Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Bunny Wailer - Rock 'n' Groove

Bunny Wailer - Rock 'n' Groove
DUBROOM ALBUM REVIEW




Although many hard core roots reggae fans will absolutely disagree with me, I consider Rock 'n' Groove to be one of Bunny Wailer's best albums ever. Originally released in 1981, this album consists of 7 tracks, all comming with their dub version. These kind of albums are called "showcases". The music is fresh and it is absolutely impossible to not start dancing when you listen to the sounds.

Bunny has been widely criticized for releasing this album, as he was considered to be a roots reggae artist, and the music on this album was not really roots. Some thought it was to "light weight". So you might actually listen to the music and think it is roots reggae, because it's so old, but that's absolutely not the case. Don't forget, the year is 1981, and a new thing called "dancehall" was on the rise. This dancehall style, or rub a dub, is different then the computerized music we now label as such (dancehall).

Rock 'n' Groove is a statement of peace and love in a time of war. The political and economical situation in Jamaica was very tense, with the two rivaling political parties using gunmen and other violent methods to achieve their goals. It's an attempt to make the people dance rather then fight.

This album is currently out of print. This review is placed for historical reasons.

1 comment:

  1. Best album ever and in fact the first LP I bought with my own money as a kid.

    ReplyDelete

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