I've always wondered how the Sleng Teng and syth horns replaced the popularity of bands like the Roots Radics. To me, this is the absolute pinnacle of Reggae. Scientist and Jammy were engineering some of the most gifted instrumentalists in the history of the genre with techniques that Tubby handed down. And you have some of the purest vocalists like Issacs, Levy, Brown and the rest hitting their stride in the early eighties. Massive.
Same way that the music evolved in America. Early 80s was the rise of hip hop and drum machines. New technology in the music world brought upon that change that inevitably changed the whole world
Whoever came up with the idea to pair Gregory Isaacs and Roots Radics is a friggin' genius. This is from one of the greatest albums of all time. Why does the camera always find the people who CAN'T dance?
I remember seeing this. Great cool performance by Gregory and The Radics. I've watched many live reggae performances on tv and online since but for the sound quality, NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO THIS. I can only imagine how sublime it sounded if you were there.
That's the sound of the Roots Radics band.. check out Bunny wailer live at Madison Square garden, Or Gregory Isaacs 'noght nurse' Live at Sunsplash.. one of Reggae's best backing bands of all time!
Man, the Roots Radics and Gregory Isaacs gettin' busy! To me, they were like the reggae equivalent to Booker T. and the MGs when they were backing up Otis Redding: couldn't top them once they had the right man for the job out front!!! Such was the case with Gregory and the Roots Radics back during the early 80s. There was just NO stoppin' em then... ;-)
Def agree with you. There are some quality acts out there today that keep the tradition of good solid reggae music alive :)...I personally love morgan heritage, gyptian, junior kelly, and richie spice :)
just love it.i ve listen it 14 times in 1 hour. great son. and the roots radics are great i went a concert of israek vibration and they played fantastic.
SO tru..I swear everytime I watch that performance the drum has me mesmerized! The Roots Radics were so sick...Big ups to them and big ups to Gregory...He was so cute then..
Scott Sorrell true , but there was something about that era that i would love to have been part of lol, and saying that i still havent seen radics and would love to!!!
Style on drums - inimitable. A revelation when he came on the scene - simple and muscular - a kind of John Bonham for Reggae. Sits back in his chair, uses the biggest sticks ever seen - look at that cymbal crash at 1.44 -, and sits in the groove effortlessly. Perfect for Gregory to relax onto. Wonderful stuff!
Back in 92 I met the roots radics along with Charlie Chaplin and Peter Broggs. They pulled up in a beat up trailer to Culure Beat records on 4th street in Long Beach, CA, those were the days!
@raggabass once saw him and john holt play together with an orchestra.. massive. I also had the pleasure of seeing gregory... cocoa tea didn't show up and out of no where the cool ruler graced us with his musical gift.
FINALLY...quality sound & picture! Miss the man much...so any snip is endearing! But the time taken to present such quality, takes my pleasure to a higher level.
Gregory was at his height here. Nignt Nurse just came out, and in 1984 he played at The Academy in Briixton with the same band line up as here, plus the brass band, which became his BEST show of his career and one of the greatest concerts ever. He quickly deteriorated from too much Babylon, his voice got smaller and so did his body. It doesn't take away from his impact or reduce his character to me in the slightest! On the contrary, it adds undeniable humanity. Similar to cricism a few people expressed when they learned that, "Bob Marley took cocaine." As a rock star worldwide in the 1970s, is anyone surprised? I know first hand the struggle of what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. And fools in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Bob, Delroy, Dennis, Garnet, Desmond, Culture, Alton, Sugar, Gregory - great voices silenced one by one. But their music remains. It seem only yesterday when I first saw this broadcast, yet it was nearly half my lifetime (and Gregory's) ago. Let's treasure Bob A, Ken B, Jimmy C, Beres H, John H, Freddy M, the Burning Spear, and others who've sweetened up our lives, while we still have them! They're here today, but (like us) could be gone tomorrow! CDF-Air [check on myspace under "cdfair"]
@raggabass So True Love. I was fortunate enough to See Gregory 3x before his passing. When he cancelled his show in ny the summer before he died I knew it wouldn't be long...RIP COOL RULER!
@MrUriel777 I saw the Roots Radics several times while they were at their height, and yes, they were the best reggae band on the planet, and Flabba would literally shake the floor with his throbbing bass playing. Unforgettable!
the tubes such a much loved and missed prog in my humble opinon..memories they were all on there...freddie..gregory sly robbie.. maxi..on and on..boom!!
Roots Radics and The Cool Ruler on Channel 4 on the Tube. T.V. Gold. With the exception of the occasional hit on Top Of The Pops reggae got and still gets virtually no airtime on British T.V. Outragous!
@asonnenshine It's Style. He manages to be extremely inventive within such a strict, regimented form, and he probably has the hardest, toughest drum sound of any of Jamaica's many talented drummers. If Roots Radics didn't invent dancehall, they certainly helped progress the genre. Early hip hop (Cool Herc, KRS-One, etc.) also borrowed directly from them, and it's impossible not to hear similarities to some of the southern rap that incorporates their slow, sparse, heavy sound.
