General Trees – Ragga Ragga Raggamuffin

1988, Rohit Records

Ragga Ragga Raggamuffin is the final General Trees LP, and the second (after The Younger Horseman) to not be a Scorpio production. This record was produced by Burtland Dixon and Lincoln Sterling who ran their own label Kangal (yes, like the shoe), and the back cover sports their logo as well. Their list of productions is shorter than most, and as far as LP goes, there are very few – this, two compilations, two Yellowman albums (Blueberry Hill & Yellowman Sings The Blues) and one Tiger/Yellowman clash (Tiger Meets Yellowman). What makes this one in particular a truly one-of-a-kind record is that the rest of their output is really nothing special. The coveted title of ‘only good Kangal LP’.

Musically the production is very simple. Chunky digi bass, very dry drum machines, the occasional guitar, and some very synthy skanks. They love to wobble the pitch-shift and low-pass knobs on those synths, which brings in some identity that runs cohesive through the set, regardless of whether it’s steppers, tresillo, or classic ‘dance hall style’. If you love any of these riddims you will love all of them. The B-side riddims shine and glisten in particular – it’s very simple music, and there is not much to point to besides the basics (harmony, counter-melodies, etc.) but the basics are just executed so beautifully.

By this point General Tree’s vocal performance was completely refined and perfected. Kingstonian Man showcases his versatility while Ragga Ragga Raggamuffin is totally within his comfort zone. Hehs and Hehehs and Ehs slot effortlessly into the gaps, stutters are sharp and melodies are smooth, no mark is missed. You can also hear the only two bims in his discography, as well as one boop and some budu byes. The storytelling is mesmerising, even when the chronology is barely possible to follow in tunes like Mash Mouth Bus. General Trees concerns himself with imagery and details more than explicitly recounting story beats. See how he spends time on the importance of his dog’s bed setup in Granit. Granit is the opening for the B-side of this record which is a crowning achievement in the Trees discography, recounting his late dog who would – recounted in graphic detail – mash up any intruder. This tune and also Break My Lyrics Store showcase some unusually violent lyrics from the otherwise calm and righteous General Trees. There must have been some fire in his heart around this time, see also his fierce criticism of certain deejays in the tune DJ Critic released in 1989. Youth Stop The Gaze, although a very upful and in-character ‘go learn a trade’ tune, also features some fiery criticism of self-praise delivered in a ROUGH shouting style. A dressing down from the dancehall teacher. 

I Like The Thing is true to its name, highlighting the little joys in life (main example here is the bicycle) and also calling back to his earlier hit Ghost Rider. Mad cowbell on this tune too. The Girl Love I is perhaps not true to its name, because she poisons him, and then the album climaxes with Dangerous, sporting the best riddim and the best vocal performance, teaching us to do some exercise so that we can’t get beat up by hooligans.

When we give praise to albums that we love we often say that they are ‘more than the sum of their parts’ but I don’t feel like I can honestly say this is true for Ragga Ragga Raggamuffin. At the time of writing I have heard this record no less than 60 times, fallen in love with every tune, and even picked it as my single favourite album for a good while, but besides a surface-level description there is not much else to be said about it. No alarms, no surprises, no gimmicks, just Trees at his best on some very simple digi riddims full of personality. I think this is the kind of record that earns a special place in the heart of a select few who give it the time to sink in and stay there forever.

My picks: Pick Up My Chick, Mash Mouth Bus, Granit, Youth Stop The Gaze, I Like The Thing, Dangerous
Bim count: 2