The long-awaited Declaration of Dub is the dubwise companion to the Abyssinians' classic album Satta Massagana, an archetypal roots-reggae document featuring nothing but the deepest, darkest and dreadest riddims churning beneath the supernal trio harmonies of Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Lynford Manning; the lyrics are all standard Rastafarian fare, dealing with African repatriation, sociopolitical observations and the goodness of Jah. The dub version focuses on the instrumental gr...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

Few bands have been quite as consistently identified with a single song as the Abyssinians have been with their roots classic "Satta Massagana," a repatriation anthem that has been covered by so many other bands that it has turned into a kind of reggae version of "Kum Ba Ya." And being no fools, the Abyssinians have milked that song for all it's worth, recording it several times in different versions or writing new lyrics to go with the familiar melody. Arise, their second full-length ...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

This is one of those legendary reggae albums that's easier to admire than enjoy. There's no doubt of its importance: if you had to pick the five most influential Rasta anthems of the 1970s (and Jah knows there have been few if any since then), the title track of this album would be one of them. So, most likely, would "Declaration of Rights," which has been remade in countless different versions. And the Abyssinians themselves are a fine vocal trio. If they're not as sweet-sounding as {$the Mighty Dia...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08