October 7, 2025 • 50 mins
What happens when a Hollywood soundtrack king meets the heartbeat of roots reggae? In this revealing Reggae Hour episode, we go deep with Ralph Sall — the man behind The Mighty Rootsmen and The Kingston Lions — and uncover the daring vision, fierce devotion, and cultural mission that turned him into reggae’s hidden super-producer. He’s worked on blockbuster films, but in reggae he’s a bridge-builder — uniting legends like Toots, Gregory Isaacs, Michael Rose, and Luciano into one powerful sound. “I never lost the fan gene … I still follow music like I’m 12 years old.” 🔎 In this episode, you’ll hear:
Don’t miss it: https://www.reggaehour.com/2025/09/how-did-ralph-sall-reggae-super-fan.html 👉 After you listen, make sure to subscribe/follow Reggae Hour so you never miss another deep dive into reggae’s untold stories.
💡 Got a guest idea or question for future episodes? Drop us a message or comment — we want to keep your playlist evolving. #ReggaeHour #RalphSall #SuperProducer #RootsRevival
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reggae-hour--2646280/support.
🌍 Roots. Culture. Revolution.
Every episode of the Reggae Hour Podcast dives deep into reggae’s heartbeat — the stories, struggles, and spirit that unite the African diaspora. From Kingston to Cape Town, London to Lagos, we bring reggae’s message of truth, love, and liberation to the world. 🎙️ Subscribe & Tune In:
Watch the full episode on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@ReggaeHourPodcast
Listen worldwide on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, & Amazon Music. 💬 Join the Movement:
Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/ReggaeHourPodcast
Visit → https://www.ReggaeHour.com 🔥 Let your voice be heard!
Drop a comment, share your thoughts, and tag a bredren or sistren who needs this message.
The conversation continues in the comments — we reason, we rise, we build. #ReggaeHourPodcast #ReggaeCulture #Rastafari #RootsAndReality #OneLove #fyp
- How he got into film and soundtracks (from Speed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- What it took to assemble The Mighty Rootsmen and Kingston Lions
- His philosophy on bridging genre, culture, and legacy
- Unseen challenges, revelation moments, and future dreams
Don’t miss it: https://www.reggaehour.com/2025/09/how-did-ralph-sall-reggae-super-fan.html 👉 After you listen, make sure to subscribe/follow Reggae Hour so you never miss another deep dive into reggae’s untold stories.
💡 Got a guest idea or question for future episodes? Drop us a message or comment — we want to keep your playlist evolving. #ReggaeHour #RalphSall #SuperProducer #RootsRevival
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reggae-hour--2646280/support.
🌍 Roots. Culture. Revolution.
Every episode of the Reggae Hour Podcast dives deep into reggae’s heartbeat — the stories, struggles, and spirit that unite the African diaspora. From Kingston to Cape Town, London to Lagos, we bring reggae’s message of truth, love, and liberation to the world. 🎙️ Subscribe & Tune In:
Watch the full episode on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@ReggaeHourPodcast
Listen worldwide on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, & Amazon Music. 💬 Join the Movement:
Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/ReggaeHourPodcast
Visit → https://www.ReggaeHour.com 🔥 Let your voice be heard!
Drop a comment, share your thoughts, and tag a bredren or sistren who needs this message.
The conversation continues in the comments — we reason, we rise, we build. #ReggaeHourPodcast #ReggaeCulture #Rastafari #RootsAndReality #OneLove #fyp
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What happens when one man dares to bring together the
titans of reggae. When legends like Tootes, Hibbert, Gregorie, Isaacs,
Luciano and Michael Rose share the same mic, that's not
just an album, that's history in the making. And the
man who made it happen is Ralph Saul. With the
Mighty Roots Man, he created reggae's own traveling Littleberry's, a
(00:21):
dream team of voices and rhythms that the world thought
it would never hear together again. And with the Kingston Lions,
he gave the spotlight back to the unsung studio kings,
the players behind reggae's golden era, now reborn with fire,
fidelity and soul. Yes, this is the same Ralph Saul
who's produced blockbuster soundtracks in Hollywood hits, but in reggae
(00:43):
he's something more. He's the bridge between past and future,
the architect who honors the roots while building the next chapter.
He's not just a producer, He's the super producer. Reggae
never knew it had until now, and now Ralph saw
all steps into the reggae hour. Don't miss this exclusive
(01:03):
interview October seventh at seven pm Central Tune in on
My Heart Radio, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and at Reggae
hour dot com. This is more than an interview. This
is a reggae revival. Don't just hear about it, be
part of it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Rap, How you doing this? Even it's great to have
you on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Thanks for having me. Always look forward to talking about
music and it's always interesting. So you know, I'm here
and happy to get going.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
All right. I appreciate you join us, man, and you
got to start by taking us back, man, like what
first pulled you into music and how did your early
family life like shape that journey?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I honestly can say like music has been part of
my life since I was like the littlest kid, you know.
I mean I I used to collect top forty charts
for the AM radio station. And I'm from Miami, Florida,
(02:10):
so you know, which obviously influenced my love of reggae
because reggae is always big in that part of the world.
But you know, it just started when I was a
little kid, got like becoming a big record collector from
(02:35):
a young age. You know, I can remember having you know,
Bob Marley Catch a Fire and Nattie Dridd and burning
and Rostamon, Vibration, all those when they were new, and
(02:56):
we really got into all sorts of music. You know,
when I finally became old enough to make records, I
was never limited by a particular genre. So I've jumped
around from pretty much everything you could think of. You know,
(03:19):
whatever catch caught my fancy at the moment is what
I would do. I've been lucky, though.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
That's right. That's that's when you let the creativity spark
your interest. You don't let the work drive you. You let
the creativity drive you. And that's what I love how
you can cross genres. But after you cross so many genres,
what made you come to reggae? What called you to
reggae as a producer?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Well, I mean I, as a kid had all the
classic reggae records. I just collected them, so I always
liked them. I always had them playing right now next
to whatever, you know, classic rock was going on, and
(04:06):
never really put boundaries in between those things. And you know,
I think the first reggae record I actually ever made, well,
I did a session with Eca Mouse that never came out,
But the first one that that came out was a
(04:31):
was a session I did with Burning spear uh for
an album I made called Dedicated, which was Songs of
the Grateful Dead, and I got burning spear on that,
which was my first recording experience in Kingston. And you know,
(04:52):
it was back several times since.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Oh man, how do you like, how do you reconcile?
Like when you was a youth, did you ever think
that you would ever be growing up to produce some
of the greatest musicians that ever touched a genre, in
any music genre.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I never. I literally grew up as a super fan
of music. And after I went to school, I moved
to LA and started my career in the movie business.
(05:34):
But when I decided to leave to make records, it
was because I have been involved in some soundtrack work
on movies that I worked on and saw that it
was something I could actually do. You know, when I
was young, they all just looked like heroes to me,
(05:54):
like like how could I actually do that? Until I
was here and I was like, Okay, I can actually
do it and was lucky. And you know, I produced
hundreds of artists over the years, and you know, it's
been a fun ride.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Oh man, I bet it has. I mean, like, after
all those years, you've seen all these the music change,
You've seen the artists change. Which era do you actually
say it was like the Arab Well, you believe they
had it. They had it, They had it, they had
the knowledge, they had the business. Everything was just a
(06:39):
perfect ecosystem.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Well, I mean as a fan, I grew up, you know,
first with you know, classic sixties rock, the Beatles, Rolling Stones,
you know, and then I was into seventies and eighties
and nineties. You know, I started making records in the
(07:02):
late eighties early nineties. I still was a fan, and
I think that a large part of the success that
I've been able to have over the years was because
I never lost the fan gene. I've always been a fan,
and you know, when I work with big artists I'm
(07:25):
always trying to get them into a space that probably
it was close to classic things that I remember them doing,
and you know, there's always music going on in my head.
