Live At Soledad Prison 1982

Founded in the mid 70s, Black Uhuru really burst into the reggae scene in the early 80s when Sly and Robbie took over artistic direction duties and produced crucial albums like Showcase, Sinsemilla, Red, Chill Out and Anthem (note that a magnificent collection of their singles for Sly and Robbie’s Taxi label is available on Taxi Traxx, released by Tabou1 last year). Not only were the albums groundbreaking from an artistic standpoint, but the live shows were terrific. An avalanche of heavy-as-lead drum and bass, augmented by borderline metal rock guitars courtesy of the late Darryl Thompson, provided a bedrock of rhythm and energy for Michael Rose’s lead vocals and Duckie Simpson’s and Puma Jones’ backing vocals. Black Uhuru’s first US tour took place in 1982. Back then, Reggae was in its infancy in the US and there were only 3 Reggae radio shows in California: Doug Wendt in San Francisco, Roger Steffens in LA and Lance Linares in Santa Cruz. In addition to running his radio show at KUSP, Lance also booked artists in Santa Cruz and worked with the Soledad Prison to help inmates acquire professional skills that could be used once they would be out of jail. Lance contacted the Black Uhuru organization and offered to organize a concert in the prison itself. To his surprise his idea was enthusiastically accepted and the group performed in front of a full house at Soledad Prison. What you hear on this double LP is the entire concert, which was broadcast live on KUSP. Its historical significance is huge and can be compared to the reggae equivalent of the legendary live recording at Folsom by America legend Johnny Cash. Also, the concert was video recorded.