But while most rude boys’ names are forgotten, the brave Alton, singing against the tide of fashion, is not, and “Cry Tough” remains one of the best reggae protest songs. It didn’t work, of course, and Alton abandoned trying to change their attitude with music when he was threatened by some bad boys. But “Cry Tough,” with its dramatic opening, deep wailing backing voice like a funeral lament sung by Lloyd Charmers, and Alton’s dark warning (“How can a man be tough, tougher than the world?”) was one final attempt to sing some sense into the rudies. But “Cry Tough,” released in 1967 by Alton Ellis And The Flames, was unambiguous.Įllis had no time for badness he’d already sung of “The Preacher,” who “don’t like rude boys” had warned rudies “Don’t Trouble People” and advised a “Dance Crasher” to take up boxing instead, if he wanted to fight. Others, such as Desmond Dekker on “007,” saw doom coming when the soldiers were called in, but Dekker took the stance of an observer, not commenting one way or another. Some artists, such as The Wailers on “Jailhouse,” saw the rude boys as youths fighting a system that was against them. And since Jamaican music always commented on current events, rudies were mostly lionized: a rudie on your side was not a rudie against you, after all. Singers in Kingston, Jamaica, knew their audience contained a sprinkling of rudies, the sharply-dressed bad boys who were shootin’, lootin’ and bomb-throwin’ their way around town. The rude boy was celebrated and reviled on record in the 60s – but mostly celebrated. Alton Ellis And The Flames: Cry Tough (1967) Here are 11 of the best reggae protest songs that remain timeless classics. It’s about music’s redemptive power, and where that power ends.Whether warning rudies of doom around the corner, fighting for the legalization of cannabis, or battling dark forces in politics, the best reggae protest songs have spoken to their times and yet continue to resonate today. The truth, the truth That fabulous lie I’m tired of smiling While you constantly die. Engle sings, “Things’ll get better ’cause they can’t get worse.” The album’s finale is “Mouth Guards of the Apocalypse,” a shimmering instrumental anthem at beginning and end, sandwiching a burst of despair from Mr. And “Gonna Get Better,” a somber march with dissonance at its edges, is as glum as optimism gets Ms. Drew, is a duet (with Lisa Lobsinger) of shared recriminations and compromises: “My better is the best that you will find,” Mr. “Victim Lover,” a ballad with lyrics by Mr. Drew sings “Please Take Me With You” almost furtively, as if he were looking over his shoulder, desperate to escape some crackdown: “Nobody’s speaking/Everyone’s getting caught.” Haines upfront, braids together an elaborate stereo counterpoint of guitars, voices and syncopated beats, then gallops into a big shared chorus.īut that chorus notes, “You’re just the latest in a long list of lost loves.” As the album unfolds, the thrills of creativity collide with a recognition of destruction and collapse tempos slow, and the mood darkens. Engle, evolves all the way through, from a wordless, airy, seemingly tentative introduction into bustling orchestral pop. “Stay Happy,” with lyrics and lead vocals by Ms. But “Hug of Thunder” holds a growing disquiet.īroken Social Scene’s music rejoices in what clever teamwork can construct. On the surface, in these bands, the music’s crescendos usually signal euphoria. Something particularly Canadian - hearty, thoughtful, knotty, communal - unites bands like Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire and the New Pornographers. Its 2001 debut album, “Feel Good Lost,” was largely instrumental, and its songs since then have flaunted long introductions and interludes where hooks and intricate countermelodies pile up. Sound has always subsumed lyrics in Broken Social Scene. Keeping its options open, the group gathers its loosely knit crew of clamorous, flexible musicians behind songs that are ready for a big soundstage: an exultant surge of instruments, voices and wide-open reverberation that Broken Social Scene delights in applying. The collaborators on “Hug of Thunder,” the band’s first album since 2010, have grown up together and, by now, have also built their own careers, yet they still work on Broken Social Scene. It’s grand in sound and personnel, with 15 participants on its new album, “Hug of Thunder” it’s modest in constructing its music collectively, even though it’s packed with individualistic songwriters. Somewhere between a band and a concept, the Canadian group Broken Social Scene has persisted both grandly and modestly since 1999.
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