Red (Black Uhuru album)

Red
Studio album by
Black Uhuru
ReleasedMay 1981
StudioChannel One, Kingston, Jamaica; Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas
GenreReggae
Length39:24
LabelMango, Island, Warner Bros.
ProducerSly & Robbie
Black Uhuru chronology
Sinsemilla
(1981) 		Red
(1981) 		Chill Out
(1982)

Red is a 1981 album by the Jamaican reggae band Black Uhuru. The line-up of the band changed many times during its 16 years and this is the second release for the lineup of Michael Rose, Sandra "Puma" Jones and Derek "Duckie" Simpson. Sly & Robbie were again in the production seat after having previously worked with the band on the 1980 album Sinsemilla.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[2]
Q[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Red was ranked at No. 3 among the top ten "Albums of the Year" for 1981 by NME.[5]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Rose's "elaborately ornamented phrasing has more in common with cantorial singing than with typical reggae vocal style."[4] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Red number 466 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Rose unless stated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Youth of Eglington" 5:00
2."Sponji Reggae" 4:56
3."Sistren"Rose, Derrick "Duckie" Simpson4:34
4."Journey"Simpson5:21
5."Utterance" 3:42
6."Puff She Puff" 5:08
7."Rockstone"Rose, Simpson4:38
8."Carbine" 6:05
Bonus tracks 2003
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Sponji Reggae" (Discomix) 10:32
10."Trodding" (Dub version of "Journey")Simpson5:18

Personnel

Black Uhuru

with:

Technical
  • Chris Blackwell - executive producer
  • Soldgie (Cedrica Anthony Hamilton) - sound engineer
  • Lancelot "Maxie" McKenzie - vocal engineer
  • Kendal Stubbs - guitar overdubs engineer
  • Johnnie Black - photography

References

  1. ^ Cook, Stephen. "Black Uhuru: Red" at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ "Red". Q. Bauer Media Group. January 1991. ISSN 0955-4955.
  4. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 63.
  5. ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.


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