Favorite Roots Reggae LPs

meistromoco

Here is my top 3

Third World - 96 Degrees in the Shade
A new favorite of mine. So so good.

Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man

Amazing songwriting - I love it

Dennis Brown - Wolf and Leopards

Rootsy heat.What's yours??

piedpiper

the Congos - Heart of the Congos

Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
(saw him perform this stuff live a few years ago and dude was still )

Fatback

Blackheart Man is up there for me.

Two Sevens Clash
African Herbsman


many more. I'm off to lunch...

coffinjoe

Heptones "On Top"

Don Carlos "Raving Tonight"

Congos "Heart Of"

off the top of de head

Bunny BHM & Spear MG are right up there too

& most of the late 70's Prince Tony production stuff !!!!!!!!

hogginthefogg

CoffinJoe is speaking; let us all listen.



This one's obvious, but Black Uhuru "Black Sounds of Freedom" (originally released as "Love Crisis") is unbelievably heavy. And Greensleeves just reissued a remastered version of it with bonus DJ tracks by U-Black.

TheGooch

 - Forever lovin Jah kills it for me every time

Jonny_Paycheck

Burning Spear - Rocking Time
Freddie McGregor - Bobby Bobylon
Johnny Clarke - Truths And Rights
Abyssinians - Satta
Max Romeo - War Ina Babylon


I just had an Earl Cunningham on Vista that was incredible

If we open it up to Rocksteady,

John Holt Like A Bolt
Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming

come to mind...

Jonny_Paycheck

Oh shit -

Tetrack - Let's Get It Started
Wailing Souls S/T on Studio 1

picoandsepulveda

If we open it up to Rocksteady,

Anything by:

Delroy Wilson
Phyllis Dillon
Nora Dean
Little Roy
The Valentines
The Uniques
Keith and Tex
Tommy Mccook and the Supersonics
Dawn Penn
Oliver St. Patrick
The Soulettes
Stranger Cole
Patsy Todd
etc...

Jonny_Paycheck

I wouldn't really call Little Roy rocksteady, but I would definitely rate Tribal War among top roots albums.

PATX

If we open it up to Rocksteady,

Anything by:

Delroy Wilson
Phyllis Dillon
Nora Dean
Little Roy
The Valentines
The Uniques
Keith and Tex
Tommy Mccook and the Supersonics
Dawn Penn
Oliver St. Patrick
The Soulettes
Stranger Cole
Patsy Todd
etc...

This needs a separate thread. But HOW GOOD IS THIS LP?!!!!

Jonny_Paycheck

Little Roy released some singles in the late 60s with Studio 1 when he first started recording, by far his biggest/most influential/highest rated work is in the 70s and early 80s... calling him a rocksteady artist, that is a bit "missing the forest for the trees".

Good tune though.

picoandsepulveda

Knowledgeable Dude.... i like that. i gotta over to that shop one of these days.

Jonny_Paycheck

Ha! I wasn't trying to derail the thread just saying.

Heart Of The Congos is another killer.

Everyone sleeps on their second record - Congo Ashanti, I guess 'cause they handled production themselves (as opposed to Perry). But that one is real good too.

"Hey Youthman" and "Days Chasing Days" are heavy.

batmon

BLACK UHURU - THE DUB ALBUM....I forgot the name.

80's...Alplha Blondy - Jerusalem....Wailers backing band.

williedynamite

Mighty Diamonds "Right Time" surprised it wasn't one of the first names dropped.

cpeetz

1. Sugar Minott- Showcase Killer Studio 1 lp with version of Keith and Tex's "Tonight"
2. Junior Murvin-Police and Thieves Lee Perry CLASSIC! Can't believe this one hadn't show up yet.
3. Hugh Mundell-Africa Must Be Free by 1983 SCORCHER!
4. Congoes-Congo Ashanty DEEP BUSINESS!
5. The Gladiators-Proverbial Reggae
6. Culture-Lion Rock HARMONIES GALORE!

Let's get some more people, go deep mang, I love Bob Marley but...

sneakyp

i apologize because i only skimmed the thread, but since i didn't see it, this thread can't be taken seriously without



also



of course heart of the congos
and the sugar minott "showcase" lp already mentioned is definitely in there too. "i need a roof" in particular.

i'll try to dig a little deeper though....

sneakyp

ok, this is a compilation but this is the first album that really carried me through the bob marley, burning spear, and lee perry rut i was stuck in as a beginner to roots music. i spent about 2 or 3 years thinking that i had really found the best of what reggae had to offer (not that there's anything wrong with those choices), but this was the breakthrough. yes it's a compilation, but it is still one of my favorite LPs period. can't find an image, but it was put out on attack records titled "sufferer's choice" circa mid 90s? probably long out of print, but if you ever see it, grab it.

spivy

Barry Brown- step it up youthman...



  

Duderonomy

Upsetters "Super Ape" (I guess this is more dub than roots)

Tuff_Gong

My own personal faves, some of which have already been mentioned:



Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus (my favorite album, period, regardless of genre)


Max Romeo - War Ina Babylon


Peter Tosh - Legalize It


The Congos - Heart Of The Congos


Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile


John Holt - 2000 Volts Of Holt

leisurebandit

roisto

kala

congos -heart of

that blood and fire reish of My main man Sylford Walker w/welton ire

scientist- rids the world of the curse of the evil reptillian greeen ass cold blooded republican repitiles

er emmm ummmm I mean vampire lesbos

G Issacs-Slum in Dub
Larks from the ark-90s comp cd only?
Dance Hall Style-Horace
Augustus Pablo meets rockers Uptown/java java

puchito

Uh, speaking of reggae. Is it just me or has Sly & Robbie played on just every reggae album recorded. Maybe it's just my preference for reggae but GODDAMN!

family_brick

Not strictly a roots LP, but since the love of the mighty 'Heart of the Congos' is strong I wonder if many have the jaw-droppingly amazing George Faith LP 'To Be a Lover'.

It was recorded in parallel sessions with and with virtually the same band as the Congos classic.

Essential.

roisto

Johnny Osbourne: Fally Lover LP

JayGee

Fally Lover is more of a dancehall/rockers album ain't it?

Surprised no one has mentioned:

Johnny Osbourne "Thruth & Rights" Studio1
Hugh Mundell "Mundell" Greensleeves
(This on is also on an early dancehall tip but the themes are mostly roots)

iron_monkey

INDISPENSABLE....

cheebahaze

Dance Hall Style-Horace

Sugar Minott- Ghetto-ology... The People Got To Know is

  

The Heptones- Party Time... Killer Scratch production...