Rootz Radicals - Live & Direct (Self-published)

No applause, cheering or sing along moments on 'Live & Direct'. The track list includes 12 songs, most of which could already be found in studio version on 'Sampler One', supplemented with tracks from their 2015 EP 'Lion Outta Den', 'Boat To Itiopia', a solo single frontman Uno Jahma recorded that same year over the Pineapple Kush riddim, and personal interpretations of songs by Cocoa Tea ('Hurry Up'), Musical Youth (closing track 'Pass Di Dutchie') and Morgan Heritage ('Liberation Dub', a dub version of 'Liberation', still preceded here by a short intro to the melody of Sugarhill Gang's 'Apache', which of course in itself was another remix of The Shadows' 1960 world hit of the same name).

The somewhat metal-like album cover is a strange choice and there is no real live-feel on 'Live & Direct', but this album is more than a confirmation that recording live with all musicians at the same time in the studio (or in this case the hall) still guarantees an excellent end result!