I defy you to list 10 reggae songs as good as or better than Max Romeo's "I Chase the Devil"!!!

tall order but I will try:

"I'm the Toughest," Peter Tosh
"These Streets," Tanya Stephens
"Congoman," The Congos
"Java," Augustus Pablo
"Rivers of Babylon," The Melodians
"Don't Cut Off Your Dreadlocks," Linval Thompson
"Loving Pauper," Gregory Isaacs
"Throw Away Your Gun," Prince Far I
"Black Woman," Judy Mowatt
"Broadway Jungle," Toots and the Maytals

Only reggae I know I know from Grand Theft Auto, so I'd say "Pressure Drop".

This is easy. That's a great song, but there are like a million amazing reggae songs so it's not hard to just pick ten that rival it. Off the top of my head, no deejay versions, no dubs:

The Gladiators "Bellyful"
The Mighty Diamonds "Have Mercy"
The Abyssinians "Declaration of Rights"
The Congos "Open The Gate"
Junior Byles "Fade Away"
Gregory Isaacs "Black A Kill Black"
Burning Spear "Slavery Days"
Peter Tosh & The Wailers "Downpressor"
Sylford Walker "Deuteronomy"
Willie Williams "Armigideon Time"

ok that's two lists with no Marley jams on 'em, that's enuf indieism ppl

"Dreadlocks in Moonlight" - Lee Perry
"Slavery Days" - Burning Spear
"More Vacancy" - Culture
"Cocaine in my Brain" - Dillinger
"Tedious" - Junior Murvin

I'm reluctant to call a whole 10. Sorry for being indie.

Also deliberately avoided anything post-1980.

Only reggae I know I know from Grand Theft Auto, so I'd say "Pressure Drop".

-- sonderangerbot, Saturday, 26 January 2008 15:24 (27 minutes ago) Link

but anyway, I am glad that this thread exists, because I know very little about reggae and have been soliciting recommendations lately in an attempt to remedy that ignorance. can't wait to check these tracks out.

"ok that's two lists with no Marley jams on 'em, that's enuf indieism ppl"

B-b-b-but he's on "Downpressor"!!! Anyone if I was going to pick ONE Marley I'd pick "Sun is Shining" or "Concrete Jungle" both of which are yeah probably better than "Chase The Devil".

Prince Far I - Blackman Land
The Gatherers - Words of My Mouth
Leroy Sibbles - Guiding Star
Sylford Walker - Burn Babylon
Dawn Penn - No, No, No
Junior Byles - Long Way
Dennis Brown - Let Love In
Byron Lee - Easy Snappin'
The Jamaicans - Ba Ba Boom
Horace Andy - Satan Side

yeah "concrete jungle" is one of the all-time jams

add also Satta Massa Gana & Eric Donaldson's "Same Old Love"

I can think of ten but in the interest of drawing your attention to one of the BEST REGGAE TRACKS EVER I will just say: Noel Ellis - "Memories" (and "Universal Music" after that)

PRESSURE DROP OH PRESSURE DROP OH PRESSURE GONNA DROP ON YOU-HOO

yeah here's ten more and i've capitulated so j0hn d cant call me indie

"Police and Thieves," Junior Murvin
"Marcus Children Suffer," Burning Spear
"Look a Boom," I Roy
"Crazy Baldhead," Bob Marley and the Wailers
"Table Tennis Table," Gilberto Gil
"Buck Town Corner," The Jay Tees
"The March," Ky-Mani Marley (reggae in spirit if not in letter)
"Gospel Time," Beenie Man
"Love Me With All Your Heart," The Gaylads
"No No No," Dawn Penn

whoa stroker ace already mentioned Dawn Penn but that song is so good it deserves two mentions hell yeah

reggae's a bit rubbish, you win.

Much goodness above. A few more out of defiance to the original claim.

