Monday 25 July 2016

Red Gold & Green #4 - The Aggrovators


Last week was a hot one. Throughout most of Wednesday, as temperatures soared through the 30° mark, I hunkered down indoors with the curtains closed - it was just too much for me. In the evening though, all hell broke loose in the form of a brief, but very violent thunderstorm, which left the air blissfully cool when it had passed. As the storm raged (and did it ever rage) I stood at the window firing off ten shots at a time, trying to capture a photograph of a lightning bolt. It's a tricky business with a little point and press camera, but my patience was rewarded with these two consecutive shots (click on them to enlarge).


The Aggrovators were one of the great session bands of reggae's golden age, working extensively with producer Bunny Lee throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The band practised something of a revolving door policy, with legends such as Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook all passing through the ranks at one time or another. 44 of The Aggrovators' dubs, mixed by the late King Tubby, have recently been compiled by VP Records as 'Dubbing at King Tubby's'. Here, from that collection, is the appropriately titled 'Thunder Rock', which was originally released in 1976 on the flipside of Cornell Campbell's 'Have Mercy Oh Jah'.

The Aggrovators - 'Thunder Rock'

7 comments:

Old Pa's Corner said...

Loved tnis one that bass riff burrows its way in

The Swede said...

Cheers Old Pa. It's a cracking compilation, well worth checking out.

Charity Chic said...

Liking this series

Walter said...

Love this one. Great bass and dub. Looking forward to this series, Swede.

C said...

That's a fantastic shot - and you must have lightning reaction (pun intended) to capture that moment!
Great piece of summery dub too, perfect for the current weather in every way.
(Hope your toe is fully recovered now as well.)

Brian said...

Always a treat when you start snappin'. I assume the birds were all taking cover.

The Swede said...

Thanks all.
Great to hear from you C. The joys of a digital camera with a continuous shot setting! I kept my finger on the shutter and must've taken 200 photos to get these two good 'uns! The rest just show a soggy darkness! (The toe has returned to its usual shape, size and colour, thanks!)

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