So you know, in terms of being a professional, I
(07:46):
would definitely say I loved working in the nineties. Probably
the best is kind of a era where there were
so many bands and so much music going on that
it just was NonStop. But you know, as I like
(08:08):
to say, my favorite project is the next one. So
we'll see what comes now.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, right, It's always something brewing up there. It's always
something better coming around the corner. I feel that. I
feel that now when you get the Mighty Roots Band
turned rock legends like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty into
reggae classics, what like what inspired you in the moment
to produce that?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Well, my initial thought that turned into the Mighty Rootsman
was that I thought that why hadn't there ever been
like a traveling wilbury Is of reggae? Like I didn't
(08:57):
ever remember a superstar collaboration in the reggae field. So
that made me think, why don't I try to put
that together? And that's what I did, you know? I mean, yeah,
yeah you did, you know, getting Slian Robbie and in
(09:20):
fact reuniting the classic band words sound and Power, who
had backed Peter Tosh, who happened to have been the
first concert I ever went to in my life. Yes, uh,
you know, and always stayed with me. Uh you know,
(09:43):
I started. I think I I might have started with
with Slian Robbie. I've worked with them before, and and
then you know, brought in Mikey Chong and Robbie Lynn
and you know, got the band back together. Now, I
(10:05):
don't think they played as words sound and power in
like twenty five years or something since before I before
I did that. But then it came time to picking vocalists,
and you know, I think my first call was to
Tuts simply because when you think of reggae vocals, I mean,
(10:29):
who's better than Tuts. I don't think anybody, you know,
So you know, I reached out to Gregory Isaac's and
was lucky to get him involved in the project. It
was the tail end of his career. You know, he
(10:52):
wasn't the healthiest person, but I was able to get
him on a bunch of the tracks before he had
to bail out. And then I got Lucciano to sit
in on the tracks that he couldn't make it in for.
And then of course I included Michael Rose as Black
(11:14):
Uhuru was a big favorite of mine back when they
were dropping their classic albums, and I thought that would
make a great group, and you know, I think it did.
Of Course, when I started making the record, mixing the record,
(11:38):
I got all the vocals down, it always became difficult
for me to mute anything. Tuts did because because his
vocals are so spectacular, but the concept was a vocal trio,
so you know he fit in.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Well to that.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
I think it came out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Oh yeah, I mean you get you hurt the critics
so far. They loving the way that you got. You
was able to bring all these powerhouses together and just
to be able to get Gregory Isaac's at the time
that you was able to get them, Like, how how
was that? How was that? Like did you ever get
to like like chill with them in the studio or
go out to eat with them or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Gets some land with all of them in the studio.
And you know, we first started laying down the rhythms,
uh with the band and got pretty far with the
songs that I had picked before we started trying to
(12:47):
do vocals. And you know what was interesting about the
vocals is, you know, while I'm not sure how familiar
with all the songs all the singers were, they took
the time, like you know, Tuts would take those songs
(13:09):
home and learn them inside and out so much so
that he could turn them into Tuts songs deliver them
in the same way he would one of his classics
which I think he did a great job of doing.
And then you know Gregory, Uh, you know when if
(13:32):
you hear him on those songs, he sure still sounds
like Gregory. You know, he might have been weakened in body,
but he still was able to sing ah and deliver
those songs.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Spirit was still there strong as elle. That's what That's
the beauty, the beautiful part about it. You know, you
hear these legends that are they that most of them
have passed on, you get to realize that that it
has a lot of meaning to you and you spend
some personal time with these legends that some of what
(14:11):
most of us dream of, like how does that like,
what does that mean to you personally?
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Well, you know, working with as many artists over the
years as I have, I've found myself in situations where
I'm working on tracks with people that I consider, you know,
(14:40):
just the ultimate legends. You know, how do you get
into a studio with Paul McCartney and and work and
not just not just fanboy your way through the whole way.
And the answer is you just do you have a
(15:00):
you have a plan and you do it and uh,
you know, the fact isn't lost that you're in the studio.
It's like, oh, tuts. You know, that's the guy I
was saying, pressure drop and he's there, he is, you know,
and uh but you know they're just people too, really,
(15:29):
And you know they are in the studio because they
thought the idea that I had was a good one
and they wanted to participate. So it was about focusing
on the work and trying to make it the best
possible version of what that could be. And it took
(15:53):
a lot of effort to make it sound effortless.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
And you have been doing it so long it's like
second nature to you. I was doing a lot of research,
and you know, one word that I was not finding
that I believe that you should that should be attributed
to anybody, should be attributed to you as the worst
super producer. Do you see yourself in that light? You?
I mean, I'm looking behind you right now. I know
you've got plaques for.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I. It's been thrown about over the years, mostly lately
because I'm older, and so it has been used. I
wouldn't use it myself because I just I just feel
like everything that I've worked on, you know, it adds
(16:48):
up to years and decades of my life and different
ideas and things and experiences that I've been able to
to have and lucky enough to have involved myself in.
And yeah, sure, I mean, once you've produced that that
(17:09):
kind of catalog, other people have have written about me
as super producer, but I just think of myself as
a fan, like I said, And you know, I've been
lucky enough as someone who's a lover of music and
(17:31):
different kinds of music to also be able to be
business savvy enough to be able to conceive of and
execute projects that bring these things to life. And you know,
(17:53):
it's interesting because obviously Mighty Rootsman is sort of like
the Traveling Woolbury's of reggae. And it was just an
idea that crossed my mind and it stuck with me
long enough to put it together and make it a reality.
So you know, that's the same with a lot of
(18:15):
the records that I've made, they've or people that I've
worked with, you know, not afraid of picking up the
phone and calling people to see if they want to
participate in things. And I was lucky enough to do
so many movie soundtracks with various artists over the years
that just so many people have been involved in my
(18:38):
story that I share with them that you know, you
keep doing it for long enough time, the list gets
pretty long.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
You know, definitely, definitely. I mean you've got an extensive
list and you don't I had too many people with
list like that. We was just talking about earlier on
one of my other podcasts, how Bob Marley's Legends album
finally well not finally but has hit twelve hundred weeks
on the UK charts. And you start looking at like
(19:14):
the the power behind that, like people are still purchasing
this album to the day by one hundreds every day,
and then you look at the work that you've put
in and it's like it's up right up there with
in that same at me, that same level. You have
an extensive catalog that has attributed And the one thing
(19:36):
I wanted to to say thank you for saying, because
a lot of people do sight when they get into
the music industry that they were a fan first, and
you have reiterated that several times so far, and I
just want to thank you for that, because when people
get in the music industry and they let them checks
start flowing in, it construmes or it messes up their
(19:59):
vision and then they start producing work that doesn't resonate
with the people anymore. What kind of advice would you
give to somebody who feels like they're falling down that
trap or falling into into that void where the money
is like driving their art versus their creativity.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, I wouldn't know, because that's just never been my way.
