Aswad – Live At Rockpalast: Cologne 1980

When Aswad played the Rockpalast recording at the Studio-B of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, nobody expected them to become pop stars in the future, yet. In 1980 they still were part of the London Punky Reggae Party". The Rockpalast concert shows the band at an early stage: influenced by punk, raw and untamed, years before they rose to be one of the most important reggae bands from Great Britain next to Steel Pulse. They saw themselves as pan-African "Rebel Souls" and began their set with a programmatic song, which never appeared on any album: "Only Jah children play reggae music this way!" Driven by the drummer's wild drum patterns and underlined with the filigree organ figures by Clifton 'Bigga' Morrison the concert develops a increasing dubby energy, which leads to the many-voiced complaint: "They want to execute political systems on I and I" with an anarchic echo inferno."

Disc 1

1. Only Jah Children
2. I a Rebel Soul
3. Back to Africa
4. Sons of Criminals

Disc 2

1. Concrete Slaveship
2. Rainbow Culture
3. Not Guilty

Disc 3

1. Three Babylon
2. Natural Progression

Label: Made in Germany Musi

Catalog: 90711

Genre: Reggae