Pablo Gad: Trafalgar Square - 1979

Pablo Gad was a UK-based solo roots reggae artists whose sound provided a bridge between the traditional roots of end of the seventies UK bands such as Steel Pulse, Aswad, Matumbi, Black Slate, Misty In Roots, Reggae Regular and Capital Letters and the developing artists like Black Uhuru, who were starting to use digital rhythms and programming in their reggae, as the sub-genre underwent big changes as the eighties came. 

Gad was best known for his 1980 ganga-praising steppers anthem Hard Times, which was covered by UB40 on their A Real Labour Of Love album in 2016. Another fine single was Black Before Creation.

This album, from 1979, still carries with it an authentic roots vibe, albeit with a swing to it that just makes me think "Black Uhuru" and tracks like the dubby Blood Suckers seem to pave the way for artists like Lone Ranger and Yellowman. The material on here sounds far more genuinely Jamaican than that of the other UK reggae artists (not that theirs didn't sound the real thing). This just sounds a bit more irie. 

Other highlights are the equally dubby and bassy Visions Of Pablo (check those flying cymbals), the melodic Trodding On Home, the heavy but romantic Natty Loving (again, check the dub passage), the UK-relevant Trafalgar Square and What Makes A Natty Dread Cry. 

Listen to that wonderful bassline on Jailhouse Pressure too. A crossover band that made it such as UB40 must have spent ages listening to stuff like this. This was another of those great, little-known and evocative roots albums from the period. I really like it. Pure roots. 

Also recommended from Pablo Gad are Blood Suckers from 1979 and Hard Times from 1980.