Reggae recommendations
Bruce Rodean
reggae artists. Currently I have only two and like them both. They
are:
Pato Banton - Visions of the World
Black Uhuru - Brutal
I heard a song from the former on a local radio station and got it on CD
from Noteworthy. I heard "Great Train Robbery" from the latter and
searched a long time before I found it in a store down in Denver.
I am interested in any and all input. Please post or e-mail your
recommendations on what groups/artists to pursue beyond these two.
Thanks much.
Bruce Rodean
rod...@hpfcla.HP.COM
Gary L Dare
Get anything by Bob Marley, especially the live "Babylon by Bus"
(world tour) or the earlier "Live!" set recorded in London. His son
Ziggy has some good stuff out, too; despite how much studio polishing
has been done on his hit albums, you can tell that the groove is there
when you look closely. They had a live cut by Ziggy & The Melody
Makers on a Cinemax Sessions I just taped (from their cable preview),
"Conscious Party", that sounded better without the polish. Zig wore
real beat up jeans, not ones that cost $100 to look beat up. He did
not seem to exude any rock star pretentions at all.
gld
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Je me souviens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary L. Dare No golf courses on
> g...@cunixD.cc.columbia.EDU Mohawk Indian
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walter van der laan
Two CD's (or 3 LP's) with a very good history of jamaican music
You can hear the music develop from r&b to ska to rocksteady to reggae
The Trojan story part II (1971-1981)
The golden decade of reggae, 48 masterpieces.
After those starters (know your culture) i would recommend:
producer artist title
Lee Perry Junior Murvin Police and thieves
Coxone Dodd Various The best of Studio One part 1
Duke Reid Various Hottest hits part 1
Joe Gibbs Culture Two sevens clash
Augustus Pablo Hugh Mundell Africa must be free
Walter van der Laan
Mike Zayas
Live album is great.
Ziggy ain't so bad, himself, if you like a slightly more commercial
form of reggae. He's not as authentic (meaning the stuff you actually
hear in Jamaica) as Black Uhuru, et al, but its good stuff.
Another band is Third World.
Finally, there's Dread Zeppelin: a reggae band that does cover-tunes
of classic Zeppelin songs. They have a debut album (Un Led Ed) on IRS.
BTW, their lead singer is an Elvis impersonator! Check it out for fun.
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Mike Zayas
Data General Corp. it ain't easy being cheesy
Internet: za...@dg-rtp.dg.com
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Larry Spence
>I am seeking out recommendations for enhancing my meager collection of
>reggae artists.
The following suggestions lean toward slightly older "classic" reggae, as
opposed to the more recent dancehall and post-dub styles:
Bob Marley (of course) -- the entire catalog has just been remastered
and sounds great. The "Legend" compilation is a good overview and a
good buy to boot. There are also two live albums, both very good.
Black Uhuru -- earlier stuff like "Red," "Sinsemilla" is really good.
The "Anthem" album is more slickly produced but still excellent.
Bunny Wailer -- the "Rootsman Skanking" album is nice, pretty laid back.
Mutabaruka -- very gutsy, political. Try the "Check It" album.
Linton Kwesi Johnson -- a personal favorite. Excellent band, very
intelligent lyrics, serious stuff but often danceable. The double
live album is outstanding. "Forces of Victory" and "Making History"
are two recommended studio albums.
Peter Tosh -- I haven't checked out the quality of the CD reissues of
his stuff yet, but several of his albums are classics. You might
try the "Legalize It" album for starters. Most of his stuff on CD
sells at "budget" price.
Burning Spear -- I don't have any of his albums, but what I've heard
is usually very good. You might try the relatively recent "Live in
Paris" disc to get a feel for it. Don't know about the new album
"Mek Me Dweet." Spear's live shows are always great!
Reggae Greats -- a series of "best of" compilations of Burning Spear,
Black Uhuru, LKJ, many others. I don't know if these are out on CD,
but the LPs are excellent introductions to reggae artists.
There's _lots_ more that I'd put in the "excellent" category, but that should
get you started.
--
Larry Spence
larry@csccat
...{uunet,texsun,cs.utexas.edu,decwrl}!csccat!larry
Jonathan Kiparsky
>reggae artists. Currently I have only two and like them both. They
>are:
> Pato Banton - Visions of the World
> Black Uhuru - Brutal
Marley and Tosh, of course, are great. Get Legalize It, it's a great album,
and it's usually discounted($9.99, on CD, new, is the highest price I've seen
for it). Another great band is Steel Pulse. They're more modern, with lots of
dubs and keyboards, but they have some great bass lines, and a cool singer. I
have True Democracy, it's in my deck quite a bit.
-jon
The Cat in the Hat
za...@dg-rtp.dg.com (Mike Zayas) probably regrets saying:
-
-Finally, there's Dread Zeppelin: a reggae band that does cover-tunes
-of classic Zeppelin songs. They have a debut album (Un Led Ed) on IRS.
-BTW, their lead singer is an Elvis impersonator! Check it out for fun.
Ack!
Dread Zeppelin plays Zep songs to a slowed down, and vaguely reggae,
beat, but *in no way* should they be confused with a real reggae group.
And if you see these folks, I think you've been ripped off if you've paid
more than $4.
And, while you're checking out reggae, pick up the soundtrack for
"The Harder They Come". Jimmy Cliff hits the big time; good stuff.
