Stand Strong

Description

Limited to 300 copies. It took the Rhythm-Ites nearly a quarter of a century to record their second album "Stand Strong" released back in 2009 on a now nearly impossible to find CD. The twenty-year wait between their first album "Integration" and "Stand Strong" saw the band hone both their musicianship and their songwriting, playing numerous gigs along the way. The finished album is as strong an example of UK roots reggae you will find and deserves a much larger audience. Having given the band's first album, a CD only release back in 2015 on our sister label Bristol Archive Records, we spin things around to give "Stand Strong" it's first vinyl release on Reggae Archive Records. Limited to just 300 copies on black vinyl the seven included tracks follow the old adage of all killer and no filler. Side A starts with the perfect description for the whole album, "Rootsy," it's upbeat roots vocal showing what the band is about and also demonstrating just how far their music had come in the first twenty-five years. Track two "Consciousness" ups the tempo for an upbeat stepper's workout, which is followed by the similarly upbeat "Fill I Up;" the side is rounded off by the excellent and somewhat darker "We Na Run". The B side kicks off slowly with the pure roots of "Blessed" before heading towards steppers territory with the faster "Long Time" finishing with the eight minute "Dream World" with its instrumental dub workout. This is an album produced by an experienced band at the height of their powers, demonstrating rare maturity in their songwriting. Much as it fits perfectly with the mainstream of twenty-first century UK roots it manages to stand out from the crowd with superior songwriting, musicianship and the quality of the studios used, which includes Peter Gabriel's Real World.