Andy Bassford - The Harder They Strum LP
SKU: JUMP161
Description:
US import!
Andy Bassford, born in Hartford, Connecticut, is the reggae legend
you’ve never heard of. After initially playing several years in
rock, reggae, latin jazz, and country bands, he then was discovered
by Horace Andy, which led to his recording debut on the classic
album ‘In The Light’ in 1977. In 1980 he went to Jamaica and began
playing on sessions with the Roots Radics. Soon after he joined
Lloyd Parks and We The People, thus performing or recording with
nearly every reggae artist of the era, most notably Dennis Brown.
Upon his return to the US in late 1980’s he joined Toots and the
Maytals among many others and became the house guitarist for the
seminal Studio One label.
Currently, Andy performs internationally in Jamaican pianist Monty
Alexander’s Harlem-Kingston Express reggae-jazz fusion project,
with whom he has also recorded two albums. In 2003, he was honored
by the Jamaica Federation of Musicians for Outstanding
Contributions to the Jamaican Music Industry, one of the only-non
Jamaicans to receive this award. In 2019, he won his first Grammy
as a composer and guitarist on Sting & Shaggy’s “44/876”, which
took the honor of best Reggae album. Andy Bassford’s first ever
solo album “The Harder They Strum” pays homage to the movie and
album that lured Andy into the wonderful world of Jamaican
music. It’s a song by song remake of the world famous
soundtrack, of the ten original vocal tracks six are turned into
guitar instrumentals, and the rest come with vocal parts from New
Kingston and Soul Sisters Six.
Other notable guests on the album include Monty Alexander, Mikey
Chung, Kevin Bachelor, Larry McDonald, Bret Tubin and many more.
Andy explains his reasons for recording the album: “My idea was to
pay homage the original versions while allowing me to improvise and
elaborate on them… I wanted it to reflect my personal and musical
values all the way through, from start to finish… I also wanted to
document the musical relationships and friendships I’ve developed
over my career.” LP vinyl is finally available due to massive
demand – limited edition on red vinyl. Oh yea, we have also issued
this on 8 TRACK TAPE! We are taking you back to the 70s with the
format that kept music on the move – and we sourced original pink
ISLAND RECORDS outer sleeves from the 1970’s too!
Format & package: LP
Record label: Jump Up
Year of release:
Tracks:
A1 You Can Get It If You Really Want
A2 Stop That Train (Draw Your Brakes)
A3 Rivers Of Babylon
A4 Many Rivers To Cross
A5 Sweet And Dandy
B1 The Harder They Come
B2 Johnny Too Bad
B3 007 (Shanty Town)
B4 Pressure Drop
B5 Sitting In Limbo
| Specification | Description |
|---|---|
| Weight | 0,15 Kg |
