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Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:49 pm
by reggae_ragga
I got a question
Barrington Lewellyn - No Sad Songs
Totts & The Maytals - Pressure Drop
Carltone & Shoes - Love Is All
those songs have similar rhythms
is that rocksteady or ska?
and songs like simmer down by wailers or reggae wiggle by gorge, what style would that be? ska?
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:30 pm
by reggae_ragga
I really need to know
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:32 pm
by reggae_ragga
the first 3 come in like it was from "harder they come" era the other 2 I really have no clue must have been 50s or 40s
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:38 pm
by reggae_ragga
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:29 pm
by AnorakTrev
Definitely NOT Rocksteady or Ska ! I would class these as early reggae imo .
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:34 pm
by reggae_ragga
oh, it didn't have a name back then huh? what about blue beat was that reggae or r&b?
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:35 pm
by reggae_ragga
and what exactly makes rocksteady?
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:02 pm
by AnorakTrev
I suppose you could , for want of a better phrase , class early reggae as " skinhead reggae " or fast reggae . A lot of this style of reggae was exported to the UK to cater for the UK dancehalls of `69/`70 where it went down a storm with the youth of the day , before it got sullied by the fascist element who turned the skinhead fashion into a violent movement !!
Rocksteady came about after ska , due to a heatwave and people getting too hot in the dance . A classic Rocksteady album would have to be " Take It Easy " by Hopeton Lewis . Check it out if you can , this is THE definitive Rocksteady sound (tu)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQmENXQcU8E
Bluebeat was mainly Prince Buster recordings that came out on the " Blue Beat " record label , from I guess about `60 on to `69 , starting off with Duke Reid recordings which were , as you say , r&b , shuffle and ska style . Prince Buster is a style of his own , encompassing late ska through rocksteady into an early form of reggae .
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:47 pm
by reggae_ragga
thanks alot for this information.
Re: Rocksteady, Ska
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:14 pm
by davek
reggae_ragga wrote:and what exactly makes rocksteady?
Rocksteady almost always has the lead guitar and bass playing the same line in unison.
Keep in mind that when ska moved to rock-steady, it was a gradual transition, so you have some records that have elements of both. Same with the transition from rocksteady to reggae. It wasn't as if they changed styles overnight.