This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music

Lloyd Bradley manages to put the heart and soul of Reggae music into this book. The book works its way through Reggae’s growth and takes us along the ride making accounts of the origins and influence that created the genre. Beginning from its creating in the 1950 Bradley makes the reader nostalgic of a time they’ve never experienced through his use of detail. His explanation of the influence of violence and politics on music in Jamaica, as well as religious influences such as Rastafarianism keeps you entertained. The book is separated into four parts with each part separated into chapters. This organization allows themes and times to be more evident and allows for easier reading of the book. You often find yourself going through chapters longer than you thought you would because the flow is so natural.The typical idea of reggae from a consumer standpoint Bob Marley tends to be an artist that most people know about. Bradley does include a sufficient amount of information on Bob. It does however speak of how Bob had very little influence on the music development at the grassroots level. Instead Bradley adds a lot of information about upcoming artists, groups, and music labels that were around at the same time.This book also has many shortened stories from many Reggae musicians, both big acts like Bob Marley and smaller artists like the Skatalites. At over 500 pages the book is a lot to read, but if you have an interest in history and music then this is definitely a must read.

If you are a reggae fan, this is a must read. I was unaware of the re-titling of the book, but that said, it is still a great book. As a white guitar player who joined a roots type reggae band a few years ago, (sadly the band is no more) I thought I would educate myself about the music and history. I did myself right with this book. I found I knew more about the music and culture than many of my "Rasta" friends after reading this. I loved the 50's and 60's chapters regarding Buster, Tubby, and the Skatalites with the great Ernest Ranglin. The DJ culture. Thoroughly enjoyed all the 70's stuff too; hearing about Scratch Perry and the stories of the Black Ark was gold. And the British side with Steel Pulse, and all the influence of Jamaica on the Brit rock scene, etc, etc. The Marley info was good as well, as mostly 1 chapter. No disrespect to Bob, but it is certainly true that Jamaica's music and culture was very rich before him. Nice stories of the early days of the Wailers too. My reggae world is definitely more complete after reading this. Buy the book!

I liked what the author stood for. He was sharing many interesting facts about the culture of a people through their music and other attributes related to them. By reading the book, one can tell more accurately about the Jamaican struggles of the musicians, and their determination to put into music their living conditions, schooling, friendship, among other factual data. The book is written well!

Bradley set out to educate a newbie like me into the all of everything - the way Jamaica's history affected the musical trends, the economics and realities of the music scene, the evolution of the music - he did an awesome job. This was like a college course on Jamaican music, extremely well considered and presented.

This book gripped me from the beginning and it didn't let go. I've always been a reggae and dub man, but the coverage of ska, rockstaedy, and the toasters greatly enhanced my music catalog--I had no idea what I was missing.

After reading This is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music I purchased Bass Culture also by Lloyd Bradley only to find that they are the same text with a different title and publisher. Don't let this sway you...read one of these titles!!! Bradley recounts the rich history of Jamaica's music culture in great detail including aural accounts from crucial purveyors.

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in the nitty gritty history of reggae. The first few chapters move at a slow pace, but that is only for the sake of thoroughness. Once it gets moving it's a real treat to read. The author is thoroughly dedicated to the subject at hand, and his passion is contagious.

Terrível a mudança de capa e de título. Como "Bass Culure" tem o mesmo texto comprei essa versão americana mesmo. O livro é escrito em inglês britânico informal, o que torna bem difícil de ler.Não se trata de um livro sobre reggae apenas, mas sobre a "história social da música jamaicana". Não é um livro didático que te ensina o que ouvir, quem fez, etc... Vc vai aproveitar bem mais se conhece Reggae bem e está querendo se aprofundar na "cultura". Acho que a parte sobre a música em si não é tão boa quanto o lado do povo jamaicano, etc...Valeu a pena ler, mas não era o que estava procurando.

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O casi...Este libro escrito por ya hace una década por el escritor y músico Lloyd Bradley, responsable en los 70's del Dark Star Sound System en Londres, es casi una biblia de esta música jamaicana que comienza mucho antes de Bob Marley y el roots-reggae que la popularizó enormemente en el panorama pop mundial.Editado originalmente como Bass Culture: When Reggae was King en Inglaterra con una portada menos "turística" esta es la edición en tapa blanda, que no de bolsillo, hecha para los USA y que no omite nada de la original. Desde la eclosión de los sellos y dj's de radio independientes en los 40's hasta cubrir las últimas tendencias (en el 2000) del reggae más comercial pasando por su aventura británica en los 70's y 80's este volumen de de 574 páginas con bibliografía e índice onomástico incluidos repasa la historia de este genero que desde hace tiempo ya es universal.Puede que haya alguna laguna, aùn lo estoy leyendo, pero desde luego es una de las propuestas más intensas con las que me he encontrado. En "english", of course.