[2018-04-20] The Gladiators "Symbol Of Reality" and "Serious Thing" expanded remasters (Omnivore)

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Mar 02, 2018 5:22 am

Symbol Of Reality

Description
Remastered, 1982 roots reggae classic. Includes four previously unissued tracks. Original liner notes and lyrics included. Previously unseen photos.

"Dread is me culture, know wha' I mean? Me could not a sing reggae music and really be a man that trim. Ha fe be a dread. When I say dread, a Rastaman, know wha' I mean? I ha fe dread because every song that I sing is dread. The way I sing it is dread. Yeah, the music itself dread . . . Just I way deh. One o' the humble, one o' de meek, one o' de cool, but very vicious when I deal with music . . . A real reggae singer ha fe be forceful. A forceful reg¬gae singer will always survive. Reggae music, manit might look simple, but it naw so simple, you know. You ha fe ready and you ha fe ready with the punch. You ha fe ready to attack and very swift. You see a karate man punch a man, you know, and move again. Well it's just same way reggae. You ha fe tense your body to sing reggae." Albert Griffiths

Albert Griffiths founded the Gladiators in 1966 after some success on his own. The group scored their first hit, produced by legendary producer Coxsone Dodd, with "Hello Carol" in 1968. During the '70s the Gladiators made their way through releases on labels like Studio One, Upsetter, Virgin, and Groovemaster. 1980 found the Gladiators working with producer, and pre-"Electric Avenue" hitmaker, Eddy Grant on the album Gladiators, which also featured members of the band Aswad lending a musical hand. On 1982's Symbol Of Reality, their first for the Nighthawk Records label, they revisited their own catalog of songs re-recording their classics, "Dreadlocks The Time Is Now" (appearing here as "Streets Of Gold"), "Watch Out" and "Big Boo Boo Deh" (returning retitled as "Cheater") while also paying homage to The Wailers with covers "Small Axe" and "Stand Alone," both written by Bob Marley. This newly remastered version of the album features the original ten tracks, the two bonus tracks that were added to the original 1997 Nighthawk CD reissue, "Symbol Version" and "Righteous Man Version," plus four previously unissued tracks, "Streets Of Gold Version," "Not Afraid To Fight Version," "Symbol Of Reality Instrumental Dub" and "Streets Of Gold Instrumental Dub." Original liner notes are also included. The reissue has been overseen by original Nighthawk Records' producer Leroy Jodie Pierson and Grammy® Award-winning producer, Cheryl Pawelski, and has been remastered from the original tapes by Grammy® Award-winning engineer, Michael Graves.

Tracklist
1. Symbol Of Reality
2. Symbol Version *
3. Small Axe
4. Bumping And Boring
5. Cheater
6. Watch Out
7. Mister Goose
8. Streets Of Gold
9. Streets Of Gold Version *
10. Righteous Man
11. Righteous Man Version *
12. Stand Alone
13. Not Afraid To Fight *
14. Not Afraid To Fight Version *
15. Symbol Of Reality Instrumental Dub *
16. Streets Of Gold Instrumental Dub *

* Bonus Tracks

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B61G842/?tag=imwan-20

Serious Thing

Description
Remastered, 1984 roots reggae classic. Includes six previously unissued tracks. New liner notes and lyrics included. Previously unseen photos.

"Among the great things that I remember about these sessions were the superb players and singers who just showed up. Richard Ace had been living in England, but dropped in while on vacation in Jamaica and contributed great keyboards to three selections. The Ethiopian showed up and agreed to cut four songs backed by the Gladiators. Joseph Hill, lead singer of Culture, sat in the control room with Sylvan and I for an hour and told me that the Gladiators were his favorite group. The additional highlight of these sessions was watching Sylvan mixing top ranking dub tracks of the Gladiators best riddims. Serious Thing includes a generous portion of these superb dubs." Leroy Jodie Pierson

From the liner notes to Serious Thing: Albert Griffiths founded the Gladiators in 1966 after some success on his own. The group scored their first hit, produced by legendary producer Coxsone Dodd, with "Hello Carol" in 1968. During the '70s the Gladiators made their way through releases on labels like Studio One, Upsetter, Virgin and Groovemaster. 1980 found the Gladiators working with producer, and pre-"Electric Avenue" hitmaker, Eddy Grant on the album Gladiators, which also featured members of the band Aswad lending a musical hand. After 1982's Symbol Of Reality, their first for the Nighthawk Records label, the Gladiators added more cultural commentary in their song choices for 1984's follow up, Serious Thing. Topical songs dominate the album from the title track, "Serious Thing" to "Freedom Train" and "My Thoughts." Once again, they revisited their own catalog of songs, re-recording, "Rearrange" (originally cut with Coxsone Dodd in the early '70s) and "Fling It Gimme" (originally a single for the group dating back to 1969). Even though reggae as a style of music was changing in the mid-'80s, the Gladiators played to their strengths and made another classic roots album. This newly remastered version of the album features the original ten tracks, plus six previously unissued tracks, "Bless Our Soul," "New Song/New Vibe," "Serious Thing Version," "My Thoughts Instrumental Dub," "Fling It Gimme Version" and "Good Foundation Dub." New liner notes are included, courtesy of original album producer Leroy Jodie Pierson, who has also overseen the reissue with Grammy Award-winning producer, Cheryl Pawelski. All tracks have been remastered from the original tapes by Grammy Award-winning engineer, Michael Graves.

Tracklist
1. Serious Thing
2. My Thoughts
3. Fling It Gimme
4. Rearrange
5. Mid-Range
6. Freedom Train
7. Good Foundation
8. After You
9. Bless Our Soul *
10. New Song/New Vibe *
11. Serious Thing Version *
12. My Thoughts Version *
13. My Thoughts Instrumental Dub *
14. Fling It Gimme Version *
15. Mid-Range Version
16. Good Foundation Dub *

* Bonus Tracks

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B64T6VZ/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:46 pm

Bump: Added the cover images to the first post.

[2018-04-20] The Gladiators "Symbol Of Reality" and "Serious Thing" expanded remasters (Omnivore)

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