It looks like summer has finally decided to kick it into high gear! Hot summer days, warm nights, soft breezes, hopefully cold drinks with friends and good times too! To get you in the mood, maybe it’s time to explore a little reggae!
As you may know from my last post, I’ve been cleaning and digitally recording my record collection. Digging through my reggae section, I realized I had no proper digital rips of my Bob Marley or Black Uhuru! This listening experience, aside from putting me in an extremely mellow good mood, also put me in the mood for more reggae, so once I was done ripping, I dusted off some of my favourite records and had myself a little reggae party. Which naturally inspired me to share some of my favourite tracks with you!
There are lots of different styles of reggae floating around, rocksteady, lover’s rock, dancehall, but when the average non-hardcore reggae fan thinks of reggae, the style that comes to mind is roots reggae. This is the laid-back style popularized by the one and only Bob Marley, and it’s my favourite kind, the one I always come back to.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should be a good primer for this gorgeous, smooth style. I’ve tried to avoid the really obvious choices that everyone already knows (Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”… a CLASSIC… no introduction needed!) but a few well-known tracks snuck in anyway, because sometimes a classic earns its place. There are also a few you might consider a bit “commercial”, but this wasn’t an exercise in exclusivity, it was an excuse to make a feel-good playlist. I hope you enjoy it!
“Longshot Kicked the Bucket”, The Pioneers. Horse racing has a long history in Jamaica, and Longshot was a horse many people believed was poised to win, until he fell and died on the track during the final straight. Despite that tragedy, the song has a wonderful feel-good vibe and has immortalized poor Longshot forever. A great opener.
“Stressless Tune”, Ras MacBean. The lyrics are essentially a loving tour through Bob Marley’s greatest hits. Anyone familiar with Marley’s work will be smiling within the first verse. Wonderful!
“Welding”, I-Roy.
“Sponji Reggae”, Black Uhuru.
“Sweat (A La La La La Long)”, Inner Circle.
“A Who A Say”, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.
“Whip them Jah Jah”, Dennis Brown.
“Israelites”, Desmond Dekker and the Aces.
“Worries in the Dance”, Frankie Paul.
“Empire Road”, Matumbi.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, Mykal Rose.
“You Can Get It If You Really Want”, Jimmy Cliff.
“Fattie Fattie”, Clancy Eccles.
“Inchpinchers”, Wailing Souls.
“Pressure Drop”, Toots and the Maytals.
“Hang on Natty”, Barrington Levy.
“Ganja Smuggling”, Eek-a-mouse.
“Baby, I Love Your Way”, Big Mountain.
“Wild World”, Maxi Priest.
“Good Thing Going”, Sugar Minott.
“Band of Gold”, Marcia Griffiths.
“Mr. Bojangles”, John Holt.
“Ireation”, Misty in Roots.
I won’t walk you through every track, but do yourself a favour and check them out. This list started as just 10 songs I wanted to throw into a playlist, but I kept thinking of other tracks that just had to get added… oh well! Hopefully it’ll inspire some dancing at your place!
#MusicBoxTW
