Reggae—vulcanizing, restrained, irresistible—is more than the national music of Jamaica: It is a social force that fills the complete cultural needs of the people it serves. Everyone in Jamaica, from the prime minister in his gardens to the Rastafarian elders in Trench Town, listens to the latest reggae songs for an immediate line on the political and spiritual pulse of the island. Reggae Bloodlines, originally published in 1977 and here updated with a new afterword, was the first book to tell the story of the music of the Jamaican people and their spiritual nationality, the Brotherhood of Rastafari. It includes interviews with reggae’s master musicians—Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert, Big Youth, Peter Tosh, Agugstus Pablo, Max Romeo—and Prime Minister Michael Manley; reportage on Jamaican politics; and it sorties into the nation’s lush interior in search of the ganja fields of Kali Mountain and the legendary Maroon enclaves, still inhabited by the descendants of slave warriors. Reggae Bloodlines is not an encyclopedia of Jamaican style, nor a critical appraisal of its music—it is a definitive portrait of a struggling nation and its musical heritage at the crucial turning point of decolonization. Packed with hundreds of astonishing photographs, Reggae Bloodlines captures the restless rhythm of reggae culture like no book before or since.
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Stephen Davis is America's preeminent rock journalist and biographer, having written numerous bestsellers on rock bands, including the smash hit Hammer of the Gods. He lives in Boston.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An early attempt to explain the then-exotic reggae beat.,
By Joe O'Donnell(ras_jose@yahoo.com) (Burlington,Vt.,USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Reggae Bloodlines: In Search Of The Music And Culture Of Jamaica (Paperback)
For many non-Jamaicans,(myself included)this was the first in-depth look at the music that exploded out of that small Carribean island in the mid-seventies and took the world by storm.The main strength of the book is it's lyrical black and white photography(much clearer in the original edition, by the way.)The narrative is occaisionally over-awed,and,in hindsight,sometimes inaccurate.This is a small failing, especially when trying to make sense of a vibrant people and the music which reflects their lives.Facts,as the book points out,are notoriously hard to pin down in Jamaica.Davis and Simon deserve a vote of thanks for the first attempt to go beyond exotica and explain the people,nation and religious experience which shaped the music of Jamaica.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
NOT BAD BUT OUT OF DATE,
By A Customer
This review is from: Reggae Bloodlines: In Search Of The Music And Culture Of Jamaica (Paperback)
This isn't a bad book, but it's 20 years out of date. It was first published in 1976 and the reprint in 1992 doesn't add anything except a postcript saying all the the developments in reggae since it was first written are all rubbish. Reggae Bloodlines gives a good snapshot of reggae in the seventies, but it has been superseded by more up to date and comprehensive books like Reggae, Rasta, Revolution, The Reggae Rough Guide, and Reggae Routes : The Story of Jamaican Music.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real Reggae Bible,
By A Customer
This review is from: Reggae Bloodlines: In Search Of The Music And Culture Of Jamaica (Paperback)
I red this book when I was a child. still my most favorite book! This is the reggae guide which was written by photographer in the real time of 'Roots Rock Reggae'. You will feel like you're traveling Jamaica and talking with Bob Marly. You will learn a lot of things about Reggae history.
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