Legacy Recordings

Since it was like 100 degrees today it felt like a good day to put on Two Sevens Clash by Culture and worry about the Rasta apocalypse.

The album was originally released July 7, 1977 (representing the title’s “Two Sevens”), a combination of numbers for Rastafarians that signify the end of the world (that would be the “Clash” bit). The fact that four sevens were clashing on that date was of major concern - the streets in Jamaica were pretty empty that day. Still, for the truly faithful, the apocalypse also signified release from a miserable life into the safe arms of Jah. As a result this is an eclectic and more optimistic record than you might be tempted to record if you knew the world was going to end right at the start of your summer vacation.

With the Mighty Two, Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson producing, the album has a line up that included Joseph Hill, Sly and Robbie (Sly actually on guitar instead of bass) and the Skatalites Tommy McCook. It’s freakin’ awesome, a roots reggae masterpiece. This is real Rasta music – not the Marley-esque “One Love” kind of stuff – but the serious shit: songs of prophesy, religion, hardship and going to Zion on the back of a lion. The first track, “Get Ready To Ride The Lion To Zion” (see?) is not only brilliant, it is punctured by a lion roar that alone is worth at least the price of a download. This is one of those records that crossed over into the punk world and outsold Bob Marley’s Exodus, released the same year, at the hip record stores in west London.

Luckily, 7/7/77 came and went and the world survived, and now, thirty years later the anniversary edition is being reissued on July 17, 2007. Three sevens. Maybe stay home that day.

Off topic for a moment - I mentioned this record to my husband who reminds me that he has met Lee Scratch Perry – one of the people I want to meet but am a little frightened of (along with Bob Dylan, Steve Jobs and Oprah). I don’t think LSP had anything to do with this record but he was, in my mind, a musical pioneer in the roots reggae world. He made some great records in Kingston and then one day burned down his Black Ark Studio because – well I can’t remember the exact reason, but in layman’s terms we’d say he was smoking too much shit and went crazy.

The reissue of Two Sevens Clash will be digitally re-mastered, come with bonus mixes, liner notes by the great Lenny Kaye, lots of testimonials and all that good stuff. If you have any interest in roots reggae you need to get this. In the meantime, I am loving my crappy old version which, condensed into mp3, sounds as close to a Kingston ghetto blaster as this old white girl is going to get. I’m getting some Red Stripe in for the big day and having a quiet one.