Sly And Robbie - Boops (Here To Go) (12" Full Length Mix)

Sly & Robbie - Boops (Here To Go) (Full Length Mix) / 12 Inch Extended Remix (HQ Audio)

Sly Dunbar was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1952. His first appearance on record was aged 18 as drummer on Dave and Ansell Collins' 'Double Barrell' which became only the second-ever reggae number one in the UK in 1971 (the first being Desmond Dekker's 'The Israellites in 1968). Sly's mentor was Skatalites drummer Lloyd Knibb and he used to "listen a lot to the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly from the Wailers Band, Winston Bennett, Paul Douglas, Mikey Boo. I respect all these drummers and have learnt a lot from them. From them, I listened and created my own style." In 1979, Brian Eno said of Sly Dunbar "When you buy a reggae record, there's a 90 percent chance the drummer is Sly Dunbar. You get the impression that Sly Dunbar is chained to a studio seat somewhere in Jamaica, but in fact what happens is that his drum tracks are so interesting they get used again and again." Robbie Shakespeare was born in Kingston a year after Dunbar. Robbie remembers his family home as "a rehearsal and hangout spot for a variety of upcoming musicians and singers." His brother's band rehearsed in the house and Robbie began playing an acoustic guitar that was in the house. Bass player Aston "Family Man" Barrett would come to his yard as it was near a popular location for selling marijuana. When Robbie heard Family Man's deep bass sound he gave up acoustic guitar and drums and persuaded Barrett to teach him bass instead. Sly & Robbie had both established themselves as musicians in Jamaica in the early 1970s when they met for the first time and realised they had similar tastes in music and ideas about reggae production. Their breakthrough track as producers came in 1976 with The Mighty Diamonds album Right Time. The drum beat on the title track was particularly tricky. In 2001 Sly said "when that tune first come out, because of that double tap on the rim nobody believe it was me on the drums, they thought it was some sort of sound effect we was using. Then when it go to number one and stay there, everybody started trying for that style and it soon become establish." From there Sly & Robbie's approach to production became characterised by innovation and progression through different styles. In 1976 they developed a harder beat called "rockers" and in the early 1980s another new sound called "rub-a-dub", with a slower tempo and heavier bassline. By the mid-1980s Sly & Robbie had embraced electronic production including the use of the Fairlight CMI on their 1987 album Rhythm Killers, the album from which Boops (Here To Go) is taken. Sly & Robbie planned the album itself as two sides of gapless music with the opening track on each side intended to set the tone for the remainder of what they would create on each side. Tracks were recorded in one take direct to tape. Boops (Here To Go) features the vocals of British-Jamaican reggae singer/toaster/rapper Shinehead, and Bootsy Collins who tells the audience "you have one desire and that's to dance until you drop". Boops is Sly & Robbie's most successful UK single, reaching number 12 in May 1987 and remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. The version here is the UK 12" mix, clocking in at 5'20", almost two-minutes longer than the 7" version. Year: 1987 Label: 4th & Broadway Cat no: 12 BRW 61