Two Sevens Clash is the debut album by roots reggae band Culture, recorded with producer Joe Gibbs at his own Joe Gibbs Recording Studio in Kingston in 1976, and released on Gibbs' eponymous label in 1977 (see 1977 in music). The album's title is a reference to the date of 7 July 1977.
| Two Sevens Clash | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Recorded | Joe Gibbs Recording Studio, Kingston, 1976 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 33:14 | |||
| Label | Joe Gibbs | |||
| Producer | Joe Gibbs | |||
| Culture chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A+[2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [3] |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.0/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Singer Joseph Hill said "Two Sevens Clash," Culture's most influential record, was based on a prediction by Marcus Garvey, who said there would be chaos on 7 July 1977, when the "sevens" met. With its apocalyptic message, the song created a stir in his Caribbean homeland and many Jamaican businesses and schools closed for the day.[6][7]
The liner notes of the album read: "One day Joseph Hill had a vision, while riding a bus, of 1977 as a year of judgment - when two sevens clash - when past injustices would be avenged. Lyrics and melodies came into his head as he rode and thus was born the song "Two Sevens Clash" which became a massive hit in reggae circles both in Jamaica and abroad. The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977 - the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops closed, an air of foreboding and expectation filled the city."
Music critic Robert Christgau named the album one of the few import-only records from the 1970s he loved yet omitted from Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[8]
The album was reissued in 1988 with different cover art, and with the track listing altered with the last five tracks of the ten tracks listed first, and tracks 1-5 becoming tracks 6-10.[citation needed]
To mark its 40th anniversary, the album was reissued again in 2017. This version features an additional disc of remixes and dub versions. New sleeve notes were written by Don Letts.[citation needed]
Track listing
edit1977 original release
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Calling Rasta Far I" | 2:30 |
| 2. | "I'm Alone in the Wilderness" | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Pirate Days" | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Two Sevens Clash" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "I'm Not Ashamed" | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Get Ready to Ride the Lion to Zion" | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Black Starliner Must Come" | 2:42 |
| 8. | "Jah Pretty Face" | 3:39 |
| 9. | "See Them a Come" | 3:24 |
| 10. | "Natty Dread Taking Over" | 3:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Alone in the Wilderness" | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Pirate Days" | 2:49 |
| 3. | "Two Sevens Clash" | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Calling Rasta Far I" | 2:27 |
| 5. | "I'm Not Ashamed" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Get Ready to Ride the Lion to Zion" | 3:24 |
| 7. | "Black Starliner Must Come" | 2:39 |
| 8. | "Jah Pretty Face" | 3:37 |
| 9. | "See Them a Come" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Natty Dread Taking Over" | 3:45 |
| 11. | "See Dem a Come (12" Mix w/ Prince Weedy)" | 6:56 |
| 12. | "See Dem Dub" | 3:58 |
| 13. | "Natty Dread Taking Over (12" Mix w/ I-Roy)" | 7:20 |
| 14. | "I'm Not Ashamed (12" Mix w/ I-Roy)" | 7:55 |
| 15. | "Not Ashamed Dub" | 4:25 |
Personnel
edit- Joseph Hill – lead vocals
- Albert Walker – harmony vocals
- Kenneth Dayes – harmony vocals
- Lloyd Parks – bass
- Sly Dunbar – drums
- Lennox Gordon – guitar
- Robbie Shakespeare – guitar
- Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont – guitar
- Franklyn "Bubbler" Waul – keyboards
- Errol "Tarzan" Nelson – keyboards
- Harold Butler – keyboards
- Uziah "Sticky" Thompson – percussion
- Herman Marquis – alto saxophone
- Vin Gordon – trombone
- Tommy McCook – tenor saxophone
- Bobby Ellis – trumpet
- Errol "ET" Thompson, Joe Gibbs - arranging, mixing
References
edit- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Robert Christgau review
- ^ Colin Larkin (1998). "Culture". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. II (3rd ed.). Muze. p. 1329. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
- ^ Pitchfork review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ "Birth of a Phenomenon: 'Two Sevens Clash'". National Public Radio. July 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
The title refers to apocalyptic prophecies by Marcus Garvey
- ^ "Culture Leader Joseph Hill Dies In Berlin". Billboard. August 21, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
Hill said "Two Sevens Clash," Culture's most influential record, was based on a prediction by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey, who said there would be chaos on July 7, 1977, when the "sevens" met. With its apocalyptic message, the song created a stir in his Caribbean homeland and many Jamaican businesses and schools shut their doors for the day.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "The Guide". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 30, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "Shanachie". Shanachie.com. Shanachie.