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African Roots by the Skatalites

 

  African Roots by the Skatalites is an album that was released in 1976. According to the writing on the album, the Skatalites new sound then, was reggae. Their usual sound is ska...which is more upbeat. The tracks on this album are mislabeled. African roots is the name of the album, not the name of a track on the album. Each track has the name below it, and I call the last track “the last track”. There is a slower track on this album named Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom is a track with a pleasant dark atmosphere. It also possesses a strong reggae groove. The guitar on this track and its minor chords contribute to this wonderful vibe, as does the minor melody of the horns.

The tenor sax solos on all of these tracks are good. They are simple (usually) yet memorable. There is noticeable jazz phrasing in some of the solos on this track. This makes since, because the musicians on this album were jazz musicians, before they were ska or reggae musicians. The guitar and flute soloing on this album are likewise quite good. There is at times notable interplay between the tenor saxophone and the guitar in some of these tracks, such as Candle Light.

There is only one track on this album that feels like a real departure, and that is the track Fugitive. It has the feel of being a disco track. This makes some sense given that this album was released in 1976, at the height of disco. The track possesses a strong lead flute. To my knowledge this is the only track in which the flute is the lead instrument.

The use of the delay effect is present in some of the tracks on this album. It gives certain tracks on this album a dub-like feel. These are Fugitive, Herb Challis, and the last track. It would have been more satisfying to me, to hear more of this on the album, and more general studio trickery.

Nonetheless, this album is a good one to relax to if you like instrumental reggae or jazz. It isn’t outstanding, other works in the Skatalite’s discography might be better, but it is not a bad album by any means. I give African Roots a 6/10.

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