Could This Be “The Best Ever”?

Local Boston Reggae Music

Oct 16, 2025

Bob Marley brought the sound of reggae music from Jamaica to Boston, Massachusetts, for the first time in July of 1973, when he played at Paul’s Mall, at 733 Boylston Street, just outside of Copley Square (this was the first of several Paul’s Mall gigs for Marley).

Just a few years later, the first vinyl recordings of local reggae bands in Boston began to emerge.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Boston reggae scene blossomed into a vibrant and rich ecology, finding sustenance in the sons and daughters of the Caribbean who had moved to the area in large numbers following the loosening of U.S. immigration laws. Local bands like Loose Caboose, Zion Initation, The I-Tones, I-Ses, Healin’ of the Nations, The Ethiopian Roots, One People, Jamontrad, Jah Spirit, and Afrikan Roots were soon an essential ingredient to a growing and thriving—but somewhat underground—Boston reggae music scene.

Of all the homegrown bands that developed in Boston (and there were many)—and all the music that those bands produced—is there one recording that stands above the rest?

To me, the answer is clear.

While there were many bands that produced unquestionably beautiful studio music, in my view there is one song that I would give the title “The Greatest Boston Reggae Song Ever Produced.”

That would be the song Love Is the Answer off of the Healin’ of the Nations’ 1982 vinyl album of the same name:

I will describe what has led me to this conclusion, but before I do, you will want to put on your headphones and listen carefully to this song:

In Love Is the Answer, all of the musicians are at the top of their game.

Consider:

• The solid, unwavering, foundational drum (Pablo) and bass (Ace) performances

• The perfectly-placed percussion parts. Inando plays the hand drum throughout, but not until about the 5-minute mark do you hear the vibraslap come in at just the right moment

• Taken together, the rich piano skank, the subtle organ bubble, and the descending and haunting organ line take the listener on a smooth ride (Igene on keys)

• A guitar pick that mostly follows the bass line, but adds in its own spice now and then and is placed just in the background of the mix. The sharp guitar skank also makes for rhythm-section-perfection (Jeff & Ipa on guitars)

• Lead and background vocals are as strong as they come (Rocky on lead, brothers Ace & Igene on backgrounds), with a message in the lyrics that is clear, strong, and consistent

• Rocky does his own deejay