Record Label: Rhino Records
Genre:
Band Link:
Buy on Amazon.com

I’ve only been listening to Steel Pulse for a few years now and never got into them back in the 80’s. I didn’t listen to reggae back then so that’s mainly the reason. Too busy rockin’ out to Alice Cooper and Ozzy! I remember my older brother had this CD but I never listened to it until I got into reggae music years later. Steel Pulse are a tremendous band that have an unique reggae sound, mixing traditional music with synthesizers. The vocals of David Hinds is distinctive nd once you hear one Steel Pulse song, I’m sure you’ll be hooked. I just love 80’s reggae with all the keyboards, synths, horns. Today’s reggae is more dancehall oriented, or too much R&B and many artists or bands don’t sound like this. Plus all these songs are either very political or religious and not the “make love” type of reggae you hear now.

I honestly didn’t know they were British until reading the CD insert. Another interesting fact: Matt Groening of the Simpsons was a critic for the UCLA paper and praised the band when they played the first major reggae festival in LA back in the 80s. That’s pretty damn cool! The Cd starts off with “Stepping Out” and is probably one of my favorite songs from Steel Pulse, my favorite track is “Chant a Psalm” from the album “True Democracy.” I actually like that song more live since that’s the song that got me into Steel Pulse. I heard it on a reggae show in Poughkeepsie and after that, I was hooked. This album is just really good and sounds even better now that it’s remastered. There’s 4 tracks added to “Earth Crisis” album. There’s two new versions of “Stepping Out,” a dub version and then an extended version of the song. “Roller Skates” has two versions as well, one is a remix version and the other is a dub version. Fans of Black Uhuru, Inner Circle and UB40 would love this album!

Bottom Line: One of the greatest reggae bands ever, and this could be their best album!
Notable Tracks: Stepping Out, Tightrope, Roller Skates, Body Guard, Grab Education
Overall Rating: