Red (Black Uhuru album)

Red
Studio album by Black Uhuru
Released	May 1981
Studio	Channel One, Kingston, Jamaica; Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre	Reggae
Length	39:24
Label	Mango, Island, Warner Bros.
Producer	Sly & Robbie
Black Uhuru chronology
Sinsemilla (1981) Red (1981) Chill Out (1982)

Red is a 1981 album by the Jamaican reggae band Black Uhuru. The line-up of the band changed many times during its 16 years but this is the second release for the line-up of Michael Rose, Sandra "Puma" Jones and Derek "Duckie" Simpson. Sly & Robbie were again in the production seat after having previously worked with the band on the 1980 album Sinsemilla .

The album received critical acclaim.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A− [2]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Red was ranked by NME at No. 3 among the best albums of 1981. ^[5]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Rose's "elaborately ornamented phrasing has more in common with cantorial singing than with typical reggae vocal style." ^[4] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Red at number 466 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". ^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Rose unless stated.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Youth of Eglington"		5:00
2.	"Sponji Reggae"		4:56
3.	"Sistren"	Rose, Derrick "Duckie" Simpson	4:34
4.	"Journey"	Simpson	5:21
5.	"Utterance"		3:42
6.	"Puff She Puff"		5:08
7.	"Rockstone"	Rose, Simpson	4:38
8.	"Carbine"		6:05

Bonus tracks 2003

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Sponji Reggae" (Discomix)		10:32
10.	"Trodding" (Dub version of "Journey")	Simpson	5:18

Personnel

Black Uhuru

• Michael Rose - vocals
• Derrick "Duckie" Simpson - harmony vocals
• Puma Jones - harmony vocals

with:

• Sly Dunbar - Drums, syndrums
• Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare - bass, piano
• Ranchie McLean - rhythm guitar, lead guitar
• Mikey Chung - rhythm guitar, lead guitar
• Radcliff "Dougie" Bryan - lead guitar
• Barry Reynolds - lead guitar on "Carbine"
• Robert Lyn - piano
• Keith Sterling - piano
• Uziah "Sticky" Thompson - percussion

Technical

• Chris Blackwell - executive producer
• Soldgie (Cedrica Anthony Hamilton) - sound engineer
• Lancelot "Maxie" McKenzie - vocal engineer
• Kendal Stubbs - guitar overdubs engineer
• Johnnie Black - photography

References

1. Cook, Stephen. "Black Uhuru: Red" at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s . Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-73015-X . Retrieved August 17, 2020– via robertchristgau.com.
3. "Red". Q . Bauer Media Group. January 1991. ISSN   0955-4955.
4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 63.
5. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME . 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
6. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone . 31 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.