I just don't think that way. I think success has
come because of the fact that I've been able to
take like a young person's love and fandom of different musics,
(20:41):
and when I was able and lucky enough to have
the ability to make the records and make a living
out of making the records, I never lost why I
was making the records. There were always so many of
them were driven by my initial fandom. I mean, the
(21:07):
whole idea that I basically invented the concept of the
tribute album, you know, many decades ago. That really came
from me dreaming of ideas that would be cool to hear,
(21:29):
that I thought would be fun for me to hear,
and nobody else was putting them together. And you know,
I encountered initial skepticism from the record labels when I started,
but once I was able to get you know, I
(21:50):
think I had mentioned the Grateful Dead tribute record that
I made that was kind of one of the the
first major label tribute album like that, and it was
a big hit, and it sparked a whole genre and
got me to make lots of records like that, and
(22:12):
and they all are born out of fandom.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
The fact that I'm able to go into the studio
and make the record is another thing. Like, you know,
maybe there's a lot of people who can't do that.
But since I'm lucky enough to be able to do
that and and have done it for decades and decades,
(22:37):
I would say that I still am a fan. I
go to shows all the time. I you know, I
follow music still like I was, you know, twelve years old.
So you know, if you're if if you're able to
(22:59):
to to be that kind of like I lived and
breathed the you know, I had a huge like I said,
I had a huge record collection. I lived and breathed.
I knew all the songs, and I knew who sung them,
and I knew all the bands. And I turned that
around and as a professional became one of the biggest
(23:21):
music supervisors in the movie business, putting music in movies.
And you know that also only would have happened if
simply because I was a fan and knew songs that
could make moments happen in movies that were special. So,
(23:43):
you know, I think it's a little bit of like
figure out what you love and you know, get really
good at it, you know, right.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right, man? I wish I would have had your story
when I was young, because my mom used to tell me.
I used to tell her all about the new latest
songs that came out, not only who sung them, but
who produced them, who they sampled, and all of that,
and she used to look at me, why do you
have all this useless information in your head?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I would have been able to turn around and be
like because I could have been like Ralph Saal and
been producing all of the greats.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
What you mean, well, you know, also don't listen to
your parents as much, because my parents thought that that
was pretty useless knowledge. Too. It turned out not to
be pretty useless knowledge.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I'm telling you. I mean, you pretty much started a
whole genre and inspired generations of people. I mean, you
can't get no more useful than that right there. Now,
when it comes to blending heritage, musicians with like new vocalists,
was that like your way of bridging the generations in
reggae and and.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
About that's part of the story of the Kingston Lions.
Kingston Lions came about a lot to do with uh,
Mikey Chung and his cohorts, who had played on so
(25:13):
many hundreds of classic reggae songs, you know, going back
to the studio one days and uh, you know, for
like Boris Gardner and Patrick McDonald and Mikey Boo and
Sticky Thompson and you know, if you if you counted
(25:33):
the number of reggae classics those guys had played on,
I mean it's innumerable, really, And you know, I thought
the focus for for that record really was squarely on
(25:54):
the players, and like, you know, that's why I kind
of called it the Buena Vista Social Club of Reggae
because if you know, the point of it was the
social Club shed light on the classic players of that
genre and put the focus on them. And that's what
(26:14):
I think the focus is on the Kingston Lions. The
fact that the three young singers who sing the songs,
you know, blend really well together and sound you know,
like if you listen to Soul Shakedown Party by the
(26:35):
Kingston Lions. It gives major whaler vibes on the vocal side.
And you know, I thought they did a great job,
but they definitely take a back seat to the legends
that are playing in the room. You know, I was
(26:58):
trying in that instant and to reinvent, re expose these
classic reggae songs to potential new generation. Where like, your
memory of a lot of those songs are one thing,
and sometimes if you listen to some of the original recordings,
(27:21):
some of them they sound they sound their age. A
lot of times they may be a little thin, a
little tinny. Uh, And I wanted to make a record
that sounded like had current production values and uh, because
you hear the songs and they certainly put you in
(27:43):
the in the mind frame of the originals. But then
go back and listen to the originals and see which
one sounds sonically better. You know, not to say that
I have to say that I was trying to supplant
any of those original classics. There there classics for a reason,
(28:04):
but I want to expose them to a current audience
who's used to hearing a certain level of audio quality.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Right, did you ever think that you may be risking
watering down the routs even though that didn't happen, did
you ever think that there may have been a possibility.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Not with those players. I mean, the roots were in
the room, you know, I mean they were there. You know,
they could go on and on about like you know,
classic album, about of classic album that they were responsible for.
(28:47):
So I felt I was, you know, in many ways
setting it up. You know, with Mikey, we together picked
a song list of songs to visit during those sessions,
and I really let the players play. You know, sometimes
(29:09):
the value of a producer is what you don't say
in the moment because you don't want to ruin the moment.
Sometimes producers feel like they have to talk and put
their stamp on everything all the time. But you know,
when you pick the right players, put them together and
(29:32):
let them start playing. I want to hear what's going
to happen when that happens, and then if I have
some helpful comments here and there, I'll chime in. But
you know a lot of what you hear was really
the organic talents of the legends that are in the room. Right.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, you got a point there. You can put a
lot of nasi as to risk with that one right now. Now,
whenever you got classics like that, you have the like
you said, you have the roots in the room, do
you ever take it upon yourself to introduce them to
the new generation or set it up to where they
can work with the new generation of artists so that
(30:15):
they can and this is outside of Kingston Lions, like
in any genre, just pretty much make it an initiative
to try to bridge that generations.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Well, you know, I think that whatever the genre is,
I have been lucky enough to have a stable of
classic players that have that are masters of their craft
and they'll come and play on whatever it is that
(30:49):
I have going on and bring a level of talent
and professionalism and uh you know it's like I like
to say, nothing makes a producer sound as good as
putting the right band in the room. You know, that's
(31:12):
the best way to sound great. You know, have great players.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Okay, you right about that? And with the youth that's
coming up now, do you work with a lot of
them or is like as a certain levels to.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
This, Well, I mean these days I work on projects
that I feel like I mean, I I you know,
I don't I'm not in there every single day like
I used to. And you know, for the last little while,
(31:51):
I've been working on a lot of my own music,
which you know, I started making thirty years ago and
put in a lot of movies and soundtrack albums over
the years, but I've never really concentrated on getting those
(32:14):
my songs out. And believe me, on that band is
called All Too Much and the players on that are stunning,
I mean, just the best. So you know, you know,
just stay tuned. It's coming soon.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Yeah already. And what's the name of it's called All
Too Much?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah, that's the name of the band. Should be dropping
some stuff before the end of the year. And yeah,
it's it's got some amazing players on it. And you
know as that that's been being worked on, you know,
(33:05):
for the last couple of years. And uh, but some
of the songs stretched back to the nineties that I
reinterpreted for.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Now and.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Uh and uh, it's just one of many of my
current projects that are awaiting release. I have. You know,
if anyone who's listening to your your stuff likes the
Mighty Rootsmen and the Kingston Lions, I'm happy to say
(33:42):
that there's follow up albums coming for both of those projects.
Okay in the probably in the earlier part of next
year or spring, I would guess next years.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Perfect they hear like when you when people hit that play,
but know the project now, like what do you want
them to like feel deep in their spirit? Like what
do you want them to get them?
