Friday, March 12, 2010

The Itals - Rasta Philosophy


In terms of Roots Reggae, especially in the 80's, there was nothing better than The Itals' "Rasta Philosophy". In 1976, Alvin "Keith" Porter, Ronnie Davis, and Lloyd Ricketts formed The Itals. They were all successful prior to the band (Davis and Ricketts were in The Tennors and the three worked together in The Westmorelites). In an era when most Reggae was focused on Dancehall, The Itals kept Roots Reggae alive in a huge way. Prior to this release, The Itals had written songs focused on social issues. With this release, they just focused on great, mellow, Roots that makes its listener want to sit on a Jamaican beach and let loose of all of life's problems. The title track is awesome and there isn't a bad track. Not long after this record was released, Ricketts would go to prison and therefore wasn't allowed to travel to the U.S. The Itals had David Isaacs join, who's awesome in his own right, and they still tour. This album also won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1987.

The Itals - Rasta Philosophy

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