Rastafarian

This set, with its powerful melodies, brilliant playing (note the superb horns) and all round attitude, is a sparkling reminder of how reggae sounded when it first influenced the world music scene in the Seventies. But it afso bears testimony to the sophisticated consciousness, wisdom and Afrocentric worldview that were the trademarks of the Rasta rebel soul at that time. This music had weight. That 'Roots' and 'Culture' became pilloried cliches at the beginning of the 80s says something about the rot that had set in at the heart of reggae - and just as much about, how times had changed. The idea of Roots - kind of personified by Alex Haley's mid-Seventies book and TV series of the same period - typified the search for an African identity, after centuries of physical and then economic slavery, amongst Jamaican youth.

It's hard to fathom why Cymande didn't follow in the paths of such early-'70s funk-rock hitmakers as War, Santana, and Curtis Mayfield straight up to the top of the charts. But for reasons unknown, the eight-member band wallowed in obscurity during their brief tenure together. This all changed years later, after the group developed a cult following in the '90s after several rap acts began prominently sampling the group, leading to great interest in the group's three studio albums issued during a mere two-year span, from 1973 to 1974.

This is the latest new installment of Soul Jazz Records' on-going collection of Rastafarian music at Studio One, featuring classic material from legendary roots and culture artists The Gladiators, Horace Andy, Freddie McGregor, Sugar Minott and the Wailing Souls, alongside a superb selection of rarities from Sir Coxsone's musical empire made up of one-off and practically unknown Rastafarian artists who recorded on a myriad of Studio One off-shoot labels in the 1970s - The Manchesters, Mellodies, The Nightingales and others.

A company that produces a toxic chemical tries to improve its image via a popular spokesperson, Ricky Coogan. Ricky travels to South America to get a first-hand look at the chemical's effects and finds himself at a mutant freak farm. Elijah, who runs the farm, is only too happy to have new subjects on which to try his freak machine. The very chemical that Ricky is supposed to promote is the one responsible for creating the great variety of freaks.

Following his landmark Natty Dread album in 1974 and his hugely successful concert album Live! the following year, Bob Marley and his band the Wailers continued to produce vibrant, meaningful albums throughout the rest of the '70s, right up until the singer's untimely death in 1981. This Island's 5 Classic Albums box set focuses on the latter half of iconic reggae singer Bob Marley's recording career, featuring his final studio albums: Rastaman Vibration (1976), Exodus (1977), Kaya (1978), Survival (1979), and Uprising (1980).

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.