Culture Albums (30)
'Raw Truth Extended Play'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 6
Label Ababa Janhoy
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What The Critics Say
When Bob Marley died in 1981, it was a tragedy, but no one thought it would be the end of reggae music -- in fact, in retrospect it marked the beginning of reggae's explosion as an international phenomenon. But the death in 2006 of Joseph Hill, founder and leader of the legendary harmony trio Culture throughout the group's 30-year career, felt like the end of an era. Though listeners occasionally still hear from the Mighty Diamonds and maybe the Gladiators, there's no question that the time of the harmony trio is over, and Hill's passing punctuated that fact like the last stroke of a hammer on a coffin nail. Now comes the flood of "final" recordings, and roots fans will welcome every one of them. This one is actually a sort of maxi-single, a six-track showcase featuring multiple mixes and versions of the Hill composition "Raw Truth." It opens with the "Queen's Radio Edit," the most conventional and radio-ready of the six, then segues into the slightly more muscular rockers beat of the "King's Radio Edit." Things don't get really interesting until the third track, an extended mix featuring typically brilliant toasting from Culture's contemporary Big Youth; the fourth is another DJ cut featuring the younger but scarcely less skillful Daddy Rings. The instrumental dub mix is then featured on its own, followed by a completely superfluous "A Cappella" mix that consists of nothing but Hill's voice stripped out of its instrumental context, complete with long gaps of silence. This disc will mainly be of interest to completists, but there are lots of them out there. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of the masterpieces of the roots era, no album better defines its time and place than Two Sevens Clash, which encompasses both the religious fervor of its day and the rich sounds of contemporary Jamaica. Avowed Rastafarians, Culture had formed in 1976, and cut two singles before beginning work on their debut album with producers the Mighty Two (aka Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson). Their second single, "Two Sevens Clash," would title the album and provide its focal point. The song swept across the island like a wildfire, its power fed by the apocalyptic fever that held the island in its clutches throughout late 1976 and into 1977. (Rastafarians believed the apocalypse would begin when the two sevens clashed, with July 7, 1977, when the four sevens clashed, the most fearsome date of concern.) However, the song itself was fearless, celebrating the impending apocalypse, while simultaneously reminding listeners of a series of prophesies by Marcus Garvey and twinning them to the island's current state. For those of true faith, the end of the world did not spell doom, but release from the misery of life into the eternal and heavenly arms of Jah. Thus, Clash is filled with a sense of joy mixed with deep spirituality, and a belief that historical injustice was soon to be righted. The music, provided by the Revolutionaries, perfectly complements the lyrics' ultimate optimism, and is quite distinct from most dread albums of the period. Although definitely rootsy, Culture had a lighter sound than most of their contemporaries. Not for them the radical anger of Black Uhuru, the fire of Burning Spear (although Hill's singsong delivery was obviously influenced by Winston Rodney), nor even the hymnal devotion of the Abyssinians. In fact, Clash is one of the most eclectic albums of the day, a wondrous blend of styles and sounds. Often the vocal trio works in a totally different style from the band, as on "Calling Rasta Far I," where the close harmonies, dread-based but African-tinged, entwine around a straight reggae backing. Several of the songs are rocksteady-esque with a rootsy rhythm, most notably the infectious "See Them Come"; others are performed in a rockers style, with "I'm Alone in the Wilderness" an exquisite blend of guitar and vocal harmonies. One of the best tracks, "Get Ready to Ride the Lion to Zion," is a superb hybrid of roots, rocksteady, and burbling electro wizardry; its roaring lion (created who knows how) is a brilliant piece of musical theater. "Natty Dread Take Over" twines together roots rhythms, close harmonies, and big-band swing, while even funk and hints of calypso put in appearances elsewhere on the album. Inevitably, the roots genre was defined by its minor-key melodies, filled with a sense of melancholy, and emphasized by most groups' lyrics. But for a brief moment, roots possibilities were endless. Sadly, no other group followed Culture's lead, and even the trio itself did not take advantage of it, especially after parting ways with Gibbs. When Culture re-emerged in the mid-'80s, they swiftly moved into a reggae lite/world music mode a world apart from where they started. Thus, Clash remains forever in a class all its own. