''True Democracy'' is an album by the reggae band

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

, released in 1982. The album peaked at No. 120 on the '' ''Billboard'' 200.

Production

When the band started work on the album, they had no record deal.Campbell, Howard (2022)
True reflections
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 9 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022 While on tour in New York in 1981 they met

Karl Pitterson Karl Pitterson is a Jamaican record producer and sound engineer. Pitterson began his career in the early 1970s as house engineer with Jamaican studios such as Dynamics, Federal, Randy's, Studio One, Treasure Isle and Aquarius. Over the course of ...

, with whom they recorded five demos. While the demos didn't prompt any offers from major labels, a small Danish label offered their studios to record an album. The album was recorded over 25 days at Feedback Studios in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, with Pitterson producing. The album was eventually picked up by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called ''True Democracy'' "a cheerful album, almost buoyant in its musical exhortations to dance even as its lyrics tackle less-than-merry topics." ''

Style Weekly ''Style Weekly'' is an online alternative media outlet that was previously an alternative weekly newspaper started in November 1982 for news, arts, culture and opinion in Richmond, Virginia. Style was originally owned by Landmark Media Enterpri ...

'', in 2018, called it "still ... one of the most danceable political albums ever."

Track listing

All tracks written by

David Hinds David Hinds (born 15 June 1956) is a British musician and the founding member, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist for the reggae band Steel Pulse. Life and career Hinds was born in Handsworth, West Midlands, Handsworth, Birmingham, England, to ...

, except where noted. #"Chant A Psalm" – 4:30 #"Ravers" – 3:56 #"Find It...Quick!" – 3:26 #"A Who Responsible?" – 3:54 #"Worth His Weight In Gold (Rally Round)" – 4:35 #"Leggo Beast" – 3:44 #"Blues Dance Raid" – 4:53 #"Your House" – 3:42 #"Man No Sober" – 4:29 #"Dub Marcus Say" (Phonso Martin) – 4:41

Bonus tracks for CD

#"Ravers 2" Version - 5:56 #"Leggo Beast 2" Version - 6:40 #"Your House ub Version - 3:50 #"A Who Responsible? ub Version - 4:00

Personnel

;Steel Pulse * Ronald "Stepper" McQueen - bass * Steve "Grizzly" Nesbitt -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown -

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, vocals * Alphonso Martin -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, vocals *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals *

Basil Gabbidon Basil Glendon Gabbidon (born 29 October 1955) is a British Jamaican guitarist / vocalist and a founding member of the reggae band Steel Pulse. Gabbidon lives in Birmingham, England, and recorded the album ''Reggae Rockz'' with Paul Beckford (ba ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

;Technical *Cover Concept -

*Art Direction - Ron Coro *Design - Kathy Morphesis *Photography - Eric Watson

References

{{Authority control Steel Pulse albums 1982 albums Elektra Records albums