ROOTS REGGAE ALBUMS | THE ESSENTIAL 10

Featuring albums from The Abyssinians, Rocky Dawuni, Inna de Yard, Bob Marley and The Wailers, and more…

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1

The Abyssinians

Satta Massagana (Jam Sounds, 1976)

The Abyssinians’ close harmonies were key to making roots reggae soulful. Satta Massagana’s tracks move from brooding to elation, with brothers Linford and Donald Manning singing as one to echo Bernard Collins’ lead. The use of Amharic vocals gives weight to their message, and the title-track is probably the most important Rastafari hymn on record.

2

The Congos

Heart of the Congos (Black Ark, 1977)

The masterpiece of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark studio. Chaos and structure are balanced on a knife edge, as Scratch cloaks the chants of Cedric Myton and Ashanti Roy with a jungle of otherworldly sounds. Myton’s sublime falsetto steals the show, hypnotising the listener with deep Biblical imagery. VP Records has just reissued this classic album.

3

Rocky Dawuni

Branches of the Same Tree (Cumbancha, 2015)

Ghanaian singer Rocky Dawuni uplifting ballads are soaked in a haze of Brazilian percussion, rich grooves and New Orleans-style rhythms. His rendition of ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ has a distinctly African pulse, mixing highlife and roots.

Read the review in the Songlines Reviews Database

4

Inna de Yard

The Soul of Jamaica (Chapter Two, 2017)

A beautiful acoustic set from reggae veterans Cedric Myton, Ken Boothe, Lloyd Parks and Winston McAnuff, The Soul of Jamaica is spiritual roots played for the love of music and friendship. Crickets and birdsong introduce us to the ramshackle structure of these recordings, each track played out in a hilltop retreat beyond Kingston. Sadly, no Heart of the Congos renditions feature here; for the complete scene, YouTube Inna de Yard’s ‘Fisherman’ or ‘Open up the Gate’.

Read the review in the Songlines Reviews Database

5

Gregory Isaacs

Cool Ruler (Front Line, 1978)

Reggae’s ‘lonely lover’ found fame in the early 70s for his sweet voice and masculine vulnerability. With this shift towards roots, Isaacs kept his haunting sadness. Bongos and rattlesnake-like bells give these tracks a familiarity, ensuring Cool Ruler stays with you for days.

6

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Talkin’ Blues (Tuff Gong, 1991)

In 1973 Bob Marley had star potential, Peter Tosh was distrustful of the management and Bunny Wailer was tired of touring. The Wailers broke up shortly after these San Francisco radio sessions. The band muscle through perfected hits, elevating each one beyond album restrictions and into soporific, hand drum-led jams. Marley’s philosophy is told through conversation extracts, while Bunny and Tosh both take lead on some brilliant original material.

7

Bob Marley & the Wailers

Survival (Tuff Gong, 1979)

Most rootsmen sing about Africa with the same air as their paradisiacal Zion, but Bob Marley’s vision was anchored in reality. He played ‘Zimbabwe’ as riots erupted at the country’s independence gig, standing solo as his band were tear-gassed off stage. The stunningly rich anthems ‘Africa Unite’ and ‘Survival’ helped make Marley as iconic as Che Guevara. Roots music embraces anti-commercialism, so it’s fitting that none of these songs feature on Legend.

8

Prince Far I

Free from Sin (Trojan, 1979)

Prince Far I entered the music industry by reciting psalms over dub tracks to make them accessible for illiterates. From the beginning he sounded like a gravelled preacher, his voice packing as much thunder as the drums and bass of his dub-heavy self-production. The church organ on Free from Sin reawakens his preacher role, all praises directed towards Jah.

9

Steel Pulse

Handsworth Revolution (Island, 1978)

Roots’ roots are wide spreading, as is evident from the quality of Britain’s greatest reggae band. Handsworth Revolution is equal to the best roots albums from Jamaica. Born in Birmingham to Jamaican immigrants, the band cry ‘doesn’t justice stand for all’ with a distinct Brummie twang, their message of equality holding particular urgency with their Rock Against Racism involvement.

10

Peter Tosh

Equal Rights (Columbia, 1977)

‘I don’t want no peace, I want equal rights and justice’ – this is Tosh the militant, wiser than on his Legalize It debut and fired up by pan-Africanism. Reggae stalwarts Sly and Robbie match him with the punchiest of instrumental backings. ‘Downpressor Man’, Tosh’s version of a folk song that goes back way further than Nina Simone’s ‘Sinnerman’, is roots reggae on a huge canvas.

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COVID-19: Nurse suspected of injecting thousands with saline solution instead of coronavirus vaccine in Germany

German authorities are now appealing for those who may have been wrongly injected with saline solution to come and get another COVID vaccine shot. Around 8,600 people may have been affected, many of whom are elderly.

Thousands of people in Germany have been urged to get another shot of coronavirus vaccine, after it emerged that a Red Cross nurse may have injected them with a saline solution instead.

A police investigation is under way, with the nurse suspected of injecting people with a solution instead of genuine COVID jabs at a vaccination centre in Friesland – a rural district near the North Sea coast.

A saline solution is harmless but most people who were vaccinated between March and April in germany – when the suspected switch took place – are elderly and at high risk from coronavirus.

“I am totally shocked by this episode,” Sven Ambrosy, a local councillor, said on Facebook, as local authorities issued the call to around 8,600 residents who may have been affected.

“The district of Friesland will do everything possible to ensure that the affected people receive their vaccination protection as soon as possible.”

