SHOK WAVE is your weekly new REGGAE music blog. SHOK WAVE finds music that is out there in the form of Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Ska, Dub, Reggae Rock & anything else musical with a Caribbean origin and in any language.
Here is what we found this week.......Enjoy!
REGGAE
The Maytals "From The Roots"
This album has that classic Reggae/Rocksteady sound that's almost ska (1970). For many of us living in the US in the 1970's we first heard of The Maytals from the movie "The Harder They Come." They were the only ones to have more than one song on the soundtrack to the movie besides it's star Jimmy Cliff. Those songs were 'Sweet And Dandy" and "Pressure Drop." For many, this also was their first introduction to reggae. Their sound was deeper than reggae. Their sound was rocksteady, ska and even gospel. It is such a SOUND. That same sound is what makes "From The Roots" so special. This album was their fourth and their first from Trojan after they signed with Island Records. It was produced by Leslie Kong the same person who produced their songs on "The Harder They Come." This was more of a compilation of songs from Kong and also why it maintained that sound. Every song has that sound as some songs had several versions too. All the songs are good. My favorites are listed in order of appearance on the album:
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Pee Pee Cluck Cluck, Loving Spirit, Dr Lester (aka African Doctor), Koo Koo, 9 O'Clock and Know Me Good.
Crucial to any reggae collection.
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The Ethiopian "Open The Gate Of Zion"
Now several years (1978) later reggae's sound had become very established as well as the philosophies of rastafari.
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This album had that definitive reggae sound from Leonard Dillion also known as The Ethiopian. This is the official reissue by
Jamaican Arts Records 41 years later. Mastered from the original 2 track tapes and made available again. This is art of the charge of culturally & realistic lyrics of the time. The Ethiopian redid a few songs from earlier in his career on this album, most were completely new and done on new riddim tracks. There is even an a bonus track in 'Rastaman Song' previously only released as a 12"single. The other songs are Wondering, Africa Now, Wicked Is Down On Me, Culture, Corruption and The Gates Of Zion which is a reworking of 'Nuh Follow Babylon.' More classic and deep rooted reggae music
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