Excluding The Wailers, who is your favourite Roots Reggae band?

Apologies if this thread is duplicating any existing ones, but wanted to read opinions on favoured reggae bands. The Wailers have been excluded in the thread, only on the basis that many people would choose them, and rightly so. I have always loved The Gladiators and Culture, who are two of my favourite artists on Virgin's Front Line label. As good they are, my vote simply has to be The Abyssinians. Harmony heaven.

 

Perhaps more contemporary than roots but I've always loved Steel Pulse

 

The Congos

 

Handsworth Revolution was my first reggae LP, and remains one of my all time favourites, alongside Tribute To The Martyrs.

 

The Congos . . . even if the Wailers were in the mix

 

Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey is fab and Garvey's Ghost is one of the great Dub albums
Mighty Diamonds - Right Time - beautiful vocals
Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus

 

do these count?

Jimmy Cliff
Third World
Black Uhuru

 

If you want. I guess if you want to get serious about it Jimmy Cliff maybe sits slightly outside and Third World evolved into something else as they went on and became bigger. Roots at its core is spiritual (Rastafari), local (the yard) and painful (poverty, slavery).

 

i jah man

 

Thanks wasn't really sure how the term applied as I have often heard it used as a contrast to the rap style reggae of folks like Yellowman

 

I wanted the thread to focus on bands rather than singers, so the last two certainly do. Love them both!

 

bob marley and the wailers

 

Great taste! Love both, but would argue that Burning Spear is essentially Winston Rodney and not really a band as such.

 

I would pick The Maytals. Amazing groove and harmonies.

 

Black Uhuru

 

Burning Spear

 

some great bands already mentioned -
I would add The Heptones, The Paragons & Aswad to the list of great bands.

 

Glorious!

I dig Burning Spear, too.

 

The Congos!

 

Sorry to get literal, but the word "band" really restricts the selections here. Technically, groups like the Mighty Diamonds, Culture, Congos, and I Jah Man are vocal trios, duos, or solos who record with studio bands and tour with various backing bands like the Soul Syndicate, Roots Radics, or other mashups of personnel. The Wailing Souls would also be in that list, and Burning Spear's backing band lineup changed here and there. The Heptones, Maytals, Paragons and Abyssinians were all vocal groups as well.

So, to go along with the roots reggae "bands" classification, I'd second those votes for Steel Pulse and Aswad ("band" seems to skew these selections to British groups). Ras Michael is a popular choice, but not so much my thing. There's also Inner Circle, who were forced to make lead vocal changes after Jacob Miller died. Then there's Black Roots and Matumbi, also from England.

 

The Maytals are my favourite Jamaican band but of course that's not "roots".

My favourite roots album is the Abyssinians expanded CD version of Satta Massagana on Heartbeat. Unbelievably brilliant stuff. Every reggae fan should own it. If only they were a little more prolific I would choose them as my favourite roots band.

Edit: Good point Bobby!

 

Sorry, Bobby Boogaloo, you are spot on. The question I posed is probably too general. 'Vocal Harmony Groups' should have perhaps been one thread, and 'British Reggae Bands' another, and so on. Aswad or Steel Pulse would be my choice for the latter.

 

Let me then also put in a word for those Jamaican studio bands whose instrumental and dub cuts are so enjoyable to listen to: The Revolutionaries, Soul Syndicate, Aggrovators, Roots Radics, The Professionals, and the Studio One band.