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Well, you know on the Mighty rootsman, I think that
you know, it's special to be able to turn it
on and hear Toots and Gregory. You're not going to
hear them again, you know, but but you can always
(34:34):
hear them on their classic records, you know. But like
I was able to get them, uh you know one
last time. Uh. And I picked the classic rock and
pop songs that we did because they all gave me
(34:56):
a kind of a vibe of summer sunshine, friendship, positive
vibes was what I was really trying to send with
the song selection that made it onto that record and
and with the Mighty with the Kingston Lions record, I
(35:19):
just you know, the first volume, which is the one
that people can go out and here now it has
a lot of songs which had in one way or
another some international success and recognizability. And my second volume
(35:44):
of that is I think a lot deeper roots songs
than the ones that are on the first record. But
there but people can listen to those, and you know
it'll test your reggae knowledge because you know those songs,
(36:06):
then you're happy to hear them in like the current
fidelity that I recorded them in. But I think a
lot of people might not know some of those deep
cuts that we did, and it just sounds like an
amazing reggae record to me. I love the sound of
the band. I think it's sad the number of players
(36:28):
that have passed since I went in and recorded with them,
But you know, such as the nature of things, and
luckily the music lit outlives everyone and people can still
hear them.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yes, exactly, And that's the beautiful part about it that
you kept. It's like capturing voices in a time capsule.
You know, we can always revisit it whenever we get lonely.
We missed them the way that they made us feel
when we was down, we was up, or when we
was like just whatever. We can always revisit that, and
that nostalgia is what make life worth living.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
You know. In the in these two projects, I also
was clearly making you know, classic roots style reggae vibes,
which also you know, reggae continues, but it doesn't sound
like that so much anymore. And and so I was
(37:32):
making records that were love letters to the records that
I grew up with, you know, and uh loved. And
you know, I think that's a little bit of why
you can't ever find some you know, you can throw
(37:55):
a rock and hit anyone and they'll have Bob Marley legend,
you know. I mean, the music is timeless, the style
is timeless. It's just that there aren't as many people,
you know, playing in that way. I mean even I
can remember going down to Kingston in the early nineties
(38:20):
to work with Sli and Robbie on something and at
the time Slie he didn't want to play his acoustic
drum kit. He was like, you know, he had his
electric kid out and was like, this is what's happening
in Jamaica right now. And I was like, yeah, but
you know, I didn't come all the way here for
what's happening today because you're Sly Dunbar and like you
(38:45):
can play the kid like nobody else. So let's try
to do that, you know, right, right, But It's different
when you're a session player like that, who you know,
continued to make hits, you know, when it became a
little more electronic in the eighties and nineties. He certainly,
(39:10):
you know, worked with those rhythms, and it's just not
where I My love is more the organic roots sound
of reggae, which I think will never never get old.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Right, and you have you're keeping it alive. You're definitely
keeping it alive. And do you think we'll ever return?
You think there'll be a wave of new generation routes
that they go back to the roots.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Well, it would be nice to see it happened. It's just,
you know, I think if you're chasing current hits, it's
just not the sound of you know, it's not dancehall,
it's not it's not influenced by hip hop as as
(40:13):
much as the things are today. You know, Do I
think those songs are going to be around fifty years
from now? I don't know. You know, every every generation
has their nostalgia, but I doubt it. Right, Well, I
think you know, the second you put on you know,
(40:37):
Bob Marley's first Island record and here Concrete Jungle, you
know you're in it. And I was in it for
life at that point, and I don't get the same
feeling from a lot of those the more current sounding things.
(40:58):
I mean, you know, you may have a hit today,
but you know, fifty years from now, the proof is
in the pudding. You can still hear Pressure Drop, you
can still hear Monkey Man, you can still hear all
these songs, you know, like ones that I did on
(41:18):
the Kingston Lions, whether it's you know, Armagideon Time or
Warn a Babylon. You know, those songs are just all
time greatest songs, you know, reggae or not reggae, you know,
I mean, they're just fantastic, fantastic examples of a golden
(41:41):
period of music. Do I think there's gonna be another
golden period of music like that one? I don't because
that was a moment in time and a thing that
was happening then, and it all came together to make
that happen. And you know, if I can do my
(42:05):
little part and keeping that kind of vibe alive. But
you know, even in the early nineties in the US,
there was a period where there was a lot of
kind of pop reggae hits that yeah, I mean, I
(42:25):
produced one with the band general public version of the
song I'll take I'll Take You There. I think that
was in ninety four. That was a big hit at
a time where the reggae rhythms were being incorporated. You know,
it was the time of a lot of songs like that,
(42:49):
and you know that could come back around as possible.
But you know, I make records that I like that
I think I will like, and I think that there's
enough people that love music like I do that can
relate to what it is that I do and that
(43:15):
can find something that they love in those projects.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Oh definitely, definitely. I mean, like you said, once they
put on that roots, I mean, they could be listening
to this new age right now, and then as soon
as they get introduced to that roots, because that's how
Pandora set up. You get you think you're gonna be
listening to vibes, cartail or coffee for the whole stretch.
But once they get played out and you just let
(43:43):
that play, their roots start kicking in, and then you're
you're never gonna go You're really never gonna go back
because you're stuck in that there's always gonna be a
part of it. So definitely want to say thank you
for re O great.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
And I was gonna say that, you know, that reflects
my personal preference. And I like to think that I'm
in tune enough that like the things that I like
have a broad appeal to people. And I think if
people get a chance to hear those records, they will
embrace them.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
Definitely, They definitely will definitely. So you say you was
working on yours, like, let us know a little bit
more about what you what else you got going on?
You're working on your music? Uh, and you also got
other projects that's in the play right now or you
just relaxing and working on yours.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I've got I've got the upcoming volumes of these reggae
artists that will be back next year. And and I've
got a special project that I did, an inspirational album
(45:03):
of Utuo's music with a kind of gospel choir vibe
that should be coming shortly. And some other special projects
that are a little bit further away, but hopefully we'll
(45:24):
be done for next year. But you know, right now,
right now, I'm excited about the projects we're talking about
because they just came out and and you know, in
today's world with everyone having so much going on and
(45:46):
so much noise all around everything. You know, I want
to try to make sure that people know that the
records exist and they can listen to them, and and
I think listening to them makes you a fan of them.
So here's hoping that that continues to happen.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Definitely, definitely, well, tell us where they can find you
and where they can find these albums.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
It well. I mean, the albums are streaming on all
major services, The Mighty Rootsman and The Kingston Lions. They're
in store on both vinyl and CD, so you know,
the vinyl sounds amazing if you want to check it out.
(46:36):
The artwork is killer on both of those records, and
by all means, you know, listen to it on streaming
and when you like it enough, go buy the physical
copies of them.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
That's right. You always want to go get that vinyl
because that vinyl is going to last a lot longer
than that CD, know, and it's going to have that quality,
grainy sound that you're gonna say, once you put on
that that vinyl, you it's like you you don't want
to chill and listen to music an the other way.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
That's how I grew up with it, so it's always
got a heart.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
I'll right it. Well, we towist the end of by interview,
and is there anybody that you want to give a
shout out to, or any news that you want to
drop or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Well, you know, we I think we've covered it. You know.
I want I encourage people and take time out of
their busy schedules to chill a little bit with the
Mighty Rootsman and the Kingston Lions. And I promise that
when you listen to it, you'll feel better than before
you listen to it, you know, And you know that's
(47:52):
saying a lot. Everyone could use a good ear experience,
and I think this delivers.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
That perfect Well, y'all already know what it is, Go
and check it out. Is on all streaming services, and
once you get through streaming it, go pick you up
a vinyl copy. Even if you won't have a record play,
go pick you up one, simply for the.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Now.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
I'm sorry, the nostalgia. I can't even get it out.
Just pick it up for the nostalgia. Pick it up
because in fifty years you're going to be explaining to
your grand keys what kind of art this is?
