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great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:34 am
by panda
i'm aware of popular bands that continued to release good music in the early 80's, like twinkle brothers and the gladiators, but i'm looking for lesser known releases, especially by bands that formed in these years, like Singers & Players (even if they aren't completely roots)
i've always thought that roots reggae really took a dive after 1979 but i want to be proven wrong.
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:58 am
by informer
no, panda, you're right.
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:00 pm
by mick d
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:27 pm
by Dubs_West
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Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:41 pm
by Visitor
Theres none.
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:56 pm
by Zionist
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:05 pm
by Dubs_West
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Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:24 pm
by Selector J
'85 is where roots bands actually start to disappear thanks to Jammy's all digital Sleng Teng riddim, although the overall quality certainly lessened around '84, for some reason. (So maybe the digital era actually saved reggae in a weird way...) Regardless, the popular vocal style began changing in the early 80s but the core elements were still there.
Also, do you mean singers, singing groups, or bands? As far as bands go obviously the Roots Radics and the High Times Band are on par with anything from the 70s. They back almost everything coming out of Channel One in the early 80s and the number of classics are countless.
And don't forget about the Bullwackie All Stars/ Wackie's Rhythm Force. Wackie's studio was putting out some of the best reggae ever made (ever!) during the early 80s. There are others good backing bands, too, but these are excellent starting points.
There were lots of singers/singjays and singing groups that started in the 80s that were brilliant. Try scanning through some of the aforementioned backing bands using the RA search for loads of 80s classics.
Here are just a few of my favorites:
Natural Vibes- Life Hard A Yard: A sensational but overlooked group with an album backed by the Roots Radics from '82. Many good cuts on this one.
Cultural Roots - Hell A Go Pop: Roots Radics backed, from '84, and killer. (The album cover is tuff, too.) They started in the late 70s but I always think of them as an 80s band.
Jezzreel- Great Jah Jah Showcase: Drippy extended mix Wackie's goodness.
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:50 pm
by I
Hey! Didn't Ring the alarm come out in 85? loads to go on from there...
Re: great roots albums from 80-85?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:37 pm
by mad dawg
Dubs West, some of the tunes on the wicked roots album can be found in 7' like Ghana from Ras Nyto. It seems to me that's a production from Martin Campbell Channel One.