Black Roots - The Frontline (Vinyl LP) 1984 -Record Label............. Kick Records
Original Year............ 1984
Compressed by............ JamDam
Rip Date................. 09/17/2001
Size..................... 43 MB
Release Type............. Reggae, Full Album
Number of Songs.......... 6
Track List
--------------
01. War 04:38
02. Signs & Wonders 04:18
03. Frontline 04:46
04. Far Over 03:31
05. Blackheart Man 09:58
06. Struggling 03:19
________
00:30:27
Notes
--------
With help from rudolph find this info ...
from http://www.btinternet.com/~andy.brouwer/nites.htm
Black Roots
Black Roots and their original line-up for their debut album in 1983.
(see broots.jpg)
Black Roots were a powerful and potent force in the British reggae music scene
throughout the Eighties and left a legacy of no less than ten albums and more
than eight singles before bowing out of the public eye in the mid-'90s. Hailing
from the St Paul's area of Bristol, the eight-member band quickly gained a
large following by touring almost non-stop around the country, playing the
nation's major colleges, universities and festivals. They quickly attracted
the attention of television (with an appearance on 'In Concert') and popular
radio, where live studio sessions for John Peel and David 'Kid' Jensen,
eventually led to a BBC Radio 1 sessions LP. Their first releases were on the
Nubian Records label and an EP containing Bristol Rock, Tribal War,
The Father and The System preceded their first single, Chanting For Freedom.
Their debut album, entitled simply Black Roots and released in 1983 on the Kick
label, saw them make their mark immediately on the national music scene, with
the black music press declaring, "a blinding debut album from the best of the
new British reggae bands." It was a highly acclaimed debut for the group which
consisted of Delroy Ogilvie, Cordell Francis, Errol Brown, Jabulani Ngozi,
Trevor Seivwright, Kondwani Ngozi, Derrick King and Carlton 'Roots' Smith.
Six of the band were Jamaican-born, while Smith and Seivwright hailed from
Bath and Newport respectively. The Ngozi brothers were Rastafarians, as was
lead vocalist Delroy Ogilvie, who shared the front spot with Errol Brown.
The group's first single on the Kick label, Juvenile Delinquent, was taken
from the album and released in the same year.
An early Black Roots line-up from 1981: L to r: Kondwani Ngozi, Cordell Francis,
Carlton Smith, Trevor Seivwright, Delroy Ogilvie, Jabulani Ngozi,
Errol Brown & Derrick King. (See broots2.jpg)
1984 was a momentous year for the group in terms of national exposure to a
wider audience. They released their second album, The Frontline, which
featured a series of melodic tracks, projecting the band's philosophy,
'one love for all, one aim and one destiny'. It also included the title track
The Frontline, which had been composed at the request of BBC tv for a new
television comedy series of the same name, based on the relationship between
two black brothers, one a policeman, the other, a street-wise youth. Although
the series was not a major success, it gave Black Roots an additional
springboard and they followed that up a year later, with the release of their
third album, In Session, a compilation of live recordings from sessions on
both the John Peel and David Jensen radio shows.
The line-up of the band had remained constant from their earliest days. Ogilvie
and Brown shared lead vocals, Francis played lead guitar, King on bass and the
older Ngozi brother, Jabulani, played rhythm guitar. Seivwright on drums, Smith
on keyboards/vocals and Kondwani Ngozi on congas and vocal harmonies completed
the regular line-up that continued to gig across the country to adoring
audiences. Album number four was released in 1987, under the direction of Neil
Fraser, aka the Mad Professor. All Day All Night continued to confirm Black
Roots' place at the top of the British reggae tree and it also spawned another
single, Seeing Your Face. Helping out on the album was the horn section of
Vin Gordon (trombone), Mike 'Bammie' Rose (tenor sax and flute) and Max Carrot
(trumpet). In addition to the album, the band's record company, Nubian Records,
also released a video of a live performance at The Studio in Bristol.
Neil Fraser was at it again, less than a year later when he engineered a truly
live album, Live Power, when the band were recorded at a gig at the Moles Club
in Bath on 22 September 1988. This came about as a direct result of fans of the
band asking for a live album, seeking to capture the power and strength of
Black Roots' tight, vibrant and entertaining stage performance on vinyl. The
album was a mixture of old and new and a bridge between the past and the
present and it contained the band's next two singles, Suzy Wong and Start
Afresh.
The first changes to the line-up since their formation took place before the
group's next album release in 1990. Ogilvie left to begin touring as a solo
artist, backed by his own band, One Drop, while Seivwright and King also
departed. That left Black Roots as a five-piece band for their sixth album
release, Natural Reaction, again produced by Neil Fraser. They were helped out
by members of Black Steel on bass, drums and additional keyboards and the album
was recorded at Ariwa Studio in London. It wasn't long before the band stopped
touring and apart from regular reunions in the studio, Black Roots as a live
performing band ceased to exist. In 1991, they got together with Fraser to
release Dub Factor: The Mad Professor Mixes. Two years later, they revived
fourteen of the songs that the band had made their own with the release of an
eighth album, With Friends. This was recorded at the Coach House Studios in
Bristol under the direction of Dub Judah and featured guest singers Delroy
Ogilvie, Trevor Dixon, BB Seaton and Mikey Forbes, alongwith Senouci Hardy
(bass) and Dub Judah on drums, percussion and keyboards (in the absence of
Carlton Smith, who had left the band).
The remaining four band members reunited again in 1994 for the release of Dub
Factor 2: The Dub Judah Mixes, a thirteen track album that repeated the line-up
of the previous release a year before. The tenth and final album, Dub Factor 3:
Dub Judah & Mad Professor Mixes (1995) finally brought the curtain down on
Bristol's finest exponents of reggae and without doubt, one of Britain's best
loved performing bands of the 80s. They are sadly missed.
enjoy!!!
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