Search - Culture :: Trod on

DREAD LOCKS SHAKE YOUR DREAD

Locks Lion | Blue Mountain Peak | 06/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"TROD ON: This is Culture's fourth successive collaboration with producer Sonia Pottinger and engineer Errol Brown. TROD ON is a solid, and occasionally exceptional album release, which follows the same basic pattern of the group's other Pottinger-produced efforts (CUMBOLO, HARDER THAN THE REST, INTERNATIONAL HERB). In other words, you'll find straightforward, no-frills reggae music, led by Joseph Hill's magnificent, raspy tenor voice, with tight, bright harmony singing from Kenneth Paley and Albert Walker, and the usual assembly of top-drawer musicians - including the legendary Sly and Robbie - working the rhythms. TROD ON features the fantastic title track, as well as other gems like the tough BLOOD IN A BABYLON, JAH ALONE A CHRISTIAN, and the moving STILL REST ON MY HEART. What lifts this release above Culture's other Pottinger productions - apart from CUMBOLO, which is still a better album as far as I'm concerned - is the inclusion of two bonus grounation versions, featuring the mighty Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari. Basically, these are re-readings of two album tracks (NO SIN and WEEPING), expanded to accommodate a full compliment of Rastafarian hand drummers. These grounation chants are deeply organic and transformative, and perfectly suited to Culture's strictly roots-oriented material. TROD ON is a strong release overall, and is definitely recommended.



Several of the songs from TROD ON are treated to full-length discomix expansions for Heartbeat's PRODUCTION SOMETHING release. Check it out!

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