Speaker 3 (48:27):
The Most Yeah, and also there's great liner notes and
both of the records written by the author of The
Oral History of Reggae, and he also wrote the biography
of Least Scratch Perry, and he did a great job
writing notes liner notes for both of those records. So
(48:50):
there's some stuff to read there.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
The historical value alone in there is enough to make me.
I'm all right, So that's my podcast. I'm gonna be
sure y'all my copy straight like that already. Ralph Saul,
thank you for joining Gus here on Reggae Our. And
as we wrap up this this fascinating conversation with Ralph Saul,
(49:14):
we reflect on the profound impact of his work and
bridging the past and present of reggae music through ambitious
projects like The Mighty Rootsman and The Kingstallions, Ralph not
only honors the legacy of reggae legends, but also paves
the way for future explorations of the genre. Thank you,
Ralph for sharing your journey and insights with us. Your
(49:36):
commitment to preserving cultural heritage while innovating within the genre
as a true testament to your artistic vision. To our listeners,
we invite you to explore Ralph Saul's projects available on
all streaming platforms and support his mission of bringing reggae's
influential history to new audiences. Stay tuned to Reggae Our
(49:58):
Podcast for more in depth interview with the artists and
creators shaping the soundscapes of reggae. Keep the vibes alive
and continue to celebrate the timeless rhythms of reggae until
next time. One Love, thank you for writing these Reggae
waves with me on Reggae Album. If this episode hits
(50:18):
your soul, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and
share the message, Follow me your Instagram, YouTube and Facebook
links and the show notes next week and hearing Ruth's
icon whose story will blow your mind until then, Keep
the music alive.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
One Love greet tings myself, but this is Tasha t
representing for the reggae Oh you none, No,
What happens when one man dares to bring together the
titans of reggae. When legends like Tootes, Hibbert, Gregorie, Isaacs,
Luciano and Michael Rose share the same mic, that's not
just an album, that's history in the making. And the
man who made it happen is Ralph Saul. With the
Mighty Roots Man, he created reggae's own traveling Littleberry's, a
(00:21):
dream team of voices and rhythms that the world thought
it would never hear together again. And with the Kingston Lions,
he gave the spotlight back to the unsung studio kings,
the players behind reggae's golden era, now reborn with fire,
fidelity and soul. Yes, this is the same Ralph Saul
who's produced blockbuster soundtracks in Hollywood hits, but in reggae
(00:43):
he's something more. He's the bridge between past and future,
the architect who honors the roots while building the next chapter.
He's not just a producer, He's the super producer. Reggae
never knew it had until now, and now Ralph saw
all steps into the reggae hour. Don't miss this exclusive
(01:03):
interview October seventh at seven pm Central Tune in on
My Heart Radio, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and at Reggae
hour dot com. This is more than an interview. This
is a reggae revival. Don't just hear about it, be
part of it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Rap, How you doing this? Even it's great to have
you on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Thanks for having me. Always look forward to talking about
music and it's always interesting. So you know, I'm here
and happy to get going.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
All right. I appreciate you join us, man, and you
got to start by taking us back, man, like what
first pulled you into music and how did your early
family life like shape that journey?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I honestly can say like music has been part of
my life since I was like the littlest kid, you know.
I mean I I used to collect top forty charts
for the AM radio station. And I'm from Miami, Florida,
(02:10):
so you know, which obviously influenced my love of reggae
because reggae is always big in that part of the world.
But you know, it just started when I was a
little kid, got like becoming a big record collector from
(02:35):
a young age. You know, I can remember having you know,
Bob Marley Catch a Fire and Nattie Dridd and burning
and Rostamon, Vibration, all those when they were new, and
(02:56):
we really got into all sorts of music. You know,
when I finally became old enough to make records, I
was never limited by a particular genre. So I've jumped
around from pretty much everything you could think of. You know,
(03:19):
whatever catch caught my fancy at the moment is what
I would do. I've been lucky, though.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
That's right. That's that's when you let the creativity spark
your interest. You don't let the work drive you. You let
the creativity drive you. And that's what I love how
you can cross genres. But after you cross so many genres,
what made you come to reggae? What called you to
reggae as a producer?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Well, I mean I, as a kid had all the
classic reggae records. I just collected them, so I always
liked them. I always had them playing right now next
to whatever, you know, classic rock was going on, and
(04:06):
never really put boundaries in between those things. And you know,
I think the first reggae record I actually ever made, well,
I did a session with Eca Mouse that never came out,
But the first one that that came out was a
(04:31):
was a session I did with Burning spear uh for
an album I made called Dedicated, which was Songs of
the Grateful Dead, and I got burning spear on that,
which was my first recording experience in Kingston. And you know,
(04:52):
it was back several times since.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Oh man, how do you like, how do you reconcile?
Like when you was a youth, did you ever think
that you would ever be growing up to produce some
of the greatest musicians that ever touched a genre, in
any music genre.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I never. I literally grew up as a super fan
of music. And after I went to school, I moved
to LA and started my career in the movie business.
(05:34):
But when I decided to leave to make records, it
was because I have been involved in some soundtrack work
on movies that I worked on and saw that it
was something I could actually do. You know, when I
was young, they all just looked like heroes to me,
(05:54):
like like how could I actually do that? Until I
was here and I was like, Okay, I can actually
do it and was lucky. And you know, I produced
hundreds of artists over the years, and you know, it's
been a fun ride.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Oh man, I bet it has. I mean, like, after
all those years, you've seen all these the music change,
You've seen the artists change. Which era do you actually
say it was like the Arab Well, you believe they
had it. They had it, They had it, they had
the knowledge, they had the business. Everything was just a
(06:39):
perfect ecosystem.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Well, I mean as a fan, I grew up, you know,
first with you know, classic sixties rock, the Beatles, Rolling Stones,
you know, and then I was into seventies and eighties
and nineties. You know, I started making records in the
(07:02):
late eighties early nineties. I still was a fan, and
I think that a large part of the success that
I've been able to have over the years was because
I never lost the fan gene. I've always been a fan,
and you know, when I work with big artists I'm
(07:25):
always trying to get them into a space that probably
it was close to classic things that I remember them doing,
and you know, there's always music going on in my head.
So you know, in terms of being a professional, I
(07:46):
would definitely say I loved working in the nineties. Probably
the best is kind of a era where there were
so many bands and so much music going on that
it just was NonStop. But you know, as I like
(08:08):
to say, my favorite project is the next one. So
we'll see what comes now.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, right, It's always something brewing up there. It's always
something better coming around the corner. I feel that. I
feel that now when you get the Mighty Roots Band
turned rock legends like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty into
reggae classics, what like what inspired you in the moment
to produce that?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Well, my initial thought that turned into the Mighty Rootsman
was that I thought that why hadn't there ever been
like a traveling wilbury Is of reggae? Like I didn't
(08:57):
ever remember a superstar collaboration in the reggae field. So
that made me think, why don't I try to put
that together? And that's what I did, you know? I mean, yeah,
yeah you did, you know, getting Slian Robbie and in
(09:20):
fact reuniting the classic band words sound and Power, who
had backed Peter Tosh, who happened to have been the
first concert I ever went to in my life. Yes, uh,
you know, and always stayed with me. Uh you know,
(09:43):
I started. I think I I might have started with
with Slian Robbie. I've worked with them before, and and
then you know, brought in Mikey Chong and Robbie Lynn
and you know, got the band back together. Now, I
(10:05):
don't think they played as words sound and power in
like twenty five years or something since before I before
I did that. But then it came time to picking vocalists,
and you know, I think my first call was to
Tuts simply because when you think of reggae vocals, I mean,
(10:29):
who's better than Tuts. I don't think anybody, you know,
So you know, I reached out to Gregory Isaac's and
was lucky to get him involved in the project. It
was the tail end of his career. You know, he
(10:52):
wasn't the healthiest person, but I was able to get
him on a bunch of the tracks before he had
to bail out. And then I got Lucciano to sit
in on the tracks that he couldn't make it in for.
