| Roots Revival | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 June 1999 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 49:44 | |||
| Label | Ark 21 Records | |||
| Producer | Aswad | |||
| Aswad chronology | ||||
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Roots Revival is a studio album by British reggae band Aswad, released in 1999 through Ark 21 Records. The album was bestowed with a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Reggae Album. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
Rick Anderson of Allmusic praised the album saying "Roots Revival is an apt title for this album...On this one the group returns to its roots with a vengeance." [3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Best Times of Our Lives" | 4:10 |
| 2. | "Freedom Street" | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Caution" | 3:13 |
| 4. | "Boom Boom Carnival" | 3:14 |
| 5. | "Follow '99" | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Take It Easy" | 4:55 |
| 7. | "Roots Revival" | 4:24 |
| 8. | "Breakout" | 3:51 |
| 9. | "Peace Truce" | 3:49 |
| 10. | "My Love" | 3:10 |
| 11. | "Thank You Lord" | 3:46 |
| 12. | "Invisible Sun" | 4:09 |
| 13. | "The Best Times of Our Lives" | 3:46 |
| Total length: | 49:44 | |
Winston Rodney OD, better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.
Lee "Scratch" Perry was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Turn Around" (1988) and "Shine" (1994). "Aswad" is Arabic for "black". They are three-time Grammy Award nominees.
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds, Basil Gabbidon, and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley. Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Collectively the band has won one Grammy award with nine nominations.
The Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica which formed as the duo "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) and Cedric Myton (falsetto), later becoming a trio with the addition of Watty Burnett (baritone), and have been active on and off from the mid-1970s until the present day. They are best known for their Heart of the Congos album, recorded with Lee "Scratch" Perry.
The Roots Radics Band is a Jamaican reggae group, formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. The nucleus of Holt and Lamont had previously worked together in the group The Morwells and in the backing band for Prince Far I called The Arabs. They were joined by many musicians, including guitarist Noel "Sowell" Bailey, Dwight Pinkney and Steve Golding, keyboard player Wycliffe "Steelie" Johnson, Pianist Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson and saxophonist Headley Bennett. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s. In addition to their own catalogue, they have worked with artists such as Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs, Michael Prophet, Eek-A-Mouse, and Israel Vibration.
SOJA is an American reggae band based in Arlington, Virginia. Formed in 1997, their music is currently produced under ATO Records. The eight-member band has released a number of singles, albums, and DVDs, including SOJA – Live in Hawaii. Their third full-length album Born in Babylon peaked at number 11 on the Top Heatseekers chart, while their 2012 album Strength to Survive topped the Billboard Reggae Album Chart. The band continues to tour and record new music.
Michael George Campbell, better known as Mikey Dread, was a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music.
Henry James, better known as Peter Broggs, was a Jamaican roots reggae vocalist and songwriter.
The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland. Their two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up (1976) and Proverbial Reggae (1978) with songs such as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks the Time is Now". "Mix Up", "Music Makers from Jamaica", and "Soul Rebel" – a song written by The Wailers. Gladiators also cooperated with the toaster U-Roy.
Groundation is an American roots reggae band with jazz and dub influences, from Sonoma County in Northern California. It is named for Rastafarian ceremony of Grounation.
Rage and Fury is an album by the reggae band Steel Pulse, released in 1997. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category of "Best Reggae Album". As well Rage and Fury peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart.
Angus Gaye, better known as Drummie Zeb, was an English musician. He was the drummer and vocalist for the reggae band Aswad, as well as a record producer for other artists.
Nyah Man Chant is the debut album from Jamaican roots reggae singer Bushman. It was released in 1997 by Greensleeves Records in the United Kingdom and by VP Records in the United States. Bushman had hitch-hiked seventy miles to Kingston in the hope of furthering his career. After meeting renowned production team Steely & Clevie in the car park of the Arrows dub-cutting studio, where they were playing football, he auditioned on the spot and was invited to their studio. Prior to the album, Bushman recorded a string of singles for the duo, including "Grow Your Natty", "Call the Hearse", "Remember the Days", "Black Star Liner", and "Man a Lion", all of which were included on the album. The whole album was produced by Steely & Clevie, and employed a real horn section in contrast to many reggae albums of the time, and met with a positive critical reaction. The album recreated the sound of 1970s and 1980s reggae, and included musicians such as Earl "Chinna" Smith, Dean Fraser, and Vin Gordon. The album was described in the Rough Guides book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs as "a coherent, excellently crafted set" and "as good an example of modern roots singing as you could hope to find". Allmusic called the album "a classic".
Alpha And Omega are a roots dub duo that mix both analogue and digital elements, comprising bassist Christine Woodbridge and keyboard player John Sprosen, both of whom had played in reggae bands previously, Sprosen also having worked with the Roaring Lion Sound System. They began working together in the mid-1980s, splitting their time between their home towns of London and Plymouth, and issued their debut home-recorded cassette in 1988. They were picked up by Greensleeves Records, who acted as a parent company to the duo's A&O label, and also worked with Jah Shaka, for whom they supplied rhythm tracks. Although they are strongly influenced by artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby and Augustus Pablo, they have developed a sound that has been described as "uniquely British". In a review of their Mystical Things album, Rick Anderson, writing for Allmusic, wrote: "This prolific London-based duo is responsible for some of the most convincing old-school reggae to come from the first world."
Reggae Greats: Lee "Scratch" Perry is a 1984 Island Records compilation album featuring the work of Lee "Scratch" Perry. It focuses mainly on his work as a producer/composer rather than a singer. Perry only sings on three of the songs. All of the tracks are from the period between 1976 and 1979, and were recorded at Perry's Black Ark studio. The album is generally considered a good introduction to Perry's Black Ark work, and is often chosen as the best single album by Perry, but with tracks drawn from Perry's popular late 1970s albums, it has also been described as "not essential" and containing "no surprises".
Jesse David Royal is a Jamaican reggae musician.
Rise and Shine is a studio album by British reggae band Aswad, released in 1994 through Bubblin' Records. The album peaked at number 38 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 69 on the Dutch Album Top 100.
A New Chapter of Dub is an album by English reggae band Aswad, released by Island Records in April 1982. The record is a dub version of Aswad's previous album New Chapter (1981), and was produced by the group with Michael "Reuben" Campbell. Having felt New Chapter under-performed commercially because it was too intricate for mainstream reggae audiences, the group conceived the dub remix album as a way of appealing to core reggae audiences. The record emphasises dub techniques like delay, echo and drop-out and was among the first British dub albums to use tape and digitally-manipulated echo on a horn section. Although not a commercial success, A New Chapter of Dub received critical acclaim and has since been cited by some writers as one of the greatest dub albums of all time.
Big Up is a studio album by British reggae band Aswad, released in 1997 through Gut Records. The album was bestowed with a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Reggae Album.