"Youth of Eglington" Black Uhuru
"Funky Kingston" Toots and the Maytals
"Marcus Garvey" Burning Spear
"Armagideon Time" Willie Williams
"Tighten Up" the Untouchables
"I'm Not Ashamed" Culture
"Night Nurse" Gregory Isaacs
"Roller Skates" Steel Pulse

"Ulterior Motive" by Luciano
"Bookshelf" by Beenie Man
"Can't Satisfy Her" by I Wayne
"Black Roses In My Garden" by Barrington Levy
"Uncle Sam" by Freddie McGregor
"Under The Sycamore Tree" by Lady Saw
"Daddy" by Queen Ifrica
"Just One Of Those Days (Dry Cry)" by Sizzla
"Natty Dread" by Bob Marley
"Skylarking" by Horace Andy

(this thread is dumb)

dumb like a fox just keep it moving you

John Holt - Ali Baba
Johnny Osbourne - Truths And Rights
Scotty - Draw Your Brakes
The Heptones - Garden Of Life
King Iwah - Give Me Power
Tenor Saw - Ring The Alarm
Burning Spear - This Race
Peter Tosh - Cutting Razor
Big Youth - Foreman Vs Frazier
Ruddy Thomas - I Can't Stop Now

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69257156806231/
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6925762295b0cd/
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6925909fd742e6/
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6925998c9d7f1b/
http://www.zshare.net/audio/692605910ddfca/

Peter Tosh, No Sympathy

Peter Tosh - Steppin' Razor
Sister Nancy - Bam Bam
Culture - Two Sevens Clash
The Congos - Children Crying
Burning Spear - Man in the Hills
The Valentines - Blam Blam Fever
Fred Locks - Black Star Liners
Gregory Isaacs - Mr Cop
Junior Murvin - Roots Train
Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng

Useful thread. I find reggae a bit like northern soul - whatever you think the top 10 stone-cold classics are, chances are someone else will choose 10 you've never heard of.

Waiting In Vain - Bob Marley
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley
One Drop - Bob Marley
Natty Dread - Bob Marley
Is This Love - Bob Marley
So Much Trouble In The World - Bob Marley
Africa United - Bob Marley
Zimbabwe - Bob Marley
Natural Mystic - Bob Marley
Get Up Stand Up - The Wailers

Soul Rebel - Bob Marley (there are two versions, the faster one's better IMHO)
Judas Iscariot - Misty In Roots
Breakfast In Bed - Lorna Bennett
You Are My Angel - Horace Andy
Government Land - Horace Andy
The Liquidator - Harry J All Stars
One Step Foward - Max Romeo
Keep a Cool Head - Desmond Dekker
007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker
Hurt So Good - Susan Cadogan

Ganga Smuggling - Eek-A-Mouse.

That's 11, do I win?

max romeo - uptown babies dont cry
bob marley - mr brown
bob marley - could you be loved
culture - black starliner must come
culture - im alone in the wilderness
the congos - at the feast

i really like chase the devil, though

Geir = hackysack champion, four years running?

tremendoid, did you originally become aware of this song because of Kanye West? Just curious.

Haha or Prodigy?

^^^

I actually heard the Prodigy version first, as I'm sure did most people my age. Nothing wrong with that.

dont be a n00b bwai

tremendoid, did you originally become aware of this song because of Kanye West? Just curious

no, he sampled it? Lee Perry's arkology had been on my wishlist for like 10 years and I finally heard it is all.

Have you heard Max's other stuff at all?

listened to War in a Babylon over the weekend, the song is the class of the album but it's very good overall. intrigued about the risque pre-rasta stuff I've read about.

Check out "Wet Dream"!

thx!

War Ina Babylon and Open The Iron Gate are both great, too.

^^^ OTM.

What do you call this kind of reggae? Digi-dub? Digi-roots? Any more stuff a bit like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXZ8p4m4WXE

It's especially wild that he didn't get paid from the Kanye/Jay-Z sample, considering how absolutely obvious and high-profile that one was.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx-_q6PuXun

Wow. Thinking about it (very casually), that may be the last truly recognizable foregrounded sample I can recall in a high profile hip-hop track. I mean, I'm sure there have been others, but that one is huge.

?

that song came out in 2003

Yeah, I know! Like I said, I'm sure there have been plenty of others in the past 20 years, but I'm totally drawing a blank, lol.

lol all I keep thinking of are other Kanye produced tracks, sad lol. I blame age.