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While Culture has made a handful of truly outstanding albums over the course of its 27-year career, it has always had a little bit of trouble emerging from the shadow of Two Sevens Clash, its epoch-making sophomore album from 1977 (even the press materials for World Peace start out with a mention of that album). So the question about World Peace, as it has been with every album since Two Sevens Clash, is: how does it measure up? And the answer is: better than any album the band has recorded in a decade. It's hard to know just what has invigorated the aging Joseph Hill, but he is singing with more force and conviction than we've heard in years; and the band that was organized to back him up (consisting of The Firehouse Crew and members of Shaggy's backup group) sounds like the rumble of thunder and the crack of a whip. As always, Hill's melodies are as simple and obvious as nursery rhyme ditties, and as usual, they are insanely catchy and almost endlessly entrancing. On World Peace, Hill chose to reprise a couple of songs from the old book, "Dog a Go Nyam Dog" and "Never Get Weary," but both come off sounding like new compositions. Highlights from the newer material include the strangely funky and horn-heavy "Holy Mount Zion," the Nyahbinghi-influenced "Babylon Falling," and the exquisitely sanctified "Walk in Jah Light." But his real moment of triumph comes on "Selection Train," on which he proves that he is still capable of singing the line "reggae train is coming" without losing his audience. How many other reggae singers can do that? ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Culture started out in the mid-'70s as an archetypal reggae harmony trio, the group has long since dropped all pretense of group identity and the name is now synonymous with lead singer and songwriter Joseph Hill (this despite the fact that his cousin, Albert Walker, a founding member of the group, is still with him; the third vocal position has been a revolving door throughout Culture's 25-year career). This live album is actually the soundtrack to a concert film of the group's 2000 performance in Capetown, South Africa. The sound quality is good and the set list is exactly what you'd expect, with a hearty helping of songs from the band's halcyon days (including "International Herb," "Too Long in Slavery," and the inevitable "Two Sevens Clash") along with some of Hill's better compositions of the 1990s (including the excellent "Payday"). "Never Get Weary Yet" is given a lovely gospel-nyahbinghi treatment. Between songs, Hill unburdens himself of sentiments both sensible ("Turn off the TV!") and absurd ("If I was here five years ago you wouldn't have a war!"). Overall, it's a fairly enjoyable listening experience, though it suffers from what sounds like a certain degree of professional detachment. The band has the charts down cold and sounds like its phoning them in, and Hill himself is clearly going through the motions on perfunctory renditions of "Jah Jah See Them a Come" and "Ganja Time." Which is too bad, because "Jah Jah See Them a Come," in particular, deserves better. A lack of magic isn't the worst thing in a live album, but it's one more reason to make sure you own Two Sevens Clash, International Herb, and Cumbolo before you invest in this one. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
'Scientist Dubs Culture into a Parallel Universe'
Release Date 10/17/2000
Tracks 11
Label Ras
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What The Critics Say
The dub version of Culture's 2000 vocal album Payday, Scientist Dubs Culture into a Parallel Universe deserves the revised billing of the title: This is Scientist's album all the way. Culture's original recordings are sliced and diced into entirely new configurations, with only the barest traces of the original melodies and Joseph Hill's commanding vocals remaining. Retitled with imagery drawn from the golden age of science fiction, the songs also revisit the golden age of dub. Unlike the over-processed, electronic style of most modern dub, Scientist is kicking it old-school here: Echo chambers, reverb, hand percussion, horns, even bits of Augustus Pablo-style melodica and Lee "Scratch" Perry-trademarked sound effects float by on booming roots-style rhythms powered by Phanso's hyperkinetic drums and Glen Browne's deep-toned, rich bass. The resulting dubs sound simultaneously ultra-modern and reverentially roots-oriented. A uniformly powerful and mellow dub set, Scientist Dubs Culture into a Parallel Universe proves that proper roots dub still survives in an age when gimmickry and novelty rule. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
You could accuse Culture of making the same album over and over again, and you'd be more right than wrong. But you'd also be missing the point. Remember, this is reggae: a style of music that places far more emphasis on depth of groove than on originality. Sure, it all sounds the same, but so do Bach cantatas; this doesn't make them any less great. That said, Culture albums do tend to sound even more similar than most reggae (only Burning Spear can boast a more, ah, consistent style), so Payday comes as something of a surprise. Produced by Clive Hunt instead of bandleader Joseph Hill, this album sounds slicker than the usual, and there are some moments of positively rockish intensity: "War in Sierra Leone" chugs along on a rockers beat straight out of middle-period Sly and Robbie, and the rather bizarre "Chicken Titty" feels more like soca than reggae. Yet even with aggressive drumming and occasional metal-inflected guitars, this is still an immediately recognizable Culture joint: The usual ganja anthems ("Legalization"), warnings to bourgeois Babylon ("Where the Tree Falls"), and populist pronouncements ("Payday," "Share the Riches") are couched in the usual catchy melodies and delivered in Hill's inimitable growl. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
