Name: The Front Line [Virgin]
Brand: Frontline (UK)
SKU: 1004829
Availability: OutOfStock

The Front Line [Virgin]

Rating

Album: The Front Line [Virgin]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Dreadlock the Time Is Now - The Gladiators
2)	Mix up - The Gladiators
3)	Know Yourself Mankind - The Gladiators
4)	Too Long in Slavery - Culture
5)	Work on Natty - Culture
6)	Natty Never Get Weary - Culture
7)	Black Liberation Struggle - Gregory Isaacs
8)	Universal Tribulation - Gregory Isaacs
9)	Poor and Clean - Gregory Isaacs
10)	Let My Days Be Long - Abyssinians
11)	Wicked Men - Abyssinians
12)	Right Time - Mighty Diamonds
13)	Bodyguard - Mighty Diamonds
14)	Africa - Mighty Diamonds
15)	Boots Natty Roots Natty Congo - Johnny Clarke
16)	Crazy Baldhead - Johnny Clarke
17)	Prophecy a-Fulfuilled
18)	Never Get Burn - Twinkle Brothers
19)	Free Africa - Twinkle Brothers
20)	Since I Threw the Comb Away - Twinkle Brothers
21)	Zion - Delroy Washington
22)	Observance - Delroy Washington
23)	Stop the Fussing and Fighting - Culture
24)	Gumbolo - Culture
25)	International Herb - Culture, The
26)	Native Woman - Gregory Isaacs
27)	Lets Dance - Gregory Isaacs
28)	Mr Brown - Gregory Isaacs
29)	Those Guys - The Sensations
30)	Jan Loves - Abyssinians
31)	This Land Is For Everyone - Abyssinians
32)	Hearsay - The Gladiators
33)	Pocket Money - The Gladiators
34)	Greatest Love - The Gladiators
35)	Tide Is High - Paragons
36)	Declaration of Rights - Johnny Clarke
37)	I Am Still Waiting - Johnny Clarke
38)	I Dont Want to Be Lonely Anymore - Twinkle Brothers
39)	I Love You So - Twinkle Brothers
40)	Shame and Pride - Mighty Diamonds
41)	I Need a Roof - Mighty Diamonds
42)	Civilisation - Keith Hudson
43)	Uptown Top Ranking - Althea and Donna
44)	Chalice in the Palace - U Roy
45)	Wear You to the Ball - U Roy
46)	Natty Rebel - U Roy
47)	Tribute to Marcus Garvey - I Roy
48)	Jordan River - I Roy
49)	Radical Music - I Roy
50)	Bible - Prince Hammer
51)	M P I a - Tapper Zukie
52)	Oh Lord - Tapper Zukie
53)	She Wants a Phensh (Dangerous Woman) - Tapper Zukie
54)	Marcus Garvey - Big Youth
55)	Lightning Flash (Weak Heart Drop) - Big Youth
56)	Isaiah First Prophet of Old - Big Youth
57)	Humble One - Jan Lloyd, The
58)	Message From the King - Prince Fab I
59)	Commandment of Drugs - Privce Far I
60)	Weather Balloon - U Brown
61)	Natty Dread Upon Mountaintop - U Brown
62)	Masculine Gender - Ranking Trevor
63)	Five Nights of Bleeding - Poet and the Roots
64)	Suru - Lere Dub - Prince Far I
65)	Borko Dub - Prince Far I
66)	Bendel Dub - Prince Far I
67)	Roof Top Dub - Well Charged
68)	Merciful Dub - Well Charged
69)	Cell Block 11 - Well Charged
70)	Blacka Black Dub - Well Charged
71)	Command Counsel Dub - Poet and the Roots
72)	African Talk - I Roy
73)	Rasta Fiesta - Sly Dunbar
74)	Sesame Street - Sly Dunbar
75)	Dirty Harry - Sly Dunbar
76)	Big Youth Special - Big Youth
77)	Black Man Message - Big Youth
78)	Academy Award Version - Johnny Clarke
79)	Herb Dub - Jan Lloyd
80)	Stone Dub - Jan Lloyd
81)	Knife and Fork - Jan Lloyd
82)	Distant Drums Dub - Twinkle Brothers
83)	Hip Dub - Vivian Weathers
84)	Diamonds and Pearls Dub - Mighty Diamonds
85)	Bodyguard Dub - Mighty Diamonds

