Reggae

(VA) Putumayo Kids presents Reggae Playground
MP3 CBR 320 | 2006 | 112 MB
World | Reggae | Putumayo Kids | Covers

Reggae Playground presents renowned artists from reggae’s birthplace of Jamaica. Judy Mowatt, a former backing vocalist for Bob Marley and respected solo artist, invites listeners to get moving with her rousing "Let’s Dance." We hear about the importance of respecting our differences and the need to work together in Rita Marley’s classic anthem "Harambe." The Jamaican reggae arrangements of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by the legendary Toots & the Maytals and the Burning Souls’ rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" demonstrate the adaptability of this infectious beat to almost any tune.

Charting Island’s rise from its very origins in to the modern age, War Ina Babylon not only provides a fascinating insight into the changing sound of Jamaican music over the past 40 years, but also brings together some of the greatest ska, rock steady and reggae recordings of all time.

Culled from Johnson's albums for Mango recorded between 1978-1984, this is a distillation of work by the dub poet and the man who has perhaps been England's greatest contributor to reggae. While the great "Reggae Fi Peach" doesn't make it on here, and nor, even more surprisingly, does his excoriating immigrant tale "Inglan Is a Bitch," there are still plenty of gems in the album's 40 minutes, like "Independant Intavenshan" and "Sonny's Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem)," which might still stand as his best-ever track. Working in a sing-speak Jamaican patois, Johnson never pulls his punches, and why should he? He's seen plenty and experienced plenty at the hands of the English. The country might be his home, but that doesn't mean he can't see its myriad faults. The combination of Johnson's words and delivery with Dennis Bovell's production and leadership of the dub band is an almighty one-two punch, always going for the knockout blow, and the very best British reggae has had to offer: political, powerful, and penetrating.