And then of course I included Michael Rose as Black
(11:14):
Uhuru was a big favorite of mine back when they
were dropping their classic albums, and I thought that would
make a great group, and you know, I think it did.
Of Course, when I started making the record, mixing the record,
(11:38):
I got all the vocals down, it always became difficult
for me to mute anything. Tuts did because because his
vocals are so spectacular, but the concept was a vocal trio,
so you know he fit in.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Well to that.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
I think it came out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Oh yeah, I mean you get you hurt the critics
so far. They loving the way that you got. You
was able to bring all these powerhouses together and just
to be able to get Gregory Isaac's at the time
that you was able to get them, Like, how how
was that? How was that? Like did you ever get
to like like chill with them in the studio or
go out to eat with them or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Gets some land with all of them in the studio.
And you know, we first started laying down the rhythms,
uh with the band and got pretty far with the
songs that I had picked before we started trying to
(12:47):
do vocals. And you know what was interesting about the
vocals is, you know, while I'm not sure how familiar
with all the songs all the singers were, they took
the time, like you know, Tuts would take those songs
(13:09):
home and learn them inside and out so much so
that he could turn them into Tuts songs deliver them
in the same way he would one of his classics
which I think he did a great job of doing.
And then you know Gregory, Uh, you know when if
(13:32):
you hear him on those songs, he sure still sounds
like Gregory. You know, he might have been weakened in body,
but he still was able to sing ah and deliver
those songs.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Spirit was still there strong as elle. That's what That's
the beauty, the beautiful part about it. You know, you
hear these legends that are they that most of them
have passed on, you get to realize that that it
has a lot of meaning to you and you spend
some personal time with these legends that some of what
(14:11):
most of us dream of, like how does that like,
what does that mean to you personally?
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Well, you know, working with as many artists over the
years as I have, I've found myself in situations where
I'm working on tracks with people that I consider, you know,
(14:40):
just the ultimate legends. You know, how do you get
into a studio with Paul McCartney and and work and
not just not just fanboy your way through the whole way.
And the answer is you just do you have a
(15:00):
you have a plan and you do it and uh,
you know, the fact isn't lost that you're in the studio.
It's like, oh, tuts. You know, that's the guy I
was saying, pressure drop and he's there, he is, you know,
and uh but you know they're just people too, really,
(15:29):
And you know they are in the studio because they
thought the idea that I had was a good one
and they wanted to participate. So it was about focusing
on the work and trying to make it the best
possible version of what that could be. And it took
(15:53):
a lot of effort to make it sound effortless.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
And you have been doing it so long it's like
second nature to you. I was doing a lot of research,
and you know, one word that I was not finding
that I believe that you should that should be attributed
to anybody, should be attributed to you as the worst
super producer. Do you see yourself in that light? You?
I mean, I'm looking behind you right now. I know
you've got plaques for.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I. It's been thrown about over the years, mostly lately
because I'm older, and so it has been used. I
wouldn't use it myself because I just I just feel
like everything that I've worked on, you know, it adds
(16:48):
up to years and decades of my life and different
ideas and things and experiences that I've been able to
to have and lucky enough to have involved myself in.
And yeah, sure, I mean, once you've produced that that
(17:09):
kind of catalog, other people have have written about me
as super producer, but I just think of myself as
a fan, like I said, And you know, I've been
lucky enough as someone who's a lover of music and
(17:31):
different kinds of music to also be able to be
business savvy enough to be able to conceive of and
execute projects that bring these things to life. And you know,
(17:53):
it's interesting because obviously Mighty Rootsman is sort of like
the Traveling Woolbury's of reggae. And it was just an
idea that crossed my mind and it stuck with me
long enough to put it together and make it a reality.
So you know, that's the same with a lot of
(18:15):
the records that I've made, they've or people that I've
worked with, you know, not afraid of picking up the
phone and calling people to see if they want to
participate in things. And I was lucky enough to do
so many movie soundtracks with various artists over the years
that just so many people have been involved in my
(18:38):
story that I share with them that you know, you
keep doing it for long enough time, the list gets
pretty long.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
You know, definitely, definitely. I mean you've got an extensive
list and you don't I had too many people with
list like that. We was just talking about earlier on
one of my other podcasts, how Bob Marley's Legends album
finally well not finally but has hit twelve hundred weeks
on the UK charts. And you start looking at like
(19:14):
the the power behind that, like people are still purchasing
this album to the day by one hundreds every day,
and then you look at the work that you've put
in and it's like it's up right up there with
in that same at me, that same level. You have
an extensive catalog that has attributed And the one thing
(19:36):
I wanted to to say thank you for saying, because
a lot of people do sight when they get into
the music industry that they were a fan first, and
you have reiterated that several times so far, and I
just want to thank you for that, because when people
get in the music industry and they let them checks
start flowing in, it construmes or it messes up their
(19:59):
vision and then they start producing work that doesn't resonate
with the people anymore. What kind of advice would you
give to somebody who feels like they're falling down that
trap or falling into into that void where the money
is like driving their art versus their creativity.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, I wouldn't know, because that's just never been my way.
I just don't think that way. I think success has
come because of the fact that I've been able to
take like a young person's love and fandom of different musics,
(20:41):
and when I was able and lucky enough to have
the ability to make the records and make a living
out of making the records, I never lost why I
was making the records. There were always so many of
them were driven by my initial fandom. I mean, the
(21:07):
whole idea that I basically invented the concept of the
tribute album, you know, many decades ago. That really came
from me dreaming of ideas that would be cool to hear,
(21:29):
that I thought would be fun for me to hear,
and nobody else was putting them together. And you know,
I encountered initial skepticism from the record labels when I started,
but once I was able to get you know, I
(21:50):
think I had mentioned the Grateful Dead tribute record that
I made that was kind of one of the the
first major label tribute album like that, and it was
a big hit, and it sparked a whole genre and
got me to make lots of records like that, and
(22:12):
and they all are born out of fandom.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
The fact that I'm able to go into the studio
and make the record is another thing. Like, you know,
maybe there's a lot of people who can't do that.
But since I'm lucky enough to be able to do
that and and have done it for decades and decades,
(22:37):
I would say that I still am a fan. I
go to shows all the time. I you know, I
follow music still like I was, you know, twelve years old.
So you know, if you're if if you're able to
(22:59):
to to be that kind of like I lived and
breathed the you know, I had a huge like I said,
I had a huge record collection. I lived and breathed.
I knew all the songs, and I knew who sung them,
and I knew all the bands. And I turned that
around and as a professional became one of the biggest
(23:21):
music supervisors in the movie business, putting music in movies.
And you know that also only would have happened if
simply because I was a fan and knew songs that
could make moments happen in movies that were special. So,
(23:43):
you know, I think it's a little bit of like
figure out what you love and you know, get really
good at it, you know, right.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right, man? I wish I would have had your story
when I was young, because my mom used to tell me.
