[MrJoshua]

I'll throw in Buju Banton - "Mr Mention".

Quite hard ragga reggae, but it's an album I can always listen to.

 

[Girlsound]

Mutabaruka - Check It!
- Blakk Wi Blak...k...k...

 

[elmoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils from the albums i recomended, the sizzla is the most in your face, while still maintaining a reggae sound and not going dancehall (which is NOT reggae), the congos - give them the rights - this is their newest album and is very ska influenced. sly and robbie play rhythm section. it borders on rock sometimes, but at the same time with concious lyrics and heavy jamaican roots influence, written by some of the best reggae musicians of all time. every album the groundation is also pretty upbeat, as they are also a new band, based out of california and blend rock, jazz and reggae. the ones i recomended are their most roots-y albums, while their newest album "we free again" is the most upbeat. the bass in this album will get your brains (or your walls if you use speakers) shakin or nothing else will. but if you are interested in reggae, i strongly urge you to buy all the albums i listed before . esspecially the Bunny Wailer and Burning Spear. Bunny wailer's new stuff kinda sucks. but this album, blackheart man is magnificent. possibly the best reggae album of all time. im not sure if i say this because ive heard bob marley's stuff so much more, but regardless, its great stuff.

Sorry to disagree here, but sizla, as well as beenie man, elephant man etc are not reggae, its all ragga. More aggressive, faster beat and faster lyrics which are half sung half rapped.

 

[wnewport]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girlsound Mutabaruka - Check It!

Update, I listened to some Reggaeton. It sucks, it is more latin techno pop than anything else.

I'll be sure to check out the other recommendations. So far I really like Black Uhuru, Aswad, and Steel Pulse. I haven't given enough time to the others to come to a conclusion.

PS:
Hardcore Gladiators doesn't sound like reggae at all

 

[elmoe]

not Hardcore Gladiators - The Gladiators, try the album Dreadlocks the time is now, if theres anything reggae after bob marley, its them

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jashugan Sorry to disagree here, but sizla, as well as beenie man, elephant man etc are not reggae, its all ragga. More aggressive, faster beat and faster lyrics which are half sung half rapped.

ahh ha! yes, i agree with you. beenie man, elephant man, capelton, etc and most of sizzla is definitley not reggae. in fact most of the modern music coming out of jamaica is not raggae at all, but raggaeton/dancehall. (which stinks IMHO

)

but have you heard "Da Real Thing" by sizzla? its his one album that i consider a reggae album, although it does have dancehall influence. I actually never liked even this album until i went to jamaica and spent some time living out in the countryside in a small village called Roaring River. I have an image pressed into my mind of this huge rasta named Smokehouse blasting the cd so loud that his tin roof shook and his little hut bounced, and singing at the top of his lungs.

so if more aggresive reggae is what he's looking for, this might be a winner. i am suspicious that most of the songs were ripped off from otherr classic roots artists. i have pinned down 2 of the songs as being direct copies from older albums, one was an Augustus Pablo song. This may sound awful, but he wound up bringing reggae back to the youth of jamaica, which i think is wonderful. but it is still not reggae in the classical sense.

 

[Wmcmanus]

I find this site to be helpful for Caribbean music in general:

http://caribplanet.homestead.com/

I've not ordered aything through them, and thus can't vouch for their service or prices, but it's a fun site to bounce around for a few minutes every now and then for ideas.

While you're there, be sure to check out the "Charts" section which is kept up to date monthly by various categories. If nothing else, you'll see what people who are really into reggae are listening to.

Another fun thing is the "Jammin Reggae Virtual Radio" which I often play on my comuter when I've only got a few minutes and don't have time for a full CD.

 

[wnewport]

Sorry about the Gladiators mixup, I was really confused while flipping through each track.

I'm going to order Sizzla tonight from Amazon. For now Steel Pulse, African Holocaust is what I am enjoying.

 

[ashgromnies]

Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jew(does anything mentioning him fail to say that?

) who brings a unique combination of reggae and hip hop to the scene that is completely amazing.
Get his live album or some bootlegs of his live act because he is amazing live.

 

[Vicious Tyrant]

I realized the OP asked to find stuff other than Bob Marley, but have you listened to some of his earlier stuff that gets very little play?

The old recordings of songs like Soul Rebel, Duppy Conqueror, and Fussing and Fighting give you an idea of where his music came from and how electric he was back in the days. Typically the sound quality is poor, but well worthwhile IMO.

"There She Goes" may be the greatest pop song ever written and his performance is just breathtaking for such a light little song. He puts out all the grief and tragedy of a broken heart, while keeping it light and lively, almost giving you a wink on the side.. Just a great, great, underappreciated song.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicious Tyrant I realized the OP asked to find stuff other than Bob Marley, but have you listened to some of his earlier stuff that gets very little play?

I agree in the sense that there is a lot more to discover about Bob Marley himself, and his work with the Wailers. This material is at the core of what reggae was to become so it's well worth understanding. I don't have everything they ever did, but close enough. So if anyone is looking for specific recommendations from Marley's early years material, I'd be happy to help.

 

[VicAjax]

i can't believe Lee "Scratch" Perry has only one recommendation so far.

Scratch was to reggae production what Marley was to reggae performance (scratch was also a brilliant songwriter).

he's produced some of the most important reggae in history... police and thieves/no peace/war in a babylon etc.

scratch produced some of marley's seminal early work... but the two had a contentious parting of ways.

if you have the inkling, i highly recommend starting with the 3-disc set Arkology.

not only is Arkology a great overview of scratch's career, but it's a great survey of reggae's golden age, with classics by max romeo, junior dread, junior murvin, etc.

 

[wakeride74]

Wailing Souls

Steel Pulse

And for more of a Alt-Reggae/rock feel there is the standard recs for:

Sublime
311
Pepper

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 Wailing Souls Steel Pulse And for more of a Alt-Reggae/rock feel there is the standard recs for: Sublime 311 Pepper

Actually, if you click on the Steel Pulse link and then follow the 3 lists provided by Listmania, you'll run into a TON of great "roots" material. This little detour may well have just cost me several hundred dollars!

I'll definitely have to check out some of this stuff. But there is just so much to choose from (early days material), and that doesn't even count the great reggae music that is coming out today. This is why I find the Carib Planet website so useful because it is so educational (see the link on post #22 in this thread).

 

[xand1x]

Oh where do I start? Hehe

Lately I've been enjoying a few albums by:

1) Beres Hammond

2) Freddie McGregor

3) Gregory Isaacs

4) Barrington Levy

Do an album searches on amazon for them, check out a few clips and buy albums