Aswad
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
eggae band, in terms of both popularity and longevity. Critical opinion on their body of work is often divided; some hail their early material as the greatest
oots reggae Britain ever produced, while others find their later pop-crossover phase more distinctive and unique, even at the expense of authenticity. Regardless, Aswads ability to adapt themselves to the changing times -- new musical trends, shifting personnel -- was ultimately the driving force behind their decades-long career.
Aswad (the name is Arabic for black) was formed in Ladbroke Grove, West London, in 1975. Originally, the group was a quintet featuring lead vocalist/guitarist Brinsley Dan Forde (a native of Guyana and a onetime child actor on the BBC), drummer/vocalist Angus Drummie Zeb Gaye, bassist George Ras Levi Oban, guitarist Donald Benjamin Griffiths, and keyboardist Courtney Hemmings. Their sound was already rather eclectic from the beginning, mixing elements of soul, jazz, and funk with hard
oots reggae, lovers rock, and dub. In 1976, Aswad became the first British
eggae band to sign with a major label when they landed a deal with Island Records. Their debut single, the classic Back to Africa, was released that year and hit number one on the U.K.
eggae singles chart. Their self-titled debut album -- a collection chronicling the experiences of Londons West Indian immigrant community -- followed not long after, and the group scored another hit with Three Babylon. By this point, Aswad already had enough of a reputation that touring Jamaican stars -- Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown, Black Uhuru -- often hired the group as backing musicians.
Hemmings subsequently left the band and was replaced by Tony Gad Robinson. In 1978, Aswad moved over to the independent Grove label and issued the single Its Not Our Wish, which was followed by their second album, the rootsier Hulet (later licensed for release by Island). Oban left the group in 1980, at which point Gad switched from keyboards to bass. Also in 1980, Forde appeared in the film Babylon, whose soundtrack featured the Aswad classic Warrior Charge. Toward the end of the year, Aswad signed an even bigger major-label contract with CBS, and debuted with 1981s acclaimed New Chapter, a bright, soul-inflected, intricately arranged record that balanced classic and modern sounds. The singles Love Fire and the non-LP Finger Gun Style found some success that year, yet New Chapter wasnt quite the breakout commercial hit that both band and label had hoped for; the punk era and its fascination with
eggae were waning, and the record was somewhat underpromoted. Aswad stripped back their sound on the 1982 follow-up, Not Satisfied, but it too met with relative commercial indifference, and the group parted ways with CBS.
Before the end of 1982, Aswad issued a one-off single, the classic Roots Rockin, on their own Simba label, and subsequently returned to Island on the Mango subsidiary. Their next release was the concert set Live and Direct, which appeared in 1983; by this time, the core group had been reduced to a trio of Forde, Gad, and Zeb, augmented by a horn section featuring saxman Michael Bami Rose and trumpeter Eddie Tan Tan Thornton. Aswads next studio outing was 1984s Rebel Souls, which featured their first British pop-chart singles in Chasing for the Breeze and the Toots & the Maytals cover 54-46 Thats My Number. The 1986 follow-up To the Top found them flirting with dancehall on the singles Bubblin and Kool Noh.
Having enjoyed some degree of crossover success, Aswad overhauled their approach and unmistakably went gunning for the charts with 1988s Distant Thunder. A lighter, poppier effort closer to mainstream R&B, Distant Thunder climbed into the British Top Ten as its lead single, a
eggae cover of the Luther Ingram soul number Dont Turn Around, went all the way to number one on the U.K. pop charts. Both album and single also made the Top 50 on the U.S. R&B charts, and in 1994, Dont Turn Around would be covered for an international smash by Ace of Base. The follow-up, Give a Little Love, fell just short of the British Top Ten, and a non-LP single, On and On, made the Top 20 in 1989. Aswad attempted to consolidate their commercial breakthrough on their next album, Too Wicked, which was recorded in Jamaica with producer Gussie Clarke and released in 1990. However, in spite of a guest spot from dancehall star Shabba Ranks, a host of club-friendly beats, and a minor hit in Next to You, the record failed to match its predecessors sales.
Aswad next returned in 1994 with Rise and Shine, which restored their commercial standing in Britain via the Top Five hit Shine, and also earned them their first Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. 1997s Big Up attracted somewhat less notice, and for 1999s Roots Revival, the group made a partial retreat from crossover material, covering several rocksteady classics and spotlighting guest vocals from Algerian
ai star Cheb Mami. Forde left the group in 2000, and Gad and Zeb continued on as a duo.
