The Soul of Rasta [Original recording remastered]

The Soul of Rasta [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Like other underappreciated bands from the same era (the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, etc.), the multi-member funk band Cymande was virtually ignored during their short career, which spawned a trio of albums during the early '70s. But 20 years after their breakup, the group gained a large cult following, after countless modern-day rap acts began sampling bits from Cymande's tunes. The Newhouse label assembled a 13-track best-of set in 2000, The Soul of Rasta, collecting the finest tracks from their 3 original releases. Although comparable at times to such bands as Santana and War (especially evident in the group's use of percussion), Cymande's music is a must-hear, as it's a fantastic blend of exotic and funky ensemble playing (the group included eight members), soulful vocals, and uplifting lyrics, the latter of which sometimes reflected their Rastafarian beliefs. All 13 tracks are standouts, but tops would have to be "Bra" (which was a popular radio hit in! New York City when originally released), the groovy "The Message," the long and winding 11-minute track "Dove," and arguably the finest song on the collection, the soothing "Willy's Headache." The Soul of Rasta is an essential purchase for admirers of '70s funk and soul. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks:

Aggrivated Rasta
Never Leave The Pad
The Next Episode
Kick Door
Type Of N-G-A I Am
The Episode

Average customer rating:

Rasta Business
Burning Spear
Manufacturer: Burning Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dub | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00020HBXM
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Tracks:

Africia
This Man
Not Stupid
Creation
Every Other Nation
Burning Reggae
Rasta Business
Old Timer
Subject In School
Hello Rastaman
Legal Hustlers

Average customer rating:

Naturalism
Osric
Manufacturer: Sw-South West Label Group
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00006IZOK
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Tracks:

Intro
The Truth
Bambada
Pacific Coast
Rap Games In My Blood
I'm To Nice To Like
Sun Shinen
Skit
Isn't She Lovely
Xtortion Party
Only A G
Pimpstruts
4 Kings
Life

Average customer rating:

Conquerors, Vol.1
InI Mighty Lockdown
Manufacturer: Trus Fund Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA9NOC
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Tracks:

Greetings Intro
Soul Is Priceless [Butta Mix]
Fuckrey Killa Interlude
Wake Up [Wiplash Remix]
Bad Motha@*#!! % Interlude
Front Line [Now Rule Mix]
Traffic Interlude
Really Feat: Duo Live
Musical Potential Interlude
How Ya Livin Feat: Mr. Len
Don't Sheep Interludea
Don't Sheep Interludeb
Still Priceless [Original Street Mix]
A.P. B Soon Come

Average customer rating:

Mystery Babylon Fuego al Dragon
Natural Soul, Rasta Dom, Mal Roots Natty Collaboration: Midnite
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000R9GBAW

Product Description

1 Rasta No Criminal 2 Overthrow The Creator 3 The Task 4 Intrinsica Melodia 5 Mystery Babylon 6 Jah Youth 7 Kodoish, Kodoish, Kodoish 8 Fuego al Dragon 9 Slave Ship 10 Negra 11 I See Dem 12 Hipocrites, Parasites, Ignorants 13 Abyssinia 14 Dub Prospah

Average customer rating:

Raggamobbsta's and Rasta's
Raggamobb
Manufacturer: RAGGAMOBB
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA91IA
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

Intro
Get It Up
Whoa Love
Raggalova
Blazin'
Cutie Pie
Juicy
Raggamobbin'
Bouncin'
World War III
Shake It
Ease Up
Raggafunk

Average customer rating:

Prayer for All Mankind/Free V-47089
Da Mudman
Manufacturer: Rasta F.l.y.t.e.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAKPKI
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Tracks:

Prayer for All Mankind
Principio (From the Beginning)
Non Nubis, Sed Mente (Not by Force, But by Mind)
Melioribus Annis (In Better Years)
Cogito Ergo Sum (I Think, Therefore I Am)
Crescit Sub Pondere Virtus (Virtue Grows Under Oppression)
Cras Mihi (Your Turn Tomorrow)
Scio Cui Credidi (I Know Whom I Have Trusted)
Scala Caeli (Staircase to Heaven)
Per Gradus (Step by Step)
Pablulum Animi (Food for the Mind)
Orate, Frates (Pray Brother)
Nitor in Adversum (I Struggle Against Misfortune)
Veni, Vedi, Vici (I Came, I Saw, I Conquered)
False Education Plan

Average customer rating:

If you find this, BUY IT
CYMANDE FEATURED IN SPIKE LEE'S NEW MOVIE
If only they had made more albums...
A lost Treasure!
Press Review

The Soul of Rasta
Cymande
Manufacturer: Newhouse
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | R&B | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004XR4I
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

Brothers On The Slide
Bra
The Message
Fug
Listen
Genevieve
Dove
Willy's Headache
Getting It Back
One More
Anthracite
Equitorial Forest
For Baby Ooh

