Massive Dread’s debut album has been hiding in the shadows for decades, but it’s finally back in the light. Originally dropping in ’79 on the Gorgon label in Jamaica and later that year in the UK on Burning Sounds’ subsidiary His Majesty, this long-out-of-print self-titled set is now back on CD and vinyl for everyone who’s been waiting patiently.
Massive Dread, born Dennis James in Trench Town, stepped into the reggae game early. At 18 he linked up with Tapper Zukie and cut his first tune, Owner Man Skank, for Zukie’s New Star label. More followed, including No More Sheep To Roar and a handful of wicked deejay cuts on Horace Andy 12″s like Jah Rainbow (Food Is The Staff Of Life) and This Must Be Hell (Natty Culture). Through Zukie he connected with Michael Samuels, who had left roots vocal group Knowledge after he and Zukie came back from England. That link-up led straight to this album. Together they shaped this first LP at the legendary King Tubby’s studio, with Sonic Sounds handling distribution.
The lineup on this album reads like a who’s who of late-’70s Jamaica. Sly & Robbie holding down the drum-and-bass engine, Winston “Bo-Peep” Bowen on guitar, Ansel Collins on organ, and Deadly Headley drifting in with those trademark horn lines. Massive Dread rides their riddims with a style that sits right between deep roots and the early dancehall spark, chatting rhythmic, streetwise verses without ever losing the cultural weight.
The album hits from both angles: cultural uplift and social commentary. Songs like the strong opener African Roots, on Johnny Clarke’s classic riddim from his same titled 1976 song, and Black Is A Natural Fact carry that Rastafari message loud and clear. Meanwhile the previously released singles on the Prophet’s Studio B label, Squatters Connection and Economical System (aka Economic Crisis), dive headfirst into the reality of Kingston’s gritty life. Black Is A Natural Fact follows on a tough rockers take of Alton Ellis’ Ain’t That Loving You, and side one closes with the heavy Economical System. Flip it over and you get more good moments, with especially the heavy Mutual Inspiration and Humble Lion standing tall.
Massive Dread’s first album is raw, honest, and full of life. It never got the spotlight it deserved back in the day, but for anyone who loves the moment where roots meets early dancehall, this is a treasure worth grabbing.