A trilogy of
reggae compilations released on
compact disc by
US label
Tommy Boy Records the theme of which is, rather predictably,
marijuana and the consumption of said illegal drug.
When aged 15 I came upon a copy of Big Blunts volume II at JB HiFi for a mere $A3.50. Being a fan of both reggae and marijuana this seemed like a good deal and I snapped it up. I was well pleased with it - in particular the twelfth track, Pato Banton's Don't Sniff Coke, was found to be of great amusement by my friends and I and the album became a regular accompaniment to our sessions. Ganja Smuggling by Eek-a-mouse was found to be perfect for when we were good and mellow. However, I was never sufficiently enthused by the music to consider purchasing volumes I or III. I was also not so naive as to not realise that this album was aimed precisely at white, middle-class teenage potheads like myself who bought it primarily not for the music but rather because it was about choof. This made me feel like a bit of a dick. The cover features a rasta choofing on a giant conical spliff, whist the inside booklet has a photo of two sexy girls bonging on a couch in front of a giant bowl of fresh buds - pornography for potheads. I realised simultaneously that I knew the words of Don't Sniff Coke by heart and that Big Blunts II was overall a pretty crappy album, musically speaking. After a few months I wa sick of it and it was heard no more.
Featured on the albums are artists of varying degrees of fame from several different countries. On Big Blunts II, the songs are generally the kind of mediocre reggae tunes which haunted the airwaves during the dark eighties and early nineties, almost all with a satisfyingly phat beat but otherwise altogether far too tacky. There is however a slightly redeeming hiphop flavour, exemplified by Bounty Killer's Eyes a Bleed, three different mixes of which appear on the second album. The Barrington Levy and Pato Banton tracks are not terrible either, and Eek-a-mouse's Ganja Smuggling is probably the highlight. The real problem with it is that all the songs are about weed, which very quickly gets fucken boring.
I got a kick out of it when marijuana was a novelty and songs about weed were funny, so if you're a young'un with a tolerance for bad music perhaps you might enjoy it too. For the rest of you, the tracks mentioned above are perhaps worth a listen, but otherwise you should or go out and find some good reggae - there's more than we could ever imagine out there.
Here is the tracklisting for each album. The song title is given first.
Big Blunts Volume I: 12 Smokin' Reggae Hits! (1994)
- Under Mi Sleng Teng Remix - Wayne Smith (Muggs Old School remix)
- Chalice In The Palace - U-Roy
- Herbman Smuggling - Yellowman/Fathead
- Jamaican Weed - Lone Ranger
- Legalize The Herb - Ninjaman
- One Draw - Rita Marley
- Under Mi Sleng Teng - Wayne Smith
- Herbsman Hustling - Sugar Minott
- Under Mi Sensi - Barrington Levy
- Herb, The - Tony Rebel
- Pass The Kushempeng - Frankie Paul
- Pass The Kutchie - The Mighty Diamonds
Big Blunts Volume II: More Smokin' Reggae Hits! (1996)
- Eyes A Bleed - Bounty Killer/Master Killa (RZA remix)
- Chronic Meditation - Jr. Cat
- Ganja Smokin' - Bajja Jedd
- Gi We The Weed - Anthony Red Rose
- Eyes A Bleed - Bounty Killer
- Ganja Man Live On - D. Clarke/Yankee B.
- Under Me Sensi - Barrington Levy/Beenie Man
- 100 Weight Of Collie Weed - Carlton Livingston
- Police In Helicopter - John Holt
- Ganja Smuggling - Eek-A-Mouse
- Collie Weed - Barrington Levy
- Don't Sniff Coke - Pato Banton
- 1/4 Lb Of Ishen - Lone Ranger
- Eyes A Bleed - Bounty Killer (Tom Laroc Remix)
Big Blunts Volume III: More Smokin' Reggae Hits! (1996)
- Weed Life - Rahsun & Skeeta Ranks (Funk mix)
- I Need More Chronic - Nitty Kutchie/Boom Dandimite/Elephant Man/Harry Toddler/Daily Bread
- So Many Spliff - Sluggy & Tuffest
- Sensi Breeze - Jr. Reid
- Weed Not Coke - Baby Wayne
- Ganja Smoker - Screechy Dan
- Chronic Man - Chronicle
- Weed Life - Rahsun & Skeeta Ranks (Dance Hall Reggae]
- Trodding Through The Jungle - Carlton Livingston
- Wicked Draw A Sensi - Sister Carol
- Gimme The Grass - Barrington Levy
- Ganja Man - Jr. Wilson
- Macka Spliff - Steel Pulse
- Sensi Addict - Horace Ferguson
The Tommy Boy Records website can be found at
http://tommyboy.materialinmotion.com/customer/home.php