ALBUM REVIEW: The Aggrolites – Live From The Compound (Pirates Press Records)
If anything is guaranteed to raise the spirits after the shittiest of years, it’s some feelgood old-school reggae.
And there are few finer modern exponents of it than LA’s The Aggrolites, who were originally formed in 2002 as a live backing band for reggae icon Derrick Morgan.
After a period of inactivity, they’ve enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, starting with the release of their sixth album Reggae Now! (reviewed here) in 2019.
It proved so successful that their label Pirates Press Records embarked on a major reissue campaign last year, making most of their back catalogue available on vinyl for the first time in many years.
If that wasn’t enough, they surprised everyone by springing a festive surprise on us, in the shape of this 18-track live album, released on Christmas Day.
Recorded from a live stream which they did as lockdown restrictions were lifted, it sees the self-styled kings of ‘dirty reggae’ release a collection of Aggro originals and reggae classics.
It kicks off with their version of The Beatles’ song Don’t Let Me Down, which has been a popular set closer over the years, and they turn their hand to a few other well-known songs.
They include The Harry J Allstars’ skinhead classic Liquidator, Ken Boothe’s Freedom Street and Toots And The Maytals’ It Must Be True Love, all of which you’ll find in most half-decent reggae collections, along with cuts by Delroy Wilson and The Upsetters.
But they show their love and knowledge of soul and reggae music – as if that was ever in any doubt – with some of the deeper cuts here; songs like Decimal Currency by The Blenders and Funky Chicken by Willie Henderson And The Soul Explosions. They even turn in a version of Andy Williams’ much-covered It’s Impossible like I doubt you’ve ever heard before.
Their own back catalogue isn’t neglected all together; the aforementioned Reggae Now! album gives us Pound For Pound, Say Or Do and Love Me Tonight, and their songs – which blend ’60s soul, funk and skinhead into their own ‘dirty reggae’ – don’t sound out of place.
As far as pick-me-ups go, this is as good as it gets. It’s only available as a download at present, but it would make a wonderful vinyl album. 9/10.
Click HERE to download or stream Live From The Compound on the digital platform of your choice.
