| The
Aggrovators was the name given to one of the
first CHANNEL ONE (Not to be mistaken by
STUDIO ONE) studio bands. It is within the
Aggrovators, that legendary Reggae Drummer
Sly Dunbar developed the
"Steppers" Rhythm, with a bassdrum
hit on every count. As the title already
indicates, "Instrumental Reggae"
is not just another Dub Album by the
Aggrovators. And although the music is mixed
in Dub style, it features the band's horn
section just as much as it features the
Rhythm Section. And that makes the album
kind of special. It's not "instrumental
reggae" in the sense that it's just the
tracks without the vocals, because on most
tracks there is some dub mixing going on.
Not too wild, not too heavy, but to
emphasize the music itself.
The drum and basslines are all solid,
each and every one of them. The horns play
skilfully on top of it. Some tracks contain
beautiful themes, played powerfully by the
whole horn section ("Rocking
Jamboree" is a good example of that),
where others contain complete saxophone
solo's.
Automatically, when listening to
"Instrumental Reggae", jazz comes
to my mind. Much of the solo's contain Jazzy
vibes. But where the solo's are played on
Solid Rockers by the Aggrovators, who
practically invented the Reggae Genre, it
gives a much more powerful vibe.
All in all, I would recommend this album
to everyone who like Reggae horns and Dub.
It might be not mixed to the fullness, but
the solidness of the Aggrovators make that
up, and the subtle dub really forms a
perfect foundation for the Hornsmen: Tommy
Mc Cook and Bobby Ellis. Plus, the fact that
the music on the disc lasts well over an
hour and can be seen as "packed
full" will definitely be another
argument to buy the album.
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