Roots Archives Forum

Barrington Spence - contemplating mind
the invaders - heaven & earth
Alton & Hortence Ellis - easy squeeze
Slim Smith & Paulette - let it be (me)
Delroy Wilson - Rain from the skies
Merlyn Webber - why life is so hard ?
Lloyd & Glen - you got me going
Barry York - who will she be ?

donstrumental wrote:Every Tounge shall tell- Horace Andy

Or Any studio one by Horace Andy
Cuss Cuss,Skylarking etc

True, Horace Andy on Studio 1 is serious music - it's not rocksteady though..

Some posters here are not also just breaking away from Rock Steady into Reggae but are also picking songs that are not in a minor key! Stay the course Idrens! LOL!

I love minor chord Rock Steady ( the predecessor of 70s Roots music). Great influence on artists like Augustus pablo.

After 68 is Reggae (shuffling organ and hihat, different feel) and minor chords were more common.

Some of the best Rock Steady tunes already mentioned, some more:
Johnny & The Atractions - Lets Get Together
Desmond Dekker - Foo Manchu
The Rulers - Let My People Go
Phil Pratt (with Lynn Taitt)Reach Out
Jackie Mittoo - Drum Song
Hemsley Morris - Little things
Termites - I Made Mistake ( yeah I know it starts on C major but everything else are minor!)
Stephen Chang - Always Together (in chinese!)
Junior Soul - Out Of My Mind
and many more I can't remember now

Inyaki, the Stephen Change tune is wicked! Besides the organ starting to shuffle and the hi hat patterns changing, let's not forget about the guitar starting to do the double skank!

...and another Keith & Tex (that intro just kills it!):

"Hypnotic Eyes"

speaking of minor chords,
can anyone recommend roots or even better dubplates that only use minor chords, yet only sticks with either one or two chords in total?
i hear such tunes all the time in my collection but never have written them down or even bothered to remember who/what song.
modal approach with minor chords is a great combo, like in certain jazz numbers, that can often invoke a great feeling inside.

Super Ape,I would think the majority of roots tunes were in Minor Keys as the minor is what makes the tune sound rootsy in the first place.

I think an easier question would be to name some roots in major keys.

Sure someone will disagree with me!

Modal approach in reggae music! WHATS THAT! maybe a thread for off topic.

Bless

yeah don, i guess you are right. i hear more minor keys in roots than not sometimes...

regarding the modal approach, i am thinking tunes where perhaps the chords are set, using only 2 keys, let's say...and just working around that, essentially all other instruments are "improvised." which in a sense, is what makes dub. no?
imagine if miles davis was working with creating dub plates from his music in the mid to late 60s?
bill laswell remixed some miles and one tune was called agartha, which bill turned into a dub and called it agartha dub. pretty cool.

ok, musical theory is not my game but i like to dabble in it.
i would agree, perhaps it is another thread topic!

donstrumental wrote:Super Ape,I would think the majority of roots tunes were in Minor Keys as the minor is what makes the tune sound rootsy in the first place.

I think an easier question would be to name some roots in major keys.

Sure someone will disagree with me!

Modal approach in reggae music! WHATS THAT! maybe a thread for off topic.

Bless

Totally agreed.

Roots music tends to be dominated by minor keys cause it sounds more mystical, spiritual, serious, conscious,
and, well, rootsy!
Of course not always, Culture for example use mostly major chords. And loads more.