I used to tell her all about the new latest
songs that came out, not only who sung them, but
who produced them, who they sampled, and all of that,
and she used to look at me, why do you
have all this useless information in your head?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I would have been able to turn around and be
like because I could have been like Ralph Saal and
been producing all of the greats.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
What you mean, well, you know, also don't listen to
your parents as much, because my parents thought that that
was pretty useless knowledge. Too. It turned out not to
be pretty useless knowledge.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I'm telling you. I mean, you pretty much started a
whole genre and inspired generations of people. I mean, you
can't get no more useful than that right there. Now,
when it comes to blending heritage, musicians with like new vocalists,
was that like your way of bridging the generations in
reggae and and.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
About that's part of the story of the Kingston Lions.
Kingston Lions came about a lot to do with uh,
Mikey Chung and his cohorts, who had played on so
(25:13):
many hundreds of classic reggae songs, you know, going back
to the studio one days and uh, you know, for
like Boris Gardner and Patrick McDonald and Mikey Boo and
Sticky Thompson and you know, if you if you counted
(25:33):
the number of reggae classics those guys had played on,
I mean it's innumerable, really, And you know, I thought
the focus for for that record really was squarely on
(25:54):
the players, and like, you know, that's why I kind
of called it the Buena Vista Social Club of Reggae
because if you know, the point of it was the
social Club shed light on the classic players of that
genre and put the focus on them. And that's what
(26:14):
I think the focus is on the Kingston Lions. The
fact that the three young singers who sing the songs,
you know, blend really well together and sound you know,
like if you listen to Soul Shakedown Party by the
(26:35):
Kingston Lions. It gives major whaler vibes on the vocal side.
And you know, I thought they did a great job,
but they definitely take a back seat to the legends
that are playing in the room. You know, I was
(26:58):
trying in that instant and to reinvent, re expose these
classic reggae songs to potential new generation. Where like, your
memory of a lot of those songs are one thing,
and sometimes if you listen to some of the original recordings,
(27:21):
some of them they sound they sound their age. A
lot of times they may be a little thin, a
little tinny. Uh, And I wanted to make a record
that sounded like had current production values and uh, because
you hear the songs and they certainly put you in
(27:43):
the in the mind frame of the originals. But then
go back and listen to the originals and see which
one sounds sonically better. You know, not to say that
I have to say that I was trying to supplant
any of those original classics. There there classics for a reason,
(28:04):
but I want to expose them to a current audience
who's used to hearing a certain level of audio quality.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Right, did you ever think that you may be risking
watering down the routs even though that didn't happen, did
you ever think that there may have been a possibility.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Not with those players. I mean, the roots were in
the room, you know, I mean they were there. You know,
they could go on and on about like you know,
classic album, about of classic album that they were responsible for.
(28:47):
So I felt I was, you know, in many ways
setting it up. You know, with Mikey, we together picked
a song list of songs to visit during those sessions,
and I really let the players play. You know, sometimes
(29:09):
the value of a producer is what you don't say
in the moment because you don't want to ruin the moment.
Sometimes producers feel like they have to talk and put
their stamp on everything all the time. But you know,
when you pick the right players, put them together and
(29:32):
let them start playing. I want to hear what's going
to happen when that happens, and then if I have
some helpful comments here and there, I'll chime in. But
you know a lot of what you hear was really
the organic talents of the legends that are in the room. Right.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, you got a point there. You can put a
lot of nasi as to risk with that one right now. Now,
whenever you got classics like that, you have the like
you said, you have the roots in the room, do
you ever take it upon yourself to introduce them to
the new generation or set it up to where they
can work with the new generation of artists so that
(30:15):
they can and this is outside of Kingston Lions, like
in any genre, just pretty much make it an initiative
to try to bridge that generations.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Well, you know, I think that whatever the genre is,
I have been lucky enough to have a stable of
classic players that have that are masters of their craft
and they'll come and play on whatever it is that
(30:49):
I have going on and bring a level of talent
and professionalism and uh you know it's like I like
to say, nothing makes a producer sound as good as
putting the right band in the room. You know, that's
(31:12):
the best way to sound great. You know, have great players.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Okay, you right about that? And with the youth that's
coming up now, do you work with a lot of
them or is like as a certain levels to.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
This, Well, I mean these days I work on projects
that I feel like I mean, I I you know,
I don't I'm not in there every single day like
I used to. And you know, for the last little while,
(31:51):
I've been working on a lot of my own music,
which you know, I started making thirty years ago and
put in a lot of movies and soundtrack albums over
the years, but I've never really concentrated on getting those
(32:14):
my songs out. And believe me, on that band is
called All Too Much and the players on that are stunning,
I mean, just the best. So you know, you know,
just stay tuned. It's coming soon.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Yeah already. And what's the name of it's called All
Too Much?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah, that's the name of the band. Should be dropping
some stuff before the end of the year. And yeah,
it's it's got some amazing players on it. And you
know as that that's been being worked on, you know,
(33:05):
for the last couple of years. And uh, but some
of the songs stretched back to the nineties that I
reinterpreted for.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Now and.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Uh and uh, it's just one of many of my
current projects that are awaiting release. I have. You know,
if anyone who's listening to your your stuff likes the
Mighty Rootsmen and the Kingston Lions, I'm happy to say
(33:42):
that there's follow up albums coming for both of those projects.
Okay in the probably in the earlier part of next
year or spring, I would guess next years.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Perfect they hear like when you when people hit that play,
but know the project now, like what do you want
them to like feel deep in their spirit? Like what
do you want them to get them?
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Well, you know on the Mighty rootsman, I think that
you know, it's special to be able to turn it
on and hear Toots and Gregory. You're not going to
hear them again, you know, but but you can always
(34:34):
hear them on their classic records, you know. But like
I was able to get them, uh you know one
last time. Uh. And I picked the classic rock and
pop songs that we did because they all gave me
(34:56):
a kind of a vibe of summer sunshine, friendship, positive
vibes was what I was really trying to send with
the song selection that made it onto that record and
and with the Mighty with the Kingston Lions record, I
(35:19):
just you know, the first volume, which is the one
that people can go out and here now it has
a lot of songs which had in one way or
another some international success and recognizability. And my second volume
(35:44):
of that is I think a lot deeper roots songs
than the ones that are on the first record. But
there but people can listen to those, and you know
it'll test your reggae knowledge because you know those songs,
(36:06):
then you're happy to hear them in like the current
fidelity that I recorded them in. But I think a
lot of people might not know some of those deep
cuts that we did, and it just sounds like an
amazing reggae record to me. I love the sound of
the band. I think it's sad the number of players
(36:28):
that have passed since I went in and recorded with them,
But you know, such as the nature of things, and
luckily the music lit outlives everyone and people can still
hear them.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yes, exactly, And that's the beautiful part about it that
you kept. It's like capturing voices in a time capsule.
You know, we can always revisit it whenever we get lonely.
