Roots Reggae Lives On With Veterans, Newcomers

Reggae’s success with young American audiences has been built on fast-talking deejays and electronic arrangements that often leave fans of traditional reggae cold. But new artists in the roots style are still emerging, and labels continue to reissue classic recordings from earlier eras of Jamaican music.

The old and new variants of roots reggae are the focus of this edition of On the Offbeat, a periodic review of ethnic, roots and non-mainstream pop music from around the world.

* BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS “One Love at Studio One”, Heartbeat * * * *

This two-CD set follows the Wailers through four years of pre-reggae recordings for the Studio One label, from their first Jamaican hit--”Simmer Down” in 1963--as a quintet to the core trio of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer that laid reggae’s foundation after 1966. The dominant musical mode is pop ‘n’ ska, with the Wailers’ gospel-influenced harmonizing backed by leading Jamaican musicians.

There are enough alternate takes and previously unreleased rarities to satiate obsessive collectors, and casual fans get the chance to hear a formative version of the later Wailers anthem “One Love.” A roughly recorded but revealing look at the roots of one of pop music’s most important artists.

* CULTURE “Wings of a Dove”, Shanachie * * 1/2

* LINK & CHAIN “S.T.O.P.”, RAS * * 1/2

Culture is a hardy perennial whose style rarely deviates from rough harmonies behind Joseph Hill’s grainy lead singing. “Wings of a Dove” is no exception. The treble-heavy mix is off-putting at first, but “Freedom Time,” “Too Much Pressure” and “English Fireplace” save the day.

Link & Chain’s “New Day” was an almost shocking debut album two years ago--young Jamaican vocal trios singing roots material are a rarity these days. “S.T.O.P.” suffers by shifting to a cluttered, electronic sound that doesn’t fit the group comfortably. Irritating percussion and gimmicky keyboard effects detract from the dynamic harmonies, but Link & Chain remains a striking group.

* BARRINGTON LEVY “Turning Point”, Profile * * 1/2

* YAMI BOLO “Up Life Street”, Heartbeat * * 1/2

Some singers are carving a niche by striking a balance between the old and new reggae schools, using “conscious” lyrics with the contemporary electronic sound.

Levy’s “Turning Point” suffers from too many love songs and not enough commentary, but his singing is strong enough to make mediocre material tolerable. Bolo has the opposite problem on “Up Life Street”--strong, imaginative arrangements are undercut by the sameness of his vocal approach.

* STEELY & CLEVIE “Play Studio One Vintage”, Heartbeat * * *

A true meeting of the generations--Steely & Clevie were the dominant production-session team during the recent rise of the electronic dancehall or ragamuffin sound. Here they salute Studio One, the reggae equivalent of rock ‘n’ roll’s Sun Records, with fresh recordings of that label’s ‘60s hits performed by the original singers.

Steely & Clevie contribute full, contemporary-sounding arrangements that don’t go overboard with electronics on this heartfelt nod to the era when reggae was principally Jamaican pop music concerned with romance.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.