Album Description

Like other underappreciated bands from the same era (the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, etc.), the multi-member funk band Cymande was virtually ignored during their short career, which spawned a trio of albums during the early '70s. But 20 years after their breakup, the group gained a large cult following, after countless modern-day rap acts began sampling bits from Cymande's tunes. The Newhouse label assembled a 13-track best-of set in 2000, The Soul of Rasta, collecting the finest tracks from their 3 original releases. Although comparable at times to such bands as Santana and War (especially evident in the group's use of percussion), Cymande's music is a must-hear, as it's a fantastic blend of exotic and funky ensemble playing (the group included eight members), soulful vocals, and uplifting lyrics, the latter of which sometimes reflected their Rastafarian beliefs. All 13 tracks are standouts, but tops would have to be "Bra" (which was a popular radio hit in! New York City when originally released), the groovy "The Message," the long and winding 11-minute track "Dove," and arguably the finest song on the collection, the soothing "Willy's Headache." The Soul of Rasta is an essential purchase for admirers of '70s funk and soul. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews:

If you find this, BUY IT.......2004-01-18

I cannot believe this Cymande comp is already out of print. From beginning to end, this disc is amazing, and does not have one weak track. Naming favorites is tough, but "The Message," "One More," "Equitorial Forest," and "Brothers on the Slide" are all absolute classics. Great for hanging out at the beach, or cruising late at night under a full moon. If you can find this one, pick it up immediately; everyone who I have played this disc for has become an instant Cymande convert.

CYMANDE FEATURED IN SPIKE LEE'S NEW MOVIE.......2002-12-12

The Tracks, "Dove," "Bra," (check the anna paquin hallway dance scene) and the classic "The Message," are all featured during the supposed hot DJ Dusk club appearance. Its interesting that they all talk about how cutting edge the DJ is and then he plays and scratches over 3 classic Cymande tunes. Perhaps cutting edge to some but standard classics to me. If you don't know about Cymande then you need to discover them. Its really that simple. I don't care who you are. Cymande is loved by Spike Lee and people all over the world. These are all classic Funk tunes. WHAT BAFFLES ME IS THAT PEOPLE WHO LOVE FUNK OR EVEN THE GRATEFUL DEAD ARE UNAWARE OF THIS GREAT BAND'S RAW POWER. DISCOVER BROTHER'S ON THE SLIDE, BRA , LISTEN, and THE MESSAGE." DIVE IN, GET LIFTED AND FEEL THE MESSAGE. Go check out the best latest remastered collection entitled,
Cymande "The Soul of Rasta."

If only they had made more albums..........2002-04-15

This is one of my favorite CD's of all time. Its grown on me incredibly and after over a year of steady listening, I am not bored of a single track. How best to describe them? Its definitely not reggae, though there are tinges of it in various songs, and there is a certain Caribbean flair to their accents and emphasis. I'd say its the Meters meets Carlos Santana, with a little bit of P-Funk thrown in on top. Every song is great. But especially Anthracite, Bra and The Message. Its a true feel good album - ups the spirit at least a few notches. If you haven't heard it, its definitely time to give it a listen.

A lost Treasure!.......2001-08-22

Cymande is a one of the greatest soul bands I've ever heard. This album is a must for anyones catalog. It is the backbone to funk as we know it!

Press Review.......2001-02-24

Here is what MIXMAG magazine had to say: One of the most original groups to emerge from the Black British music scene of the mid 70's, Cymande became the epitome of 'rare groove' a decade later. When The Message, perhaps the group's defining moment, dropped at clubs such as Shake And Finger Pop, you always got the feeling that this was music which was totally out on a limb - difficult to pin down, to locate within any particular time-frame. In fact, Cymande were a tightly-knit collective of Caribbean musicians who had migrated to London in the late 60's. And you feel it in just about all the tracks - the leisurely ripples of guitar, the nyabinghi-style percussive beds, the celebratory references to Jah. Cymande were not just black and proud, they were loud and West Indian. Athough wholly conversant with the rigours of funk, they developed a cosmic, mellow but nevertheless full-blooded sound that retained the reggae and calypso pulses of the Caribbean. The Cymande sound also had breakbeats jumping out of virtually every fourth bar. Tracks such as The Message, Dove, Brothers On The Slide, Bra and Fug would find their way into the sequencers of numerous hip hop producers some 15 years after being recorded. Cymande's music has been called anything from Afro-funk to Nyah Rock to hippie soul but these terms don't really do justice to the complexity or the finesse of the compositions. Although the band was more associated with the raw funk sound that was evolving in the States around the mid 70's, their music was decidedly island-style. Perhaps the closest point of comparison would be New Orleans funkmeisters The Meters, whose earthy bayou beats also had a strong aftertaste of the Caribbean. It only remains for me to say that for those who missed Cymande first time round, this re-issue, which brings together cherished tracks from the original three albums; Cymande, Second Time Round and Promised Heights. This is an essential purchase.

Music:

Music

music

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