We missed them the way that they made us feel
when we was down, we was up, or when we
was like just whatever. We can always revisit that, and
that nostalgia is what make life worth living.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
You know. In the in these two projects, I also
was clearly making you know, classic roots style reggae vibes,
which also you know, reggae continues, but it doesn't sound
like that so much anymore. And and so I was
(37:32):
making records that were love letters to the records that
I grew up with, you know, and uh loved. And
you know, I think that's a little bit of why
you can't ever find some you know, you can throw
(37:55):
a rock and hit anyone and they'll have Bob Marley legend,
you know. I mean, the music is timeless, the style
is timeless. It's just that there aren't as many people,
you know, playing in that way. I mean even I
can remember going down to Kingston in the early nineties
(38:20):
to work with Sli and Robbie on something and at
the time Slie he didn't want to play his acoustic
drum kit. He was like, you know, he had his
electric kid out and was like, this is what's happening
in Jamaica right now. And I was like, yeah, but
you know, I didn't come all the way here for
what's happening today because you're Sly Dunbar and like you
(38:45):
can play the kid like nobody else. So let's try
to do that, you know, right, right, But It's different
when you're a session player like that, who you know,
continued to make hits, you know, when it became a
little more electronic in the eighties and nineties. He certainly,
(39:10):
you know, worked with those rhythms, and it's just not
where I My love is more the organic roots sound
of reggae, which I think will never never get old.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Right, and you have you're keeping it alive. You're definitely
keeping it alive. And do you think we'll ever return?
You think there'll be a wave of new generation routes
that they go back to the roots.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Well, it would be nice to see it happened. It's just,
you know, I think if you're chasing current hits, it's
just not the sound of you know, it's not dancehall,
it's not it's not influenced by hip hop as as
(40:13):
much as the things are today. You know, Do I
think those songs are going to be around fifty years
from now? I don't know. You know, every every generation
has their nostalgia, but I doubt it. Right, Well, I
think you know, the second you put on you know,
(40:37):
Bob Marley's first Island record and here Concrete Jungle, you
know you're in it. And I was in it for
life at that point, and I don't get the same
feeling from a lot of those the more current sounding things.
(40:58):
I mean, you know, you may have a hit today,
but you know, fifty years from now, the proof is
in the pudding. You can still hear Pressure Drop, you
can still hear Monkey Man, you can still hear all
these songs, you know, like ones that I did on
(41:18):
the Kingston Lions, whether it's you know, Armagideon Time or
Warn a Babylon. You know, those songs are just all
time greatest songs, you know, reggae or not reggae, you know,
I mean, they're just fantastic, fantastic examples of a golden
(41:41):
period of music. Do I think there's gonna be another
golden period of music like that one? I don't because
that was a moment in time and a thing that
was happening then, and it all came together to make
that happen. And you know, if I can do my
(42:05):
little part and keeping that kind of vibe alive. But
you know, even in the early nineties in the US,
there was a period where there was a lot of
kind of pop reggae hits that yeah, I mean, I
(42:25):
produced one with the band general public version of the
song I'll take I'll Take You There. I think that
was in ninety four. That was a big hit at
a time where the reggae rhythms were being incorporated. You know,
it was the time of a lot of songs like that,
(42:49):
and you know that could come back around as possible.
But you know, I make records that I like that
I think I will like, and I think that there's
enough people that love music like I do that can
relate to what it is that I do and that
(43:15):
can find something that they love in those projects.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Oh definitely, definitely. I mean, like you said, once they
put on that roots, I mean, they could be listening
to this new age right now, and then as soon
as they get introduced to that roots, because that's how
Pandora set up. You get you think you're gonna be
listening to vibes, cartail or coffee for the whole stretch.
But once they get played out and you just let
(43:43):
that play, their roots start kicking in, and then you're
you're never gonna go You're really never gonna go back
because you're stuck in that there's always gonna be a
part of it. So definitely want to say thank you
for re O great.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
And I was gonna say that, you know, that reflects
my personal preference. And I like to think that I'm
in tune enough that like the things that I like
have a broad appeal to people. And I think if
people get a chance to hear those records, they will
embrace them.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
Definitely, They definitely will definitely. So you say you was
working on yours, like, let us know a little bit
more about what you what else you got going on?
You're working on your music? Uh, and you also got
other projects that's in the play right now or you
just relaxing and working on yours.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I've got I've got the upcoming volumes of these reggae
artists that will be back next year. And and I've
got a special project that I did, an inspirational album
(45:03):
of Utuo's music with a kind of gospel choir vibe
that should be coming shortly. And some other special projects
that are a little bit further away, but hopefully we'll
(45:24):
be done for next year. But you know, right now,
right now, I'm excited about the projects we're talking about
because they just came out and and you know, in
today's world with everyone having so much going on and
(45:46):
so much noise all around everything. You know, I want
to try to make sure that people know that the
records exist and they can listen to them, and and
I think listening to them makes you a fan of them.
So here's hoping that that continues to happen.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Definitely, definitely, well, tell us where they can find you
and where they can find these albums.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
It well. I mean, the albums are streaming on all
major services, The Mighty Rootsman and The Kingston Lions. They're
in store on both vinyl and CD, so you know,
the vinyl sounds amazing if you want to check it out.
(46:36):
The artwork is killer on both of those records, and
by all means, you know, listen to it on streaming
and when you like it enough, go buy the physical
copies of them.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
That's right. You always want to go get that vinyl
because that vinyl is going to last a lot longer
than that CD, know, and it's going to have that quality,
grainy sound that you're gonna say, once you put on
that that vinyl, you it's like you you don't want
to chill and listen to music an the other way.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
That's how I grew up with it, so it's always
got a heart.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
I'll right it. Well, we towist the end of by interview,
and is there anybody that you want to give a
shout out to, or any news that you want to
drop or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Well, you know, we I think we've covered it. You know.
I want I encourage people and take time out of
their busy schedules to chill a little bit with the
Mighty Rootsman and the Kingston Lions. And I promise that
when you listen to it, you'll feel better than before
you listen to it, you know, And you know that's
(47:52):
saying a lot. Everyone could use a good ear experience,
and I think this delivers.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
That perfect Well, y'all already know what it is, Go
and check it out. Is on all streaming services, and
once you get through streaming it, go pick you up
a vinyl copy. Even if you won't have a record play,
go pick you up one, simply for the.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Now.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
I'm sorry, the nostalgia. I can't even get it out.
Just pick it up for the nostalgia. Pick it up
because in fifty years you're going to be explaining to
your grand keys what kind of art this is?
Speaker 3 (48:27):
The Most Yeah, and also there's great liner notes and
both of the records written by the author of The
Oral History of Reggae, and he also wrote the biography
of Least Scratch Perry, and he did a great job
writing notes liner notes for both of those records. So
(48:50):
there's some stuff to read there.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
The historical value alone in there is enough to make me.
I'm all right, So that's my podcast. I'm gonna be
sure y'all my copy straight like that already. Ralph Saul,
thank you for joining Gus here on Reggae Our. And
as we wrap up this this fascinating conversation with Ralph Saul,
(49:14):
we reflect on the profound impact of his work and
bridging the past and present of reggae music through ambitious
projects like The Mighty Rootsman and The Kingstallions, Ralph not
only honors the legacy of reggae legends, but also paves
the way for future explorations of the genre. Thank you,
Ralph for sharing your journey and insights with us. Your
(49:36):
commitment to preserving cultural heritage while innovating within the genre
as a true testament to your artistic vision. To our listeners,
we invite you to explore Ralph Saul's projects available on
all streaming platforms and support his mission of bringing reggae's
influential history to new audiences. Stay tuned to Reggae Our
(49:58):
Podcast for more in depth interview with the artists and
creators shaping the soundscapes of reggae. Keep the vibes alive
and continue to celebrate the timeless rhythms of reggae until
next time. One Love, thank you for writing these Reggae
waves with me on Reggae Album. If this episode hits
(50:18):
your soul, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and
share the message, Follow me your Instagram, YouTube and Facebook
links and the show notes next week and hearing Ruth's
icon whose story will blow your mind until then, Keep
the music alive.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
One Love greet tings myself, but this is Tasha t
representing for the reggae Oh you none, No,
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