I am keen to expand my musical range and Reggae is one genre I know little about. Can anyone recommend a good starting point?
Try some of the various Trojan music collections, then venture out from there. Amazon Search We have the UK Hits and Punky Reggae Music, both of which are great sets. My family started its reggae collection with the soundtrack from 'The Harder They Come.'
yes. 1st. seriously go visit my blog (link below). I feature reggae songs every friday. There is a post about Matisyahu...he's incredible - mixes roots reggae with hip-hop. 2nd. general recommended albums: Peter Tosh - Wanted Dread and Alive the Itals - Brutal Out Deh Toots and the Maytals - Live at Reggae Sunsplash Burning Spear - Live In Paris Gregory Isaacs - Cool Ruler; Sly and Robbie present... Steele Pulse - Anthology; Earth Crisis Third World - 96degrees in the Shade Bob Marley - pick 'em except for legend....don't start there. Eek-a-Mouse - Greatest Hits I'll think of some more for you.
Any Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer or Bob Marley, but as an introduction to reggae i'd say you should listen to Burnin' by the Wailers. It contains all three of the above mentioned artists, even though it's Bob Marley who gets most of the credit, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer are in every way equally as talented and without both of them Bob Marley wouldnt have become what he is now. Also any Bob Marley album is a masterpiece however I feel Natty Dread and Survival are abit weaker then his other records but still masterpieces in their own right, so get those two records last. But Bob Marley is like the Beatles, his best album is whichever one is playing. Well apart from the Wailers, the only other artist I know is Toots and the Maytals, get the Funky Kingston cd, its probably the best roots reggae album ever
good call on FK. not my choice for best roots album ever but still a must have. If you don't know Burning Spear you really should give him a listen
For something current, check out Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock. It is insanely good, and I'm very skeptical of the music of the Marley kids because they have a much easier road than other artists.
Add another vote for "Funky Kingston"-- and I was going to echo the "not my choice," until I considered the question and realized it probably is... I also endorse the "don't start Marley with 'Legend,'" but I'd go ahead and say "do start Marley with 'Natty Dread.'" Also Peter Tosh "Equal Rights," and Black Uhuru "Brutal" and "Brutal Dub."
You must get some Jimmy Cliff - the Messenger is a good album. I would also recommend some ska, for example, Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, Lord Tanamo and so on. You could try some dancehall too, but it's a bit slack for my taste.
as long as we are talking Black Uhuru, Don Carlos 'Just a Passing Glance' is a very good album (he's the lead singer)
The Real Authentic Samplers are all really good. There are three of them and all are good compilations. Of course, Marley is the king, but other great artists include Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, Yellowman, Half Pint, Black Uhuru, Gregory Isaacs, Sky and Robbie, Toots and the Maytalls, Shaggy (yes, Shaggy) and I've really become a fan of Matisyahu. His Live At Stubb's cd is one of the best reggae albums I ever heard. He's a white Hasidic Jew who never lived in Jamaica, but he knows reggae.
Check out the Trojan, Soul Jazz, and Blood & Fire lables, chocked full of roots goodness. Shanachie & Heartbeat have lots of good stuff but you have to be a bit more choosey. Recommending albums is a bit funny as reggae, certianly in the early years, was all about the single. Once Marley started to hit and as things moved into the later part of the 70s the album started to come to fore in JA. That said there are some killer discs out there. The following albums are essential: "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptowns" - Augustus Pablo(dub) "Duke Reid Treasure Chest" - various (rocksteady) "Legalize It" - Peter Tosh (reggae) "Equal Rights" - Peter Tosh (reggae) "Ska Down Jamaica Way" - Various (ska) "Funky Kingston" - Toots & the Maytals (reggae) "Marcus Garvey/Garvey's Ghost" - Burning Spear (reggae/dub) "Black Man Land" - Prince Far I (dj/dub) "Jesus Dred" - Yabby You (dub) "Roots" - various (roots/reggae) This is the Soul Jazz "Roots" comp "Night Food" - the Heptones (reggae) "Arkology" - Lee "Scratch" Perry (assorted) great overview of many styles from one master "Heart of the Congos" - the Congos (reggae/dub) "Produced and Directed by the Upsetter" - Lee "Scratch" Perry (reggae/dub) "Catch a Fire" - Bob Marley & the Wailers (reggae) "Live" - Bob Marley & the Wailers (reggae) "Tribute to Tommy" - the Skatalites (ska) That should get you started. Check out the following films: "The Harder They Come" (soundtrack a must as mentioned above) "Rockers" (soundtrack a must) "Roots, Rock, Reggae" There's also "Countryman" which is not very good, and "Sunshine Orange" which I've never seen. "Stepping Razor Red X" is ok (and I'm a huge Tosh fan)
Actually, Matisyahu isn't that great, the band sounds way too much like sublime which isn't bad, just very unoriginal. Matisyahu himself has a voice that is kind of close to Bob Marley only without the phrasing and vocal afflictions that Bobbo has. I liked his song King Without a Crown when I heard it the first time, but his other songs have really bad lyrics, some of them are almost like a Rabbi telling little Jewish kids about stories of the torah. If it wasn't for the fact that he's white, hassidic and from Brooklyn, few would know about him outside of Jamaica. The reggae band which I rank just below The Wailers and Maytals is Israeli Vibration. They're like Dub reggae but still good. Ska ska Ska. Jamaican Ska Also for the rock fan getting into reggae, theres a reggae cover of Darkside of The Moon done by Easy Dub label's studio musicians, The Easy Dub Allstars. It's called Dubside of the Moon and synchronizes wiht wizard of Oz just like the original.
Get up, Edina Get up, Edina, girl, let me tell you now Get up, Edina Get up, Edina, girl I'm gonna send you to school, you gon' learn I'm gonna send you to church, you gon' hear
well...agree to disagree. 'Strength of My Life' is an incredible song...of course the classic 'Red Eyes'...nuff fire!
I just want to second this post. Excellent list. I could add a few, but if you're just getting started, half of those alone would get you going. One thing I'll add: Much like jazz, my reggae knowledge does not extend much into the modern era. But the other night I heard this tune on KALX Berkeley: "Ganja Farmer" by Marlon Asher. It's very synth'd out, complete with that Cher vocoder treatment on the vocals -- but I found myself really liking it and it stuck with me for a while. So that's a rarity. Note: Hey, you can actually hear that song on the homepage of his website: www.marlonasher.com
add Culture and Dennis Brown and i think this thread has covered most of the better stuff. I would especially reccommend the Heptones (fantastic three part harmony rocksteady) and the (latest?) Toots cd "True Love" which is a collaboration b/w him and various 'name' artists (esp. "careless ethiopians" w/ keith richards).
Concrete Jungle, one of my favorite Bob Marley songs. Anyone ever heard the alternate version of One Love (starts with the words "People of the world ...." ). It's very different from the original version and much better in my opinion. I've heard it many years ago and been searching for it since.
Was it more upbeat? Might you be talking about the ska version? If so, I have it on a best of Bob Marley & the Wailers CD. MeridianFC's list is most excellent. Current ska bands also do some reggae songs. Check out Hepcat, the Slackers and Ocean 11. EDIT: I forgot about a kick ass band I've discovered last year. The Aggrolites play "dirty reggae" but it pretty much sounds like classic reggae. Website. Check out the "Pop the Trunk" video for a full sample song.
If it is on a 'Best Of' CD I doubt it's the one I'm looking for. I have combed most the albums for that version. It would be great if you could send me the first 25 seconds of the song, just in case. There's also a possibility it was done by a tribute band.