Stop That Train

Clint Eastwood & General Saint – Stop That Train
Reviewed by Sadie O., 12-1-07
Reissue of the 1983 roots of UK Dancehall classic, with 3 extra 12” mix tracks. Still called DJing or Toasting at the time, this was the UK Reggae version of Hip Hop (but with full band – no electronic production), and was quite revolutionary and influential. I can’t tell whether it’s been remastered, but I can tell you that I wore my vinyl copy completely out back in the day, and I never noticed how thick and tasty the instrumentation and production was. God, this is the shite!
No FCCs detected. It’s all GREAT – play anything, but start with track one and the extended versions at the end.
1. 5:08****starts with announcement, then midtempo gorgeous skank with singing and dancehall – huge hit because it’s EXCELLENT. Cover of a ska classic, mixed in with “500 Miles”.
2. 3:31 ***downtempo bubble, phatty production, fun British politricks lyrics.
3. 4:32 **gong crash and expounding, then very downtempo and menacing riddim, crisis lyrics.
4. 3:00 ***horns and cute kiddie intro, slightly downtempo skank with little girls chanting nursery rhymes. At the same time danceable, cool and adorable.
5. 2:48 **conversation intro, midtempo and fun updating of the great calypso incest number.
6. 3:44 ***slightly downtempo skank – lyrics seem to be cobbled from all sorts of sources.
7. 2:55 **bass and chimes intro, very downtempo skank with cowbell and percussion, fun song to march around the dance with a Red Stripe in each fist to…
8. 3:25 ***very swingy midtempo riddim – definitely a British Reggae sound, about being stopped by the police.
9. 2:47 **rather uptempo paean to vegetables, nice guitar and sax.
10. 3:53 ***military horn flourish intro, then ska cover, sung vocal harmonies, life during depression lyrics.
11. 3:16 ***midtempo hard skank, sad tale of love lost to a “big monkey man”.
12. 3:06 ***midtempo skank with nutty, almost kiddie rhyme lyrics.
13. 6:21 ****extended mix of track 11 with some dubby components. The instrumentation is fabulous.
14. 5:49 ***extended mix of track 6, gets very dubby.
15. 4:57 ***extended mix of track 7, also gets dubby near end.