Johnny Clarke - Dreader Dread 1976-1978 (2014)
Artist: Johnny Clarke
Title: Dreader Dread 1976-1978
Year Of Release: 1998; 2014
Label: Gorgon Records
Genre: Roots Reggae
Quality: FLAC lossless
Total Time: 00:56:11
Total Size: 270 MB
WebSite: Album Preview
What a joy to have this singing legend so judiciously and respectfully presented. Clarke may not have received his due back at the time, but thanks to U.K. reissue-compilation label Blood and Fire, he's finally receiving the quality presentation he merits. Along with Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown, Clarke held down the '70s Jamaican scene while Bob Marley was busy taking reggae to the world, and his gutsy yet refined vibrato in the tenor "youthman" style helped set the standard for the music's fabled "roots" vocalists. As a songwriter, Clarke was one of those who defined that exalted, yearning voice so peculiar to reggae with instantly recognizable anthems like "Live Up Jah Man," "Every Knee Shall Bow," and "Love Up Your Brothers and Sisters"--urgent calls for justice and spiritual grace that are the music's specialty. Yet the producers provide a marker of Clarke's glowing talent by leading this set not with an original, but with an interpretation of a classic Peter Tosh rude bwoy anthem, "Top Ranking (I'm The Toughest)," and closing with Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell." That's because both tunes gain from being filtered through the bittersweet soul of this lesser-known artist. --Elena OumanoTitle: Dreader Dread 1976-1978
Year Of Release: 1998; 2014
Label: Gorgon Records
Genre: Roots Reggae
Quality: FLAC lossless
Total Time: 00:56:11
Total Size: 270 MB
WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist:
01. Johnny Clarke - Top Ranking (I'm The Toughest) (03:29)
02. Johnny Clarke - In The Roots Of The Ghetto (03:16)
03. Johnny Clarke - Live Up Jah Man (02:59)
04. Johnny Clarke - Love Up Your Brothers And Sisters (Extended) (04:32)
05. Johnny Clarke - African People (03:13)
06. Johnny Clarke - Dread A Dread (03:08)
07. Johnny Clarke - Fire And Brimstone A Go Burn The Wicked (04:13)
08. Johnny Clarke - African Roots (Extended) (06:12)
09. Johnny Clarke - Roots Natty (03:11)
10. Johnny Clarke - Every Knee Shall Bow (Extended) (07:52)
11. Johnny Clarke - Play Fool Fe Get Wse (Extended) (07:13)
12. Johnny Clarke - Age Is Growing (03:23)
13. Johnny Clarke - Time Will Tell (03:26)