Customer Reviews

Empire Road

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in the early 80's I was browsing in a record store and I heard "Hook Deh" by Matumbi.I had to buy the album and practically wore it out. FINALLY, you can own Matumbi for your CD player. Matumbi is a fantastic reggae band. Just the right combination of social commentary and sun-drenched danceable tunes on this CD. I don't know why this band went largely unnoticed.

If you like reggae, you will LOVE this band. If you're not particularly fond of reggae, this CD is very accessible and will introduce you to different reggae sounds and let you in on a secret--Bob Marley isn't the only Rasta worth listening to! Don't pass this CD up.

Matumbi was formed in London in 1970 and from the very beggining they embodied the essence of emerging UK reggae scene. The man behind Matumbi was Dennis Bovell who, in his many projects, established British reggae as a viable force independent from Jamaican motherlode. Recording in various lineups as Matumbi, African Brothers or African Stone as well as backing many successful solo acts - from Janet Key and Susan Cadogan to Linton Kwesi Johnson and Lee Perry - Bovell contributed to invention of many reggae subcategories, such as "lovers rock" and "dub poetry."

Matumbi's strongest side, however, was a smooth blend of rigteous roots reggae with pop and, more importantly, newly introduced New Wave of the late seventies. Punks and Rastas mingled freely at the time and did some amazing "crossovers" even before the term was coined. You can hear echoes of these exciting times in the music of Matumbi and, despite the prefered format being roots reggae, it is that element that distinguished British reggae act from its Jamaican counterparts.

No matter how important they were in establishing the scene, Matumbi never had the success of, say, Aswad, Steel Pulse or Maxi Priest who simply followed in their steps. And Matumbi are not alone: Black Slate, Misty in Roots, Pablo Gad are only some of the acts who produced high quality output around same time, but never recieved recognition due.

This reissue corrects some of that unjustice. And although I managed to wrangle a couple of original Matumbi vynils - number of years back a friend found them in some second-hand stores, in London, of course - I highly recommend this edition: it covers both all of their great singles and important album track, plus some rare 12" versions. And being that this is the only Matumbi available on CD, you should have no doubt!

(In addition, check out Dennis Bovell's solo retrospective "Decibel: More Cuts and Dubs, 1976-1983" and also Lloyd Bradley's fantastic book "Bass Culture" - tittle of which is apropriated from a legendary Linton Kwesi Johnson' album.)

I searched and searched to find anything of Matumbi on the web and finally they (EMI) got smart and remastered their nicest tracks.
I hope a lot of people agree and buy this album so EMI (or anyone) will bring back more of Matumbi on CD.
There is still lots more I'd like to see "reproduced" so let's hope they will!!

the Music In The Air anthology. Get that first if you can. Empire Road is not bad and I decided to pick it up after getting Music In The Air which has a more 70s soul vibe than Empire Road. On its own Empire is 4 star. Compared to Music in the Air I'd only give it 3. Unfortunately these two albums seem to be the only thing available on CD by the group. They actually have more albums, but apparently only on vinyl.

Woow, another re-issue of a classic reggae album.
Now I finally can get rid of my dreaded cassette tape!
This cd tackles most of the tracks of their classic album
"Seven Seals" (released in green vinyl!).
This album is Roots Rock Reggae to the best, heavy guitars, nice intros, good lyrics, a natural high for all reggaefans.

If you are into the old school reggae, you must check out also:
The Congos, African Dub and early albums of Steel Pulse and Third World.

The original vinyl album coincided with the release of Michael Abbensett's Empire Road TV programme which appeared, I think, on BBC in the late 70's. Although the TV programme only ran for a short time (pity) the music of Matumbi lives on. For me this is the classic reggae album of all time. Although the album is filled with quality tracks which sound as fresh today as they did in 1979, the album is worth buying if only for one track - Rock. The production is spot on and the level of musicianship superb. Don't miss this one!

This remasterd CD is what I was looking for. I just bought the CD last week and it's a rastaman's kinda roots reggae CD. Better buy one yourself.