BLACK ROOTS' first album came out in 1983, and it's more than twenty years since the original line up was last in the studio, but with this, their latest album, it's as though they've never been away.
When they first started recording, we had Thatcher, unemployment, poverty, and a system that didn't care and just ground the masses down. Now, we have Cameron, poverty, and the same old system, nothing changes but life goes on. 'On The Ground' accurately reflects this, from the opening number, 'I Believe', a stonking reggae groove with prominent horn section, which shows that these guys can easily play rings round most other, more commercial, bands. The lyrics as can be expected showcases their political side: -
“Life in the system, it no easy (no easy, no easy), Life in the system, it no easy (no easy, no easy)... For when this system no cater for I and I, I got to hold my head up high/ I believe in the higher power.”
Right from the start, the listener's attention will be grabbed by this opening number, as it's the sort of song that will have feet tapping and you singing along well before the end. It also features an excellent, almost fuzz, guitar which wouldn't have sounded out of place on The Doors 'Strange Days'!
The fourth track on the album, 'Militancy', takes on slavery, and juxtaposes it with today's society. This track has a much deeper groove, the bass really making this one for me. I think that it's brilliant how the lyrics flow so easily, yet the words have such impact, that will remain in the mind long after the song has finished: - “Fourteen hundred B.C. Say you take us abroad, shackles and chains...The abolition of slavery only released the chain. Militancy, is necessary.”
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Along with this there is some excellent trumpet, courtesy of Patrick Anthony Tenyue. Let's not forget at this point, that the band are from Bristol, which as a Bristolian myself, I can say that there was no small part played in the slave trade by this city.
It's not all politics and doom and gloom, as tracks like the light and upbeat 'No Fee' shows, this is more rooted in the classic pop reggae style which still has a massive appeal, and is the sort of track that you will quickly find yourself moving to. In fact this would make a great summer single, with its lazy groove and laid back lyrics: - “Hitch a ride on 11 bus, have no fee and it cause a fuss/ Hitch a ride on 11 bus, have no fee and it cause a fuss/ Oh yeah, hitchin' a ride, oh yeah.”
'Capitalism, is however a real stand out track, with a slower groove, and some hard hitting lines in the lyrics about capitalism “hold mankind to ransom” and giving some of the stories of those who suffer: - “Thousands slaughtered by political tsunami” and: “Cause they're playing Russian Roulette with the future of the youth of tomorrow”.
With an album as strong as this, it's clear that Black Roots are well and truly back on the scene, and hopefully 'On The Ground' will give them the success that they well deserve.
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