Dr. Dread, owner of
RAS Records, first heard this album when it was released on an obscure Jamaican label in 1979; his subsequent meeting with
Broggs in Kingston led to the establishment of the
RAS label and its first release, which was
Broggs' second album (
Rastafari Liveth). American reggae fans are very much the richer for that development, since
RAS has gone on to become one of the two most important American reggae labels.
Broggs' debut, now available on CD for the first time, is distinguished by the watertight playing of
Roots Radics, led by the mighty team of bassist
Flabba Holt and drummer
Style Scott. Guitarist
Eric Lamont produced the album at
Channel One and mixed it at
King Tubby's, so the vibe is just spectacular. Unfortunately, it has to be said that
Broggs himself is a terrible singer. His delivery, while sincere, is generally pretty low energy, and his pitch is always almost completely off. So while there's no denying the power of the music on tracks like
"I Don't Know" and
"Forward Natty," you'll find yourself wishing
Broggs would quit singing so you could hear it better. ~ Rick Anderson