Peter Beer, a police investigator, said to local media that based on witness statements there was “a reasonable suspicion of danger”.

The motive of the nurse, who has not been not named, was not clear – but she had aired sceptical views about vaccines in social media posts, police investigators said.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had been arrested or charged in the case, which according to broadcaster NDR has been handed to a special unit that investigates politically motivated crimes.

Local police declined to comment outside of normal working hours.

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Slice of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake sells for £1,850 at auction

A slice of cake from the Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding cake has sold for £1,850 at auction - 40 years after the famous nuptials took place.

A slice of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake has fetched £1,850 at auction.

The generous slice is from one of 23 official wedding cakes the royal couple served at their wedding more than 40 years ago.

It was initially expected to fetch between £300 and £500 but was met with a flurry of bidding from across the world.

An internet buyer from Leeds secured the slice for £1,850.

Auctioneers have advised the buyer not to eat the slice.

It features a marzipan base and a sugared onlay of the royal coat-of-arms coloured in gold, red, blue and silver.

Image:An internet buyer in Leeds bought the slice after a flurry of bids from around the world

The slice was sold to Moya Smith, a member of the Queen Mother’s household at Clarence House, in 2008. She preserved the topping with cling film and an old floral cake tin, labelled: “Handle with Care – Prince Charles & Princess Diane’s (sic) Wedding Cake”, signed and dated 29/7/81.

Mrs Smith’s family sold the cake to a collector in 2008 before it came up again for auction.

The cake’s auction coincides with what would have been their 40th wedding anniversary on 29 July.

It went under the hammer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking after the sale, auctioneer and royal memorabilia specialist Chris Albury from Dominic Winter Auctioneers said: “We were amazed at the numbers of people wanting to bid on this large and unique piece of royal cake icing.

“It seemed to get far more attention than when we sold it with a Charles & Diana thank you letter 13 years ago.

“There were lots of inquiries from bidders, mostly in the UK, USA and several countries in the Middle East.

“It was bought by an internet bidder in Leeds.

Image:The order of service, ceremonial details and a royal wedding breakfast programme was also auctioned

“As yet we haven’t had a chance to speak to them to get a reaction or ask why they bought it, but it seems that this was an irresistible piece of royal memorabilia history for many.”

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981. They later separated in 1992, finally divorcing in 1996.

Some 22 other wedding cakes were supplied by numerous manufacturers in addition to their main official five-tier creation.

Other items that went under the hammer include an order of service, ceremonial details and a royal wedding breakfast programme.

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Google staff AGREE to take pay cuts working from home permanently:Staff in cheaper US cities

Staff in cheaper US cities will have salaries slashed to reflect their lower cost of living

Employees have agreed to a pay cut terms recently put forth by the tech giant in exchange for the opportunity to work remotely permanently, as other Fortune 500 players look to follow suit.

A spokesperson for the company told CBS news that staffers working in cheaper US cities will see their salaries slashed to reflect their lower cost of living.

‘Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from,’ a Google spokesperson said.

In just two months time, over 10,000 Google employees out of a total of 135,000 have requested permission to work from home full-time or to relocate to a different company office once the COVID-19 virus abates, the outlet reports.

In just two months time, over 10,000 Google employees out of a total of 135,000 have requested permission to work from home full-time or to relocate

Thus far, Google has approved 85 percent of the employees’ work-from-home requests, however those who do opt for remote work or to relocate to a different location will almost certainly face salary cuts.

The average salary at the tech giant is almost $120,000, according to data from PayScale.com.

Google’s ‘Work Location Tool’ was ‘developed to help in June to help employees determine the ‘make informed decisions about which city or state they work from and any impact on compensation, if they choose to relocate or work remotely,’ the spokesperson said.

In major competitive job markets like New York and San Francisco, the company will still be offering employees, both remote and otherwise, the highest tier of compensation packages.

Under that company policy, a Google worker could receive a pay raise for moving to an area of the country with a more competitive job market and a higher cost of living.

A ‘Welcome Back!’ sign on a building on a Google campus in Mountain View, California

Of the 15 percent of relocation submissions that were not accepted by Google, almost all were employees who occupy positions that require them to either have access to specific equipment or their presence in-person, according to the company.

The rest of the relocation requests that didn’t make the cut were from those workers who are committed to working from a certain location, the outlet reports.

However, those who were rejected can resubmit their requests to relocate or work remotely.

The company recently changed their voluntary work-from-home date from September to October 18 following spikes in the far more-contagious Delta variant.

‘Many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office,’ said Google CEO Sundar Pichai (pictured)

Big tech will start requiring vaccines as Twitter re-closes offices

‘Many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office,’ said Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Meanwhile, several other corporate giants are exploring similar options.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman has considered slashing employees’ salaries if their living expenses drop, adding that only those who work at the company’s offices are paid their full salaries, according to CBS News.

‘If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this, ‘I’m in Colorado … and getting paid like I’m sitting in New York City. Sorry, that doesn’t work,’ he said.

Catherine Merrill, CEO of monthly magazine The Washingtonian, stated that employees who work from home should be paid as hourly contractors in an Op-Ed piece for the Washington Post back in May.

• Google employees have agreed to a pay cut terms recently put forth by the tech giant in exchange for the opportunity to work remotely permanently,  
• ‘Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the market based on where an employee works from’ 
• In just two months time, over 10,000 Google employees out of a total of 135,000 have requested permission to work from home full-time or to relocate  
• Google has approved 85 percent of the employees’ work-from-home requests
• Meanwhile other Fortune 500 players look to follow suit, with Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and others considering slashing salaries for remote workers

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