And A Kiki - Joe Gibbs, The Soulmates

12.

Live Injection - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters

13.

Jumping The Gun - Rico And The Rudies, Robert Thompson

14.

A Place Called Happiness - Derrick Harriott, Rudy Mills

15.

John Public (Tom Hark) - Clancy Eccles, The Dynamites

16.

Push It In - The Versatiles

17.

Reggae Shuffle - Robert Thompson, The Pyramids

18.

Tribute To Drumbago (aka Last Call) - Clancy Eccles, The Dynamites

19.

Dollar In The Teeth - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters

20.

Kiss A Finger - Derrick Harriott, The Kingstonians

21.

Love You True - Arthur "Duke" Reid, Joya Landis

22.

Dry Up Your Tears - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Mellotones

23.

The Hippy's Are Here - Joe Gibbs, The Hippy Boys

24.

Everything For Fun - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Bleechers

25.

Put Yourself In My Place - Delroy Wilson, Sonia Pottinger

26.

Cuss Cuss - Harry Johnson, Lloyd Robinson

27.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - Alton Ellis, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Tommy McCook, The Supersonics

28.

Biafra - Derrick Harriott, The Crystalites

29.

A Yuh (Hey You) - Lloyd Charmers, The Uniques

30.

Rocking Sensation - Delano Stewart, Sonia Pottinger

31.

Hang 'Em High - Richard Ace, Harry J Allstars

32.

Son Of A Preacher Man - Ken Lazarus, The Gaylettes, Richard Khouri

33.

Frying Pan - Ranfold Williams, The Slickers

34.

Mama Look Deh - Joe Gibbs, The Reggae Boys

35.

Another Scorcher - Albert Murphy, The Tennors

36.

You're My Everything - The Techniques, Winston Riley

37.

Night Doctor - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters

38.

Woman Capture Man - Karl "J.J." Johnson, The Ethiopians

39.

On The Move - Count Machuki & The Destroyers, Joel Gibson

40.

Everybody Bawling - Arthur "Duke" Reid, The Melodians

41.

2,000 Tons Of T.N.T - Alvin Ranglin, The G.G. All Stars

42.

Ali Baba - Arthur "Duke" Reid, John Holt

43.

Seven Letters - Bunny Lee, Derrick Morgan

44.

The Dark End Of The Street - Lee "Scratch" Perry, Pat Kelly

45.

Doctor No Go - Sonia Pottinger, The Hippy Boys

46.

Get On The Right Track - Arthur "Duke" Reid, Phyllis & Hopeton

47.

Red Ash - Arthur "Duke" Reid, Carl Bryan

48.

The Liquidator - Harry J Allstars, Harry Johnson

Customer Reviews

Trojan Treasure Trove

Four decades have whistled by in the wind since I bought 'Tighten Up Volume 2'.
The twelve track vinyl copy is in remarkably good nick given its advanced years.
(Whether I have fared quite as well is another question entirely!)
Arnold, my soft-hearted skinhead friend, introduced me to it. Arnold always looked
as though he'd been ironed from top to toe (his Mum Brenda probably did it for him!).
Pristine Levis, with the turn-ups sharp as a knife; blue check, button-down-collar,
Ben Sherman shirt; red braces and oxblood Doc Martens. It wasn't my style (I was a bit of
a long-haired hippy in 1970!) but he looked great and knew all the right dance moves too.

The dozen original tracks have been expanded to 48 in this marvelous anniversary 'deluxe'
edition. That's a heck of a lot of music and there are a few stinkers here and there
truth-be-told but overall it is a hugely generous introduction to the inimitable Trojan sound.

Old favorites include : The Pioneers' 'Long Shot Kick De Bucket' (still fresh as a daisy!);
Clancy Eccles' 'Fattie Fattie' (would he have got away with it in these more "enlightened" times"?);
the marvelous instrumental chug-a-lug of 'Return Of Django' by The Upsetters and the
raucous soulful harmonies of Joya Landis' sixties-girl-group-meets-reggae treat 'Moonlight Lover'.

Beyond the obvious there are some tantalizing treats spread across the 2 CD set.

'The Hippys Are Here' by The Hippy Boys, another fine instrumental, bursts into the listening
world full of sunshine and irrepressible good humour; Messrs Byles, Davies and Earl (The Versatiles)
give a spirited performance of 'Push It In', chock-full of tight harmonies, good-natures whoops and
a sax solo which sounds like a wasp trapped in a bottle.

Disc 2 has some real crackers too! Delano Stewart's 'Rocking Sensation' is hoot! He comes on like
a matinee idol. A limber tenor with a confident light-as-a-feather vocal delivery and a strident
falsetto which could scare birds out of the trees!
Final track 'The Liquidator' by Harry J Allstars needs little introduction. A classic which still has
the power to make me grin from ear to ear whenever I hear it. Wonderful stuff!

The gatefold packaging is top notch and the accompanying notes lucid and informative.

The album is a truly splendid introduction to the treasure trove of Trojan's late sixties releases.
From time to time it made an Old Wolf's lip quiver with the memory of it all !

Highly Recommended.

More Reggae Classics

I purchased this 2 cd set along with the volume 1 of the Tighten Up series, and basically everything about volume 1 applies to this set, volume 2. So many great tracks, but for the listener of a nervous nature, some of the lyrics are a bit on the risque side. But you can laugh about them these days, incidentally, if any body is interested there is another 3 cd set called The Trojan X-Rated Box Set, with more rude reggae. As with volume 1, this is strongly recommended, 10 out of 10 for the total package.

