Listen carefully and you can count each of the three cymbal crashes in this unjustly obscure – and humorous – rocksteady 45 “The Slot Machine” from Jamaican vocal group The Three Tops: about a “gambling lady” with a yen for the one-armed bandit:
“Slot Machine”
The Three Tops (1968)
I am fascinated by this uniquely minimalist Jamaican approach with regard to the crash cymbal, thus helping to ensure that each use really counts. Note, too, the kick drum pattern that accompanies each crash, as well as the unusually deep bottom of the mix overall — pushing the bass forward decades before the modern pop world would eventually catch on. Produced by Karl ‘Sir JJ‘ Johnson, with what sounds to my ears like Lyn Taitt on the staccato lead guitar.
Says London’s venerable Dub Vendor about the 45 itself:
“Two prime slices of Boss Reggae from The Kilowatts aka The Three Tops, allegedly.”
Armed with this new information, I would quickly learn – no surprise – that blank labels of “Slot Machine” [by The Kilowatts] can fetch up to $400 (though not always, fortunately).
One blank label marked “Gambling Lady” — while another is marked “Bandit“
