A lot of Bob Marley’s early stuff was recorded in the studios of early 70s Jamaica. As I said in the “Trench Town Rock” post,…
Reggae
09/08/2018: “Spar With Me” by Toyan
This tune is absolutely relentless! Produced by the label Volcano’s legendary Henry “Junjo” Lawes, this is Toyan toasting over the classic “I’m Not Getting Crazy”…
31/07/2018: “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker
“Israelites” was originally released in 1968, becoming the first reggae song to hit number one in the U.K. That version is a classic reggae/rocksteady song,…
21/07/2018: “Trenchtown Rock by Bob Marley & The Wailers
“One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain…” Trenchtown Rock is one of Bob Marley’s more famous songs, and the above…
31/05/2018: “Satta Massagana” by The Abyssinians
From the moment the trumpets blare out, and the bass thumps, it is obvious why “Satta Massagana”, from the 1976 album of the same name,…
27/05/2018: “Rome” by Sugar Minott
Sugar Minott was one of the classic roots singers. “Rome” was released in 1979 in Jamaica, and has a style that straddles reggae and dancehall….
19/05/2018: “Sam’s Intro” by Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari
Count Ossie’s 1975 album Tales Of Mozambique is a deeply spiritual mediation on Rastafari and the relationship of Caribbean Black people to Africa. Like many…
18/05/2018: “Baltimore” by The Tamlins
Randy Newman deserves great credit for writing the song in the first place. His 1977 version is also a very good performance and arrangement of…
14/05/2018: “Forever Loving Jah” by Bob Marley & The Wailers
“Forever Loving Jah” is from Uprising, released in 1980, only a year before Bob Marley died. Perhaps as a result of Bob Marley’s reflections on…
04/05/2018: “Uptown Top Ranking” by Althea and Donna
The way reggae often works is that the instrumental track of a song, the “riddim”, has quite a few versions and vocalists. 1977’s “Uptown Top…