Poet And The Roots ‎– Dread Beat An' Blood (1978)

Originally released in 1978 in the UK on the Virgin Front Line label credited to Poet And The Roots this album was soon reissued worldwide with the credit going to Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Poet is Linton Kwesi Johnson; the Roots are Vivian Weathers (bass guitar, vocals), Dennis Bovell (guitar, keyboards), Desmond Craig (keyboards), Winston Cumiffe (drums), Lloyd Donaldson (drums), Everald Forest (percussion), John Vamom (guitar), and Lila Weathers (vocals). All but two songs first appeared in Johnson's 1975 poetry book, Dread Beat An' Blood. The poems are political in nature, dealing with England's racist regime and the way some dealt with the oppression: doping, fighting, and wasting one another in bars, as depicted in "Five Nights of Bleeding (For Leroy Harris)." Johnson does little singing, he simply delivers his poems in cadence to the music. Only on a couple of tunes like "Song of Blood," led by Lila Weathers, does any real singing occur, but Johnson's powerful, inspirational, descriptive words needs little embellishment.


Tracklist:

Dread Beat An' Blood
Five Nights Of Bleeding
Doun Di Road
Song Of Blood
It Dread Inna Inglan (For George Lindo)
Come Wi Goh Dung Deh
Man Free (For Darcus Howe)
All Wi Doin Is Defendin

Poet And The Roots ‎– Dread Beat An' Blood (1978)

(254 kbps, cover art included)