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Book: The Ultimate Guide to Great Reggae

Chapter: Great mento-reggae by Stanley Beckford and others

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.25468

Blurb:

The 1970s saw the advent of mento-reggae, reggae with mento musical elements
and/or a strong mento feel. Though there were not a great number of songs in
this style, and they were not totally uniform in their arrangement, the body of
work was large enough for a classic mento-reggae sound to emerge. This was
sunny reggae with happy piano and an exaggeratedly springy guitar chop that
alluded to banjo. The rhythm is a simplified interpretation of a mento rhythm
remembered from the past. The singer often had a country voice. Songs were frequently
renditions or adaptations of old mento standards. And when they were
not, they were lyrically mento-like, often a detailed observation of one of life’s
ribald predicaments. Woefully neglected by the CD format (with one exception),
these songs are worth the effort to track down.

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