Rockers (soundtrack)

Last updated
Rockers
Rockers film soundtrack albumcover.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released1979
RecordedVarious
Genre Reggae
Label
Compiler Chris Blackwell

Rockers is the soundtrack to the 1978 film of the same name. It was released in 1979 by Mango Records and includes some of the songs heard in the film by Jamaican reggae musicians such as Junior Murvin, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Jacob Miller. [1] [2]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
Robert Christgau B+ [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
MusicHound Soundtracks Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Martin C. Strong 9/10 [7]

Martin C. Strong called the album "one of the best samplers of 70s reggae on the market, with an iconoclastic, end-of-an era feel". [7] MusicHound Soundtracks opined that it is "a fine collection of artists and tunes," with "many of the giants of contemporary reggae," as well as "some lesser-known talents". [2] Robert Christgau wrote: "First side's a smart reggae compilation, [...] side two's just honorable soundtrack". [3] AllMusic claimed that "the soundtrack remains one of the most diverse yet coherent albums of the roots age". [1] In 2024, Rolling Stone magazine named Rockers the 52nd greatest soundtrack of all time. [8]

Track listing

Side One

  1. "We 'A' Rockers" (Ian Lewis, Bernard Harvey) – Inner Circle
  2. "Money Worries" (Wilson) – The Maytones
  3. "Police and Thieves" (Junior Murvin, Lee Perry) – Junior Murvin
  4. "Book of Rules" (Barry Llewellyn, Harry Johnson) – The Heptones
  5. "Stepping Razor" (Joe Higgs) – Peter Tosh
  6. "Tenement Yard" (Jacob Miller, Roger Lewis) – Jacob Miller
  7. "Fade Away" (Earl "Chinna" Smith) – Junior Byles

Side Two

  1. "Rockers" (Neville Livingstone) – Bunny Wailer
  2. "Slave Master" (Gregory Isaacs) – Gregory Isaacs
  3. "Man in the Street" (Coxsone Dodd) – Rockers All Stars
  4. "Graduation in Zion" (Frank Dowding) – Kiddus I
  5. "Jah No Dead" (Winston Rodney) – Burning Spear
  6. "Satta Massagana" (L. Manning, D. Manning, B. Collins) – Third World
  7. "Natty Take Over" (Justin Hinds, Michael Roper) – Justin Hinds & the Dominoes

Note: Some versions replace "Man in the Street" with "Dread Lion" by Lee Perry & the Upsetters.

Personnel

Songs not included in the album

The following songs are heard in the film, but were not included in the released soundtrack album:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Greene, Jo-Ann. "Rockers [Original Soundtrack] Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Deutsch, Didier C., ed. (2000). MusicHound Soundtracks: The Essential Album Guide to Film, Television and Stage Music. Visible Ink Press. p. 499. ISBN   1-57859-101-5.
  3. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1990). "Consumer Guide Album – Rockers". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s . Pantheon Books. p. 350. ISBN   0-679-73015-X – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  5. ↑ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John, eds. (1983). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2nd ed.). Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 625. ISBN   0-394-72107-1.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (17 October 2002). "Rockers: Original Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. No. 907. p. 70. ProQuest   220178333.
  7. 1 2 Strong, M. C.; Griffin, B. (2008). Lights, Camera, Soundtracks. Canongate. p. 306. ISBN   978-1-84767-003-8.
  8. ↑ "The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time". Rolling Stone. 24 September 2024.
  9. ↑ Nishimoto, Dan (11 October 2005). "Rockers (1977)". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.