Soft Roots Reggae
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The gentle, melodic wing of roots reggae, where Rastafari and social themes are carried on mellow, sweet-toned arrangements rather than militant weight: soft one-drop rhythms, warm harmonies, tender lead vocals and unhurried, contemplative grooves that sit between roots and lovers rock. Basslines are round and comforting, the mood spiritual but soothing, the message uplifting without confrontation. It is roots reggae's most tuneful, easy-flowing form. Conscious lyrics on a pillow of harmony.
History
Soft roots reggae grew from the rocksteady spiritual and the mellower side of the roots era, exemplified by the Melodians' "Rivers of Babylon," Horace Andy's floating "Skylarking," Dennis Brown's warm roots ballads and Third World's soul-tinged consciousness. It shares the one-drop and Rasta themes of militant roots but softens them with harmony and melody, overlapping romantic reggae and lovers rock at its gentler edge. Beloved on radio and in the diaspora, the style showed that conscious reggae could be tender and accessible as well as fierce, and it remains a favourite mode of classic and revival roots singers alike.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Rivers of Babylon(1970) — The MelodiansSpotifyYouTube
- Skylarking(1972) — Horace AndySpotifyYouTube
- Here I Come(1976) — Dennis BrownSpotifyYouTube
- Now That We Found Love(1978) — Third WorldSpotifyYouTube
- Waiting in Vain(1977) — Bob Marley and the WailersSpotifyYouTube
- Soon Forward(1979) — Gregory IsaacsSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Lloyd Bradley, Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King (2000)
- Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae (2004)
- David Katz, Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae (2003)