Boss sounds of the highest nature!

There are many Trojan/skinhead reggae compilations on the market but none that possess so many gems as this.Wall to wall classics with the added bonus of assorted B sides(all top drawer).If you are just discovering this genre of music or simply want to add this volume of the Tighten Up series to your collection,then this is for you.Highly recommended!!!

Red hot "Fire Corner"

48 tunes from '69, the time of boots and braces, Ben Sherman's, Fred Perry's and the king of Jeans Levi's. This CD is a triumph, a must for all you Reggae lovers. Buy it, no questions asked!

"No Matter What The People Say...These Sounds Lead The Day..."

Complete with their risqué sleeves, Trojan Records' "Tighten Up" series of iconic vinyl albums began in Britain in January 1969 and ended 8 volumes later in early 1973 when sales simply fizzled out. Warmly remembered to this day as fantastic party music, these budget-priced compilations introduced wonderfully evocative Jamaican Reggae and Ska to British youngsters ravenous for it. Available in every Woolworths up and down the land - these cheap and cheerful compilations were bought up in truckloads.

This 16 March 2009 DELUXE EDITION of "Volume 2" from Universal UK celebrates that; there's a huge amount of music on here, so here's a detailed breakdown...

Disc 1 (66:47 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 12 make up the album "Tighten Up Volume 2" issued on Trojan Records TTL 7 in November 1969. Like Volume 1 from January 1969, the 2nd in the series was made up of the label's hottest singles from the preceding months - they're listed below...

1. Trojan 672 [A] (August 1969)
2. Big Shot BI 509 [A] (January 1969)
3. Duke DU 30 [A] (June 1969) [lyrics are the title of this review]
4. Amalgamated AMG-839 [A] (May 1969)
5. Downtown DT-410 [A] (February 1969)
6. Trojan TR-658 [A] (May 1969)
7. Upsetter US-301 [A] (May 1969)
8. Big Shot BI-508 [A] (January 1969)
9. Trojan TR-641 [A] (January 1969)
10. Upsetter US-314 [A] (July 1969)
11. Amalgamated AMG-836 [A] (March 1969)
12. Upsetter US-313 [A] (August 1969)

The bonus tracks 13 to 24 are the B-sides of 1 to 12 listed above

Disc 2 (67:13 minutes):
Entitled "The Alternatives!" - tracks 1 to 24 are all singles released on Trojan's group of labels between January and August 1969...complimentary titles to those on Disc 1.

1. High Note HS-011 [A] (January 1969)
2. Duke 5 [A] (January 1969)
3. Trojan TR-642 [A] (February 1969)
4. Big Shot BI-510 [A] (February 1969)
5. Trojan TR-645 [A] (February 1969)
6. High Note HS-014 [A] (February 1969)
7. Trojan TR-654 [A] (May 1969)
8. Big Shot BI-516 [A] (March 1969)
9. Blue Cat BS-154 [A] (March 1969)
10. Amalgamated AMG-835 [A] (March 1969)
11. Big Shot BI-517 [A] (April 1969)
12. Duke DU 22 [A] (May 1969)
13. Upsetter US-307 [A] (May 1969)
14. Trojan TR-666 [A] (June 1969)
15. Amalgamated AMG-842 [A] (June 1969)
16. Trojan TR-660 [A] (June 1969)
17. Big Shot BS-165 [A] (June 1969)
18. Trojan TR-661 [A] (June 1969)
[miscredited in the booklet as Island WI-3158]
19. Jackpot JP-700 [A] (July 1969)
20. Jackpot JP-701 [A] (July 1969)
21. High Note HS-021 [A] (August 1969)
22. Trojan TR-671 [A] (August 1969)
23. Trojan TR-673 [A] (August 1969)
24. Trojan TR-675 [A] (August 1969)

The project's been coordinated by NICK BOURNE, while the hugely detailed 28-page booklet has an essay by LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT on the album and the scene surrounding it. The crammed booklet pictures most of the 7" labels featured alongside rare snaps of the singers and bands. LCH penned the truly fantastic book "Young, Gifted & Black - The Story Of Trojan Records" (see separate review) - so his knowledge goes deep - it's literally track-by-track annotation. The 4-foldout-flaps have adverts from 1969, the CDs themselves reflect the original vinyl colouring and there's the trademark DELUXE EDITION plastic wrap on the outside - all nice touches.

Again the set is mastered by TIM DEBNEY and the results are fabulous one moment, woeful the next. This is 60's Reggae and it was recorded in Auntie Flo's outside loo - so audiophile is not order of the day here. Although I would quickly add that to my ears, the improvement of sound quality is immense all round - far better that the 2002 set that I've lived with these last few years. That alone is worth it for me...

But then there's also the clever track choices made. I loved hearing the B-sides - in fact they're often better than the A (usually a vocal on the A with an instrumental on the flip). The instrumental "Last Call" (aka "Tribute To Drumbago") is typical - a fabulous trumpet led Ska shuffle that's as infectious as a fit of the giggles. Disc 2 is simply a wad more of the same - I'll be discovering tracks on this for years to come.

Love it - love it - love it. Another triumph is this increasingly superb series - highly recommended.

PS: this is the 4th Trojan album to receive the 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment - see also my reviews for:
"Tighten Up Volume 1" by VARIOUS ARTISTS
"1000 Volts Of Holt" by JOHN HOLT
"Skinhead Moonstomp" by SYMARIP

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