Roots Archives Forum

In your opinion, from what year did the best sounds of reggae come up? I believe it was from 1978 to 1983, like Motown in the 60's those times will never ever exist again but if for a moment YOU could be King Tubby, Scientist, Prince Jammy , etc, what changes would you make to music, create a new style? more duos?extended dubs/mixes?

hail mexikojah. in my humble opinion the best era was 1976 to 1978. most of my favourite records were made then: heart of the congos- the congos, black starliner- fred locks, trenchtown mix up- gladiators, blackheart man- bunny wailer, boat to zion- the maytones, haile i hymn- ijahman, two 7s clash- culture, to name a few. but i have to admit i am a lover of rocksteady too, and i love all reggae except 90's to modern dancehall/ragga.

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ital kemar

My favorite period is from 1969 to 1989 But to be a bit more specific I'd probably say the classic rub-a-dub dance hall era of '79 to '84. I've must admit that lately I've been listening more to the rockers rhythms of the 70's.

Interesting... Ive always thought that most "roots" lovers would prefer 77-80... Rockers Time!

My favourite period is... one year 1976!! Ive never look for stuff by year but have realised that about half of my best stuff was recorded in this year...

If I could have added something... I would have start to press discomixes earlier and mix tuff dubs earlier... No discomixes in 1976... and no real deep work on dubs...

I love the *One Drop* and its like if the people hadnt realised at this time, how important was the drum... It was generally mixed at the back until some geniuses exploited it on mixing board for the dubs of the early dancehall cuts... But too late, imo!

Guidance

1976-1980 definatley my fav era also some early 80's

hi
i believe and iam adamant;i say it emphatically 1976 remains the vintage year for reggae music:think about all the records that came out that year are landmark records to be reckoned with:blackheart man,legalize it,trenchtown mix up,war ina babylon,natty rebel,aswad,man from wareika,reggae got soul,man in the hills etc and the list is not exhaustive.
maybe it's due o the socio-political atmosphere which provided fertile ground nd inspiration for the artists to pen lyrics that rose the awareness of the masses
fadel

Mid to Late 70's for the win!

I also love the modern roots and culture that came out in the mid 90's- all that wicked Xterminator stuff was a breath of fresh air after the reign of gun tunes.

early roots & 85 digital

The '59 to '73 era

All era's without objection.

Lion