1978 Abyssinians “Arise” on Front Line

As roots as reggae gets, absolutely essential, deeply soulful almost-Rocksteady genius from Bernard Collins and the Manning Brothers. Together they ran the mighty Clinch label, which more or less released their singles but also other top action. They split after this record, and nothing was ever quite the same, although in a way I prefer them having gone out at the absolute zenith instead of what may or may not have lain in wait for them in the depths of the 80s. Basically, this band fronts some of the tightest vocal harmonies in the history of Trenchtown, and that’s where they cashed their checks, but check this lineup: Sly & Robbie, Chinna Smith, Tommy McCook, Boris Gardiner and Errol Thompson behind the board,  Bongo Herman on bongo, Ras Jawbone on percussion, Bobby Ellis on trumpet, and my man Cedric IM Brooks on tenor! Whew. Rhythm & Pulse & Island Testify to burn! Worth nothing for the Historically Geographically Hazy: Abyssinia was Ethiopia before Ethiopia, back from the thirteenth century and the rise of the Solomonic Empire (which of course included the saucy Queen Of Sheba), when it likewise contained Eritrea and ruled the Horn Of Africa, all the way up to Mussolini’s disastrous invasion, whereupon Haile Selassie and the Boyz kicked some serious Fascist ass, laying the spiritual and cultural groundwork for the codification of a certain mythic Kingston religion and herbaceous way of life. Oh yea.