READING - A Tale Of Two Lps (or how I came to understand the folly of my ways) -

Mike Murphy

This is the story of two, maybe even three, long playing records, the same records and yet NOT the same records. It is a story of love, life and loss, a warning to all and a map to one of the many dark recesses nestling cobwebbed and musty in the dripping cellar of Jamaican music history.

This is the tale of 'None Shall Escape'. This is not a Fisherman's shout at a wriggling net of fish, or a Prison Warden's threat to nefarious ruffians staring longingly at the blue sky above a 20 foot wall that grins as a taunting child in their doomed faces, but a rare record, or to clarify it is the tale of two rare records, or is that three? If you're not confused already, read on and hopefully you soon will be!

'None Shall Escape', Johnny Clarke's first LP was released by the Total Sounds record label and is in the main a collection of songs already released as singles. It is a rare and sought after item. Though it generally commands a lower price than his second and third LPs, it appears for purchase much less frequently. You might expect it to sell for a higher price therefore, but it does not offer any songs that you can't find easily elsewhere and so it seems that this may be a reasonable explanation for the lack of interest in the item by the completist collector of Clarke's music. The LP exists in two forms, both with the same track listing and seemingly the same artwork, but with different matrix numbers. Though it is a well known rarity no one can absolutely fix a date of release, or say with total confidence what issue of the album is the very first pressing of it.

As always the starting point for identifying a rare record are the matrices, they being the digits in the 'run off groove' of the playing side of the record, the 'run off groove' being the flat space (save the one groove that spirals out to the center of the record) at the end of the side.
There are two different matrix numbers known for this LP. Here they are - FBL 8258 and TS-7483.

There is also a catalogue number given in relation to the release of the album on the Total Sounds record label, namely - TSL 148. Both the above matrix numbers relate to a Total Sounds labeled release and the catalogue number is the same for both of these differing numbers, and herein lies the first moment of head scratching, nay hair pulling confusion. Those collectors of Jamaican music, or rather collectors of music 'pressed' in Jamaica will see nothing unusual in this, frankly Jamaican catalogue numbers quite often mean absolutely nothing and as is the case here, have nothing whatsoever to do with the matrices on the record. It is standard for there to be no catalogue number on a single or LP label, nor on an LP cover. Total Sounds in this regard stands out amongst other Jamaican record labels, though considering the meaninglessness of their catalogue numbers perhaps they fit right in with accepted practice. Why they'd be desirous of ink wastage in the rarefied economic landscape of 70s Jamaica is beyond this writer's tiny powers of contemplation. Simply put, we may dispense with the catalogue number as a clue to originality because there exists no known Total Sounds label catalogue that can be used to locate the album, it's timeline and therefore, occasion of first pressing.

So back to the Matrices, FBL 8258 and TS-7483.
Taking FBL 8258 firstly, this is known to be a standardized form of matrix used by Bunny Lee, the F, B and L standing for Federal (the mastering/pressing facility) and Bunny Lee, the producer. So FBL 8258 would indicate that this pressing was related in some way to Bunny Lee. This is no surprise as Bunny Lee was Johnny Clarke's producer and the man responsible for releasing most of Johnny Clarke's singles up to the point that this album was released. So the question is, was this the first release of the LP? Only recently has definitive information confirmed that it is NOT!
The TS of the other matrix of course refers to Total Sounds, and so we may assume that this matrix is related to Total Sounds in some way. That's reasonable isn't it,... yes I know, obviously with their previous record of meaningless catalogue number mayhem they may not be related at all, but can we just suspend our disbelief momentarily, here's why. If you check the two matrices against other similar matrices in order to try and establish a sequence of releases you will find that it is likely, though unfortunately not established beyond doubt, that both the Bunny Lee related pressing and the Total Sounds pressing were released in 1974/75. This fits with the material perfectly, but doesn't get any closer to establishing which may or may not be the first pressing. At this point you might consider it reasonable to assume that they were both released simultaneously and until very recently this could have been supposed to be the case, however fresh information seems to point to the Total Sounds release being the primary pressing of this LP.

Will the real 'None Shall Escape' please stand up? (or how a theory of misspelling led to the truth)

Will TS-7483 please stand up? Only recently contact with the owner of two copies of 'None Shall Escape' has led to a deeper understanding of the album and an identification of the TS matrix pressing as the first and truly original issue.
It was known in advance of contact with the owner of the two copies, that there existed two sleeves with the same artwork albeit with one telling difference. Namely the spelling of Johnny Clarke's name. One had his name spelled as Jonny Clarke and the other as Johnny Clarke. It was not known which issue related to which spelling, until recently. The owner of the two LPs, let us call him 'Mr. X', related an unusual feature of the Total Sounds matrixed release that he owned, he stated that it had a sticker with the correct spelling of Johnny Clarke's name on, placed over the area where the name sits on the original. It may be assumed with some confidence that this sticker with the correct spelling was placed over the incorrect spelling on copies of the LP with the incorrect artwork in an attempt to repair the LPs retrospectively. The FBL matrixed LP owned by Mr. X had complete artwork unsullied by mistakes. Therefore it seems safe to assume that the artwork was changed or remade for the Bunny Lee matrixed release which has no sticker and is spelled correctly. This would indicate that the Bunny Lee release was a second issue!
i.e., No one in their right mind, not even a Jamaican record label would make an LP with the wrong spelling on the sleeve just so they could put a sticker on it, or put a sticker over a correctly spelled name!

So finally it seems that the primary issue was the Total Sounds release on TS-7483 with the catalogue number TSL 148 that has an incorrect spelling of Johnny Clarke's name as 'Jonny Clarke' on the front cover.
The second issue can I believe be thought of as the Total Sounds release on TS-7483 with the catalogue number TSL 148 that has a correct spelling of his name on a sticker placed over the incorrect artwork on the front of the sleeve.
The third issue can I believe be thought of as the Total Sounds Labeled release on FBL 8258 with the catalogue number TSL 148 that has a correct spelling of his name on the front of the sleeve, with no sticker in evidence.

To Conclude

There is only one possibility left and it is not one this writer wishes to consider. It is that Mr. X has at some point during ownership switched the LPs and put the FBL matrixed copy in the sleeve that once contained the Total Sounds matrixed release. Frankly through experience of this LP over a prolonged period I (The Writer) feel that it is quite possible that this will turn out to be the case and that this LP is cursed in some dark and mysterious way. The writer has tried to obtain a copy four times and failed... dismally. Currently the FBL matrixed copy, purchased by the writer from Mr. X is, supposedly, on it's way from Canada. It should have arrived by now, considering that it was mailed over a Month ago and by Air Mail. When it turns up I'll probably find out that it is in fact a rare but unlistenable copy of the LP 'What's Your Sign' by Barry Biggs.

It's now March 5, 2005 and the Lp never arrived, stolen by some dastardly member of the Canadian, or British Post Office. So maybe I'll never know for sure which came first, however I'm busy spending the insurance money on Blue Beat singles, so after all.... there's a happy ending. Ska.. it's the new Roots don't yah know!

Epilogue

Now at the end of May 2005, the Lp which arrived back in Canada 4.5 MONTHS after it was first sent to me in the UK. has been resent and arrived to the joyous leapings of one Mike Murphy. Big Big Thanks to Al Cohen, now maybe I'll be able to work out which Lp is which, but probably not!

Mike Murphy - March 5, 2005