Joker Smoker (Vinyl LP)

Triston Palma's Joker Smoker was notable not just for his praise of herb smoking but for its sardonic appraisal of the moochers and chancers that those who live such a lifestyle are fated to encounter. Its continuing resonance was proven in 2006 when the Italian singjay and producer, Alborosie, released his own anthem, Herbalist, on the Joker Smoker rhythm. Now, Greensleeves have decided to reissue Palma's album of the same name, including four bonus tracks, and it's a heavy duty pleasure from start to finish.

Joker Smoker was released in 1981, when reggae had become fascinated with its own fundamentals: sparse reworkings of familiar rhythms, with pounding kick drums, simple plodding basslines, and effects laden, highly evocative guitar and keyboard lines. These tended to be played by the Roots Radics band who created all the backings for this disc, produced by the deejay Jah Thomas at the famous Channel One Studio.

The received mainstream critical wisdom on this era is that it was a musical blind alley that necessitated the iconoclasm of hard dancehall later in the decade. But the captivating ambience and musical intricacies of a record like Joker Smoker show this up for the reductive nonsense that it is. Bingy Bunny's chopping rhythm guitar work, Sowell Bailey and Dwight Pinckney's plaintive, chorus laden, lead guitar phrasing, and the primordial, relentless drum and bass foundations laid down by Errol Holt and Style Scott are typical of a time when modern production techniques, live instrumentation, dancehall rhythms and rootical lyrics came together as one.

But it is the small touches that really impress. These include Dean Fraser, Nambo Robinson and Deadly Headley Bennett's mocking horns (parodying Palma's dried honey vocals) on the title track, Gladstone Anderson's precisely considered, minimal piano, and percussionist Sky Juice's use of a Cuica friction drum on Give Me Your Love.

Joker Smoker may be the album's centre, but every one’s a winner here. A perfect example of what was, in reality, a high point in reggae's golden age. - Angus Taylor

Condition
Media: Mint (M)
Sleeve: Mint (M)

Our Grading Standards
We grade all vinyl using the Goldmine standard:
Mint (M): Perfect, unplayed condition.
Near Mint (NM): Nearly perfect with minimal signs of handling.
Very Good Plus (VG+): Shows light signs of play but plays with minimal surface noise. The most common grade for collectable vinyl.
Very Good (VG): Noticeable marks and some surface noise, but still an enjoyable listen.
Good (G): Heavy wear — for collectors only.

All records are graded visually and by play. Media and sleeve are graded separately.

About Peckham Soul

Visit our physical store at Linnégatan 2, 413 04 Göteborg.
Mon–Tue 11:00–18:00 · Wed–Thu 11:00–18:30 · Fri 11:00–20:30 · Sat 11:00–17:00 · Sun Closed.

We're a specialist vintage vinyl shop with roots in Peckham, London. From our Swedish store we ship across Europe and the EU. Every record in our collection is individually sourced, inspected, and graded. We stock soul, funk, jazz, reggae, punk, indie, psych and beyond — always original pressings, always honestly described.

Shipping & Returns
We ship carefully packed in rigid mailers to protect your record in transit. If a record arrives not as described, we'll sort it — no hassle.