--
David Bedno aka da...@sco.COM: Speaking from but not for SCO.
"I feel better than James Brown. I feel better now. How do you feel?"
- Was (Not Was), "I Feel Better Than James Brown"
ZIM...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
beginning to end, and I hear that "Reggae Got Soul" is almost as good.
Ben Zimmer
Frank Breen
the stuff produced by Bill Laswell. I think that they used to be the
rhythm section (bass & drums) for Black Uhuru. My favorite stuff of
theirs tends to be part funk and part reggae which is probably why I
like it so much but there older stuff is more traditional reggae if thats
what you are interested in.
I also heard some great Adrian Sherwood stuff - I think by dub syndicate
but I can't remember for sure - it could have been Lee Perry.
Frank Breen
Mike Zayas
to appreciate alot of reggae. Bob Marley was respected in Jamaica not
only for his music, but his devotion to his religion. In a nutshell,
Rastafarians believe in God (they call him Jah) and in the Christian
bible. In addition, they believe that there was a more recent incarna-
tion of Christ in the form of a recent ruler of Ethiopia (he was killed
as part of the Communist takeover of Ethiopia).
His name was something like Elasiaih I. He was called the the "Rasta Fari",
which means something like crowned prince. The Ethiopian flag has a lion
on it, so Rastafaris wear their hair in "dread locks" (where they twist
the hair until it forms finger-like strands) to look like the lion.
In general, Rastafarians are pacifist, although alot of the music reflects
the frustration with not being in "the mother land". Travel out of Jamaica
for the natives is difficult. In addition, many non-Rastas like the hair
style or like to tap into the frustration and get violent.
Oh, yes, the marijuana (ganga) is smoked to break down concious barriers
and bring the mind closer to Gods, to allow for better communication.
Ganga is not legal in Jamaica, but you wouldnt know it.
While it may appear that all reggae musicians are Rastas, and visa versa,
many Rasta men in Jamaica are lawyers, doctors, and other more mainstream
professions.
It would be worthwhile going to a library or something and reading more
about it.
Have a jammin' day, mon.
Mike Zayas
Jim Hori
acts. Here is a list of what's happening in Jamaica now:
Toasters: Shabba Ranks, Tiger, Ninjaman, Papa San, Johnny P,
Chakademus
Singers: Wayne Wonder, Brian and Tony Gold, Thriller U, Frankie
Paul, Cocoa Tea, Sanchez
Perennial favorites: Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown
Best performances at Sunsplash: Shinehead, Pat Kelly, Dennis
Brown, Bunny Wailer, Papa San, Tiger, Leroy Sibbles
Notes: toasting is Jamaican rapping (started in the late '60's
by U Roy and Dennis Alcapone among others). Sunsplash is the
big annual JA reggae festival that runs 4 nights. Shinehead
mixed rap and toasting, b-boy talk with JA patois, and put on
one of the most dynamic performances I've seen in a long time.
Don't miss him if he's playing your town. Pat Kelly is a singer
who's been around since the 60's singing soul influenced reggae.
Leroy Sibbles was the leader of the Heptones. Both were backed
by Sly and Robbie playing roots style simple back up in some of
the most stirring music of the fest. Shabba Ranks is currently the
single most popular performer in JA.
....
jimh
David Poyourow
check out:
THE BEAT magazine
Bongo Productions
P.O.B. 29820
Los Angeles, CA 90029
$12.00 per year.
No, I dont work for it, just read it.
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David Poyourow, Data General Corp. UUCP: ..!uunet!spsd!poy
2603 Main St, #360, Irvine, CA 92714 ARPA: p...@sdsa01.IRVINE.DG.COM
714-432-8510 (at home)
"Soon the whole world will be free and everyone
will be able to choose between Pepsi and Coke."
George Scott
>It might be worthwhile to learn a little about Rastafarians in order
>to appreciate alot of reggae. Bob Marley was respected in Jamaica not
>only for his music, but his devotion to his religion. In a nutshell,
>Rastafarians believe in God (they call him Jah) and in the Christian
>bible. In addition, they believe that there was a more recent incarna-
>tion of Christ in the form of a recent ruler of Ethiopia (he was killed
>as part of the Communist takeover of Ethiopia).
>His name was something like Elasiaih I. He was called the the "Rasta Fari",
>which means something like crowned prince.
I think you mean Haile Selassie (1891-1970s), Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to
1974. My dictionary says that HS is his title, and that his name was
Ras Taffari Makonnen.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Wind Research Branch. VOICE: 303-231-7667
Solar Energy Research Institute 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401-3393
walter van der laan
Ethiopia is the promised land (zion) and Jah will send an ark (the
black starliner) to take all rastas back to Africa.
Jah gave his children the herb to ease the pain of waiting
for the black ark. Nothing will be left of the bald-heads in
babylon after Jah has finished the repatriation to Ethiopia.
A bald-head is someone who has haircuts, a rasta will never go
to the barber saloon.
These lines are compiled out of song lyrics. The sad thing
about it all is that Haile Selassie was a dictator who killed
hundreds of thousands Ethiopians.
Walter van der Laan
W.A.Dudley Gaman
Alpha Blondie
Adoias
Any others?
And how about Texas? Try:
The Killer Bees
Reggae is world beat.
dud
.