1983's Festive 50 was largely dominated by New Order, The Smiths, The Fall and The Cocteau Twins which was certainly no cause for complaint in these quarters. There were 2 tracks, however, that always stuck out for me - the first was Good Technology in which The Red Guitars itemise the sundry achievements of modern science over a quite stunning melodic soundscape.
The other was The Natural-Ites and The Realistics who made it into the Top 10 with Picture On The Wall. I still remember buying the single the day after I first heard it on Peel and was one of the first tracks to get me listening to reggae music. There's a real feeling of joy and spiritual power in the vocals and the melody and counter melodies of the horns are simply sublime. Peel played this song to death and it's very easy to appreciate why he loved this track so much.
The Natural-Ites and The Realistics - Picture On The Wall (12")
Amazing tune! There is a real sense of power behind it that is just so strikingly joyful. Helped me to remember the name of another fun, although much earlier, reggae band, the Bunny Lee All Stars.
ReplyDeleteThere may be a post coming up soon on The Bunny Lee All Stars...watch this space...
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