Album: The Front Line [Virgin]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Dreadlock the Time Is Now - The Gladiators
2)	Mix up - The Gladiators
3)	Know Yourself Mankind - The Gladiators
4)	Too Long in Slavery - Culture
5)	Work on Natty - Culture
6)	Natty Never Get Weary - Culture
7)	Black Liberation Struggle - Gregory Isaacs
8)	Universal Tribulation - Gregory Isaacs
9)	Poor and Clean - Gregory Isaacs
10)	Let My Days Be Long - Abyssinians
11)	Wicked Men - Abyssinians
12)	Right Time - Mighty Diamonds
13)	Bodyguard - Mighty Diamonds
14)	Africa - Mighty Diamonds
15)	Boots Natty Roots Natty Congo - Johnny Clarke
16)	Crazy Baldhead - Johnny Clarke
17)	Prophecy a-Fulfuilled
18)	Never Get Burn - Twinkle Brothers
19)	Free Africa - Twinkle Brothers
20)	Since I Threw the Comb Away - Twinkle Brothers
21)	Zion - Delroy Washington
22)	Observance - Delroy Washington
23)	Stop the Fussing and Fighting - Culture
24)	Gumbolo - Culture
25)	International Herb - Culture, The
26)	Native Woman - Gregory Isaacs
27)	Lets Dance - Gregory Isaacs
28)	Mr Brown - Gregory Isaacs
29)	Those Guys - The Sensations
30)	Jan Loves - Abyssinians
31)	This Land Is For Everyone - Abyssinians
32)	Hearsay - The Gladiators
33)	Pocket Money - The Gladiators
34)	Greatest Love - The Gladiators
35)	Tide Is High - Paragons
36)	Declaration of Rights - Johnny Clarke
37)	I Am Still Waiting - Johnny Clarke
38)	I Dont Want to Be Lonely Anymore - Twinkle Brothers
39)	I Love You So - Twinkle Brothers
40)	Shame and Pride - Mighty Diamonds
41)	I Need a Roof - Mighty Diamonds
42)	Civilisation - Keith Hudson
43)	Uptown Top Ranking - Althea and Donna
44)	Chalice in the Palace - U Roy
45)	Wear You to the Ball - U Roy
46)	Natty Rebel - U Roy
47)	Tribute to Marcus Garvey - I Roy
48)	Jordan River - I Roy
49)	Radical Music - I Roy
50)	Bible - Prince Hammer
51)	M P I a - Tapper Zukie
52)	Oh Lord - Tapper Zukie
53)	She Wants a Phensh (Dangerous Woman) - Tapper Zukie
54)	Marcus Garvey - Big Youth
55)	Lightning Flash (Weak Heart Drop) - Big Youth
56)	Isaiah First Prophet of Old - Big Youth
57)	Humble One - Jan Lloyd, The
58)	Message From the King - Prince Fab I
59)	Commandment of Drugs - Privce Far I
60)	Weather Balloon - U Brown
61)	Natty Dread Upon Mountaintop - U Brown
62)	Masculine Gender - Ranking Trevor
63)	Five Nights of Bleeding - Poet and the Roots
64)	Suru - Lere Dub - Prince Far I
65)	Borko Dub - Prince Far I
66)	Bendel Dub - Prince Far I
67)	Roof Top Dub - Well Charged
68)	Merciful Dub - Well Charged
69)	Cell Block 11 - Well Charged
70)	Blacka Black Dub - Well Charged
71)	Command Counsel Dub - Poet and the Roots
72)	African Talk - I Roy
73)	Rasta Fiesta - Sly Dunbar
74)	Sesame Street - Sly Dunbar
75)	Dirty Harry - Sly Dunbar
76)	Big Youth Special - Big Youth
77)	Black Man Message - Big Youth
78)	Academy Award Version - Johnny Clarke
79)	Herb Dub - Jan Lloyd
80)	Stone Dub - Jan Lloyd
81)	Knife and Fork - Jan Lloyd
82)	Distant Drums Dub - Twinkle Brothers
83)	Hip Dub - Vivian Weathers
84)	Diamonds and Pearls Dub - Mighty Diamonds
85)	Bodyguard Dub - Mighty Diamonds

Performer Notes

It's understandable that the author of the hagiography passing for sleeve notes prefers to remain anonymous, and his revisionist history of the Virgin label, its subsidiary Front Line, and the U.K. reggae scene is nothing if not breathtaking in it's audacity. Apparently, it all began with the Clash, with the Police then taking up their banner, without a single mention of England's West Indian community disseminating Jamaican music in the first place. So, a bit of truth in advertising. Prog rock Virgin was wilting by the mid-'70s, and head honcho Richard Branson was desperately searching to revive his company's fading fortunes. Bob Marley's breakthrough offered an obvious solution, and the label began signing up some of Jamaica's hottest talent. With the arrival of the Sex Pistols in 1977, the pace quickened. Legend has it that Branson and Johnny Rotten arrived in Kingston with cash in hand, money for the taking for artists willing to sign on the dotted line. The punk hero's taste was impeccable, and by the time the pair were finished, and Front Line formerly launched in 1978, the company sported a roster that seriously rivaled even Island's. This four-CD box set showcases much of the formidable talent at Front Line's disposal, and the track listing reads like an encyclopedia of roots' greatest acts -- sublime vocal groups, phenomenal solo artists, and top-ranking toasters. The resulting records were mostly masterful, and, in many cases, masterpieces. The problem was the label had no idea how to market the material, and even as the records tore up the underground, none had the least impact on the mainstream. By the dawn of the new decade, Branson wrote Front Line off as a bad investment, and moved on to the greener pastures of new romanticism. Much of this superb music would now disappear for years. Two discs are given over to the singers, across 43 mostly well-chosen tracks, that will leave you searching out the original albums from which they were culled. Besides the big names -- Abyssinians, Culture, Gregory Isaacs, et al -- it's more neglected artists like Delroy Washington, the severely underrated Johnny Clarke, and the early seminal lineup of the Twinkle Brothers that really impress, if only for their unfamiliarity. Disc three rounds up the DJs, with the big three -- U Roy, Big Youth and I Roy -- well represented, alongside the popular Prince Far I, Tapper Zukie, and Jah Lloyd. U Brown and Prince Hammer, both of whom disappeared from view in the early '80s, are welcome inclusions, as are the early offerings from Ranking Trevor. The liner notes include pocket bios of all the artists included, but sadly give little information about the multitude of sensational dub versions that are bundled onto disc four. As a label showcase, this would be hard-pressed to be bettered, and one is left to wonder just how inept Front Line were to fail with such high-quality music. ~ Jo-Ann Greene