As I’ve written previously, Burning Spear are among the roots reggae greats. The spiritual, righteous classic 1975 LP, Marcus Garvey, contains several brilliant songs, including…
Tag: 70s
04/05/2021: “Lupita” by Nico Gomez
After the record label ‘Mr. Bongo’ dug out this one, it has gone from strength to strength. Most recently, it was released last year by…
01/05/2021: “Who The Cap Fit” by Bob Marley & The Wailers
“Who The Cap Fit” is a cautionary tale. The title means that people should accept their wrongdoings. Marley takes aim at false friends, backstabbers and…
29/04/2021: “Highway Star” by Deep Purple
This speedy song is about driving a car, speedily. The band wrote the song to replace ‘Speed King’ as their concert opener, as they’d got…
24/04/2021: “Song Of A Sinner” by Top Drawer
Original pressings of this obscure psychedelic classic are rather hard to track down. The band released Solid Oak themselves in 1972 – their only album. If…
19/04/2021: “Pablo Picasso” by The Modern Lovers
Covered by Jack White, John Cale and David Bowie, the original 1976 song was written by Jonathan Richman for The Modern Lovers. It’s a sardonic,…
15/04/2021: “Shoo-B-Doop And Cop Him” by Betty Davis
Slow and cool. Unabashedly liberated. Smokey and sultry. Betty Davis was an icon, and this song is iconic. It’s also very feminist, especially by the…
05/04/2021: “Survival” by Annette Peacock
‘Genius’ gets thrown about a lot these days. But what does it mean? Originality? Greatness? Vision? Annette Peacock has all of those in spades. She…
02/04/2021: “Touch Me In The Morning” by Marlena Shaw
This soulful seventies nugget was originally a Diana Ross song, released in 1973. Marlena Shaw’s 1979 version, from Love Bites, adds a few pinches of disco…
29/03/2021: “African Child” by The Heptones
As with many older roots reggae songs, it can be hard to pin down a song’s exact origin. “African Child”, sometimes spelt “An African Child”…