Ska, Reggae, Dub, Punk - The Terrorists

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Ska, Reggae, Dub, Punk,

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"America's Clash"

Terrorists – from New York City - were a great reggae/ska/dub band during the years 1977-82. Though affiliated – either by critics, scenesters and/or circumstance – with the emerging NYC punk/new wave/underground scene.

Terrorists were not a rock band heavily under the sway of Jamaican music, like The Clash, Madness, The Slits and The Offs, but a straight-up reggae (and its cousins ska and dub) band with minimal rock undertones. (Which may in part explain why they weren’t better known in their time.)

Terrorists were also taken under the wing of legendary reggae/dub singer/producer/madman Lee “Scratch” Perry, recording and touring with him, and were also joined by legendary saxophonist Roland Alphonso of The Skatalites (both of whom are present on this collection).

All of this is well and good, but wouldn’t mean much if their goods couldn’t stand the test of time – and while some of that era’s “alternative” rock sounds quaint and/or dated today, Terrorists’ personal take(s) on Jamaican roots-sounds are (still) enormously swell.

What makes the music on this collection work so well after all this time – the vast majority previously unreleased – is the band’s obvious, passionate commitment to reggae, ska and dub. More importantly, not only do Terrorists have the sound down, but they never try to “sound like” they come from the island nation of Jamaica. Long Island maybe, but not from the land of Marley, Tosh and Pablo – no fake or affected Island patois.

Their feel for the music is as genuine as the blue-eyed soul singers of the 60s (Dusty Springfield, The Rascals, Laura Nyro, Tony Joe White) had for the music of King Solomon (Burke), The Goddess Aretha and The Impressions, made all the more “real” because they are not striving for a “simulation” of their idols’ sounds.

Like the best roots-reggae bands, Terrorists leave some space “between” the notes, forgoing the usual “rock-ist” tendency to busy-up the proceedings with a lot of irrelevant flash and soloing, and their springy, ebullient feel for reggae and ska RHYTHMS is second to none.

And they were most capable at some way-cool freaky dub - check out "Aittoo" and "Drainidge."

Calling all fans of 70s & early 80s Jamaican sounds: Forces 1977-1982 is The Real Thing, and it’s one of the few discs I’ve heard in months that I can play all the way through in a single sitting (all 21 tracks worth).

Mark Keresman - Jazzreview.com

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