TAMOKI WAMBESI IN ROOTS
with Roy Cousins & The Royals
Comprehensive selection of Cousins productions mid-70s to mid-80s. Strictly conscious vibes. Backing by the Roots Radics & the Revolutionaries (aka Force Of Music) and largely recorded at Channel One. As you'd expect Roy Cousins focused predominantly on vocal productions with their dubs though deejays Prince Far I, Jah Stitch, Baba Dread, I Roy and resident in-house chanter Charlie Chaplin spice things up. Watch out for some really serious dub versions...
Continuous mix - 2 hours 50 mins - 88 tracks.
Rewind Show on rastfm Friday 7 Feb 2020
The man likes to recycle backing tracks though he almost exclusively used originals, including classic Royals riddims. So no shortage of version excursions here; I had to be selective or we'd have gone on and on... While the mix is not in strict chronological order, we begin mainly with some heavy 70s roots before moving on to his popular roots-dancehall selections from the early 80s later on.
Four man group The Royals truly are one of reggae's most underrated and overlooked greats. They are a bit of an acquired taste and, like Prince Lincoln, can take a few plays to really penetrate but perseverance brings reward... With Cousin's deep & penetrating lyrics, his falsetto tones and the group's expressive delivery they rivaled the Abyssinians and Carlton & His Shoes and at their rootsiest were even comparable to the great Burning Spear.
Forming in 1964, they released only a handful of singles ska to reggae. They went on to record four LPs between 1977 & 1981 and three of these are real gems - Pick Up The Pieces (songs from 1972-77), Israel Be Wise and Ten Years After. They also voiced one masterpiece at Studio One - the original Pick Up The Pieces.
Four man group The Royals truly are one of reggae's most underrated and overlooked greats. They are a bit of an acquired taste and, like Prince Lincoln, can take a few plays to really penetrate but perseverance brings reward... With Cousin's deep & penetrating lyrics, his falsetto tones and the group's expressive delivery they rivaled the Abyssinians and Carlton & His Shoes and at their rootsiest were even comparable to the great Burning Spear.
Forming in 1964, they released only a handful of singles ska to reggae. They went on to record four LPs between 1977 & 1981 and three of these are real gems - Pick Up The Pieces (songs from 1972-77), Israel Be Wise and Ten Years After. They also voiced one masterpiece at Studio One - the original Pick Up The Pieces.
