Sure, some other Christmas music site might tell you about a Reggae album and some other Christmas music site might even tell you about a Hanukkah album, but who else is going to tell you about a Reggae Hanukkah album?
Coming October 19...The Temple Rockers' "Festival of Lights". And if you're not just a Christmas music obsessive, but a Hanukkah hound like me, this one should be right up there with Clapton, JD McPherson, and The Monkees on your holiday shopping list (OK, that's the top of my holiday shopping list, but you know what I'm getting at).
Let's have a listen, shall we?
Coming October 19...The Temple Rockers' "Festival of Lights". And if you're not just a Christmas music obsessive, but a Hanukkah hound like me, this one should be right up there with Clapton, JD McPherson, and The Monkees on your holiday shopping list (OK, that's the top of my holiday shopping list, but you know what I'm getting at).
Let's have a listen, shall we?
The Temple Rockers are the brainchild of David Gould, who, as a child, gained an appreciation for the melodies of Hebrew prayers and, as an adult, toured with the Reggae group John Brown's Body for 5 years. He says he had an epiphany at some point that the two cultures and sounds could be married together and the result of that epiphany is The Temple Rockers. The Temple Rockers released their first album in 2001. "Festival of Lights" is their fifth.
The Temple Rockers include fromer members of John Brown's Body, Crucial Reggae Social Club, Roots Collider, Mutron Warriors, Mosaic Foundation, Big Mean Sound Machine and more. And, along the way, they've recruited members of the Skatelites, The Ethiopians, The Silvertones and more for their recording and touring projects. "Festival of Lights" features Nate Silas Richardson and Craig Akira Fujita of 10 ft GP. But the album also features some pretty impressive guest vocalists...Linval Thompson, Wayne Jarrett and Ansel Meditations Cridland (all with Jamaican roots). Wayne has been bringin' the riddims since the 70s and has worked with childhood friend Horace Andy, among others. In addition to his recording resume, Linval has produced everyone from Eek-a-Mouse and Barrington Levy & Trinity to Dennis Brown and Freddie McGreggor. And Ansel, of course, is the heart and soul of The Meditations.
The Temple Rockers include fromer members of John Brown's Body, Crucial Reggae Social Club, Roots Collider, Mutron Warriors, Mosaic Foundation, Big Mean Sound Machine and more. And, along the way, they've recruited members of the Skatelites, The Ethiopians, The Silvertones and more for their recording and touring projects. "Festival of Lights" features Nate Silas Richardson and Craig Akira Fujita of 10 ft GP. But the album also features some pretty impressive guest vocalists...Linval Thompson, Wayne Jarrett and Ansel Meditations Cridland (all with Jamaican roots). Wayne has been bringin' the riddims since the 70s and has worked with childhood friend Horace Andy, among others. In addition to his recording resume, Linval has produced everyone from Eek-a-Mouse and Barrington Levy & Trinity to Dennis Brown and Freddie McGreggor. And Ansel, of course, is the heart and soul of The Meditations.
To lend even more authenticity to "Festival of Lights", the album is an analog recording, much of it recorded on 2" reel-to-reel tape on a vintage MCI JH 24 (see the image to the right). The record is the first release on David Gould's own Fresh Roots label.
"Festival of Lights" will be available in digital format just about everywhere on October 19 (including Amazon and Bandcamp). But CDs and vinyl LPs are available exclusively from The Temple Rockers and Fresh Roots. Pre-orders of the album come with an immediate download of "Almighty Light" featuring Wayne Jarrett.
Not at all to detract from The Temple Rockers, but I do feel compelled to mention that this is not the first Reggae Hanukkah album ever. I fully moved from being a Christmas music obsessive to a Christmas and Hanukkah music obsessive around 1999. and one of my first "scores" was an album released that year by Alan Eder & Friends, "Reggae Chanukah". It's a great album for a Hanukkah hound. A lot of fun. "Festival of Lights" promises to be much much better (and there's no reason you couldn't have both, though the Alan Eder is getting tougher to find).
"Festival of Lights" will be available in digital format just about everywhere on October 19 (including Amazon and Bandcamp). But CDs and vinyl LPs are available exclusively from The Temple Rockers and Fresh Roots. Pre-orders of the album come with an immediate download of "Almighty Light" featuring Wayne Jarrett.
Not at all to detract from The Temple Rockers, but I do feel compelled to mention that this is not the first Reggae Hanukkah album ever. I fully moved from being a Christmas music obsessive to a Christmas and Hanukkah music obsessive around 1999. and one of my first "scores" was an album released that year by Alan Eder & Friends, "Reggae Chanukah". It's a great album for a Hanukkah hound. A lot of fun. "Festival of Lights" promises to be much much better (and there's no reason you couldn't have both, though the Alan Eder is getting tougher to find).
 | 1 – The Blessing 2 – Days Long Ago (featuring Linval Thompson) 3 – Rock of Ages (featuring Wayne Jarrett) 4 – Do You Know Why? (featuring Ansel Meditations) 5 – Pour Some Oil 6 – Spin Dem (featuring Linval Thompson) 7 – Festival song 8 – Who Can Retell? (featuring Ansel Meditations) 9 – Almighty Light (featuring Wayne Jarrett) 10 – About the Miracles 11 – A Lickle Jug 12 – I Have a Candle |
RSS Feed
