Published on Jan 29, 1999
Quick — name five reggae artists or bands.
If you’re having difficulty completing this list – for that
matter, if you drew blanks after naming only Bob Marley & The
Wailers — don’t feel too bad. The unfortunate fact is that very
few reggae acts have made significant names for themselves in
America. It’s not that the talent wasn’t there — often, the talent
was very good – but that the market window opened up just wide
enough for a few bands to squeak through, then closed up after
Marley’s death in 1981.
This sort of explains why The Gladiators never became superstars
— but it doesn’t excuse the fact.
Bongo Red, a collection of sessions from Jamaica’s legendary
Studio One, shows that Albert Griffiths and company had just as
much talent as the then-young Wailers. Both bands came up during
the ska movement, and you can hear its influence in the work fo
both bands during much of the ’60s.
But The Gladiators seemed to always keep at least one foot in
ska, so the songs on
Bongo Red are more lively than one might expect from the
genre. With many versions never released before (and others never
released on compact disc), Griffiths and crew demonstrate that this
band should be in that upper echelon of reggae with the
Wailers.
Each of the two versions of the vocal trios that make up The
Gladiators (always with Griffiths leading the pack) are strong; in
fact, it’s difficult to tell the difference between the ’60s lineup
and the ’70s. (For that matter, I would have liked to have seen a
more detailed track listing, detailing dates of recording. For
someone like myself who is experiencing this band for the first
time, such information would be quite valuable.) Tracks like “Happy
Man,” “Tribulation,” “Fling It Gimme” and “Roots Natty” all capture
just how enjoyable and spiritually uplifting reggae music can be.
Also of interest is the extended version of the title track.
Occasionally, the songs on
Bongo Red sound like they’ve been enhanced from a vinyl
source — you can faintly hear pops and clicks in the background.
Normally, this would bother me — but in this case, I almost think
the imperfections in the sound add to the fun. It’s almost like you
pulled these from a time capsule and are listening to them on your
old turntable.
Will
Bongo Red raise The Gladiators to superstardom? Probably
not. But it should raise people’s awareness of this band,
particularly those who consider themselves “casual” fans of reggae
who want to discover more about the genre. It’s a pleasant enough
way to spend an hour, and it reminds us that there are more bands
than just the superstars who are busy raising reggae to its own
musical art form.