True Democracy | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1982 | |||
Recorded | "Feedback" Studios, Aarhus, Denmark, 1981 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 41:50 | |||
Label | Elektra [1] | |||
Producer | Karl Pitterson | |||
Steel Pulse chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
True Democracy is an album by the reggae band Steel Pulse, released in 1982. [6] [7]
The album peaked at No. 120 on the Billboard 200. [8]
When the band started work on the album, they had no record deal. [9] While on tour in New York in 1981 they met Karl Pitterson, with whom they recorded five demos. [9] While the demos didn't prompt any offers from major labels, a small Danish label offered their studios to record an album. [9]
The album was recorded over 25 days at Feedback Studios in Aarhus, with Pitterson producing. [10] [11]
The album was eventually picked up by Elektra Records. [9]
The Washington Post called True Democracy "a cheerful album, almost buoyant in its musical exhortations to dance even as its lyrics tackle less-than-merry topics." [1]
Style Weekly , in 2018, called it "still ... one of the most danceable political albums ever." [12]
All tracks written by David Hinds, except where noted.
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.
Handsworth Revolution is the debut album by British reggae band Steel Pulse. It is named after the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, the band's home district to which the album was dedicated.
Warlock were a German heavy metal band founded in 1982 in Düsseldorf by members of the underground bands Snakebite and Beast. The band gained popularity and some commercial success in Europe in the mid-1980s, due to the personality and stage presence of lead vocalist Doro Pesch. Warlock supported successful heavy metal bands on tour, such as W.A.S.P., Judas Priest, Dio and Megadeth.
Strangers Almanac is the second studio album by American alternative country band Whiskeytown, released on July 29, 1997, on Geffen and Outpost Records. The album was reissued as a deluxe edition with bonus tracks and an additional disc of previously unreleased material on March 4, 2008.
2×4 is the third album by Guadalcanal Diary. It was released in 1987.
Inner Circle, also known as The Inner Circle Band or The Bad Boys of Reggae, are a Jamaican reggae band formed in Kingston in 1968. The band first backed The Chosen Few in the early 1970s before joining with successful solo artist Jacob Miller and releasing a string of records. This era of the band ended with Miller's death in a car crash in 1980.
Girlfriend is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1991.
Man from Wareika was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records.
Cold Hard Truth is the 56th studio album by American country music singer George Jones. The album was released on June 22, 1999, on the Asylum label.
Treasures is the thirty-fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 24, 1996, by Rising Tide Records and Blue Eye Records. The Steve Buckingham-produced album is made up of covers of rock and country hits from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spawned three singles: "Just When I Needed You Most", which peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart; a dance remix of "Peace Train", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Dance Music chart; and a dance remix of "Walking on Sunshine". The album's release was accompanied by a CBS television special, Dolly Parton: Treasures.
Caught You is the third album by the reggae band Steel Pulse, released in 1980. It was released in the United States as Reggae Fever. Caught You was the band's final album for Island Records.
Altered Beast is the fourth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1993.
Karl Pitterson is a Jamaican record producer and sound engineer.
"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the punk rock band Gen X, first commercially released in the United Kingdom in October 1980, where it reached number 62 on the UK Singles Chart. It was remixed and re-released by the band's singer/frontman Billy Idol as a solo artist in the United States in 1981, where the song reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Nouvelle Vague covered the number in 2006 and released it on their album, Bande à Part.
Eyes That See in the Dark is the fifiteenth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released by RCA Nashville in August 1983.
Satta Massagana is a roots reggae album released by The Abyssinians officially in 1976. It is widely considered The Abyssinians' crowning achievement and a classic roots reggae album.
"Behind the Mask" is a 1979 song by the Japanese synth-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra. The band member Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote the first version of for a television commercial. This was expanded with the band and the British lyricist Chris Mosdell for inclusion on the Yellow Magic Orchestra album Solid State Survivor the following year. In the US and the UK, it was released as a single from the album X∞Multiplies in 1980.
"Bounce Back" is a song written by Michael Jay and Gregory Smith and originally recorded in 1987 as a demo by American pop singer-songwriter Martika. In 1988, the first version to be released was recorded by the Los Angeles-based duo Fire on Blonde. In 1990, the most commercially successful recording of the song was recorded by American freestyle and dance-pop singer Alisha for her same-titled album Bounce Back.
Midnight Raver was a website dedicated solely to the promotion and preservation of roots reggae, culture and dub. Contributors include authors and journalists, historians, record producers, broadcasters, lecturers, archivists, collectors and publishers.
Lionize is an American rock band based in Montgomery County, Maryland. The sound of the band is rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, but they frequently experiment with varying sounds, such as reggae, dub music, go-go, and funk. The band line-up consists of Chris Brooks, Nathan Bergman, and Henry Upton.