I happened to be going through Fairfax (local small town) last week around midnight and stopped at the 19 Broadway club, heard some great reggae, and went in. The Meditations, never heard of them, wow, were they good! Roots reggae, the real thing. (Sad to say, there are a lot of krappy reggae bands around these days.) Once in a great while I stumble into some truly great music. The planets must have been lined up. The singer at the right, older guy, was dignified and hip, so nice to see… two and 3-part vocal harmonies. The kind of music that fills your soul with joy…
Quote from Wikipedia:
“…they began recording as The Meditations in late 1976, shortly after which they released their biggest hit, “Woman Is Like a Shadow”, which sold over 45,000 copies in its first month of release.[2] They recorded in the mid-1970s for producers such as Dobby Dobson, Joseph Hoo Kim, and Lee “Scratch” Perry, their righteously Rastafarian style gaining comparisons with The Mighty Diamonds. Their first album, Message From The Meditations, was released in 1977. The Meditations sang backing vocals on a number of Bob Marley songs, including “Blackman Redemption,” “Punky Reggae Party,” and “Rastaman Live Up”, as well as providing backing for Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Cliff and The Congos (on their Heart of the Congos album.”
I just got two Meditations albums: Deeper Roots: The Best of the Meditations and No More Friend. Great music.
Flashback to 1973: a bunch if us from my small town went into San Francisco to hear what was said to be a good reggae band. We got there a little late, walked into what was then Mother’s nightclub on Columbus Ave. It was just a big rectangular room, packed to the gills, everyone standing, and playing were — the Wailers. With Bob Marley. I’d never heard of them. (They hadn’t hit the big time yet.) Holy shit! Walking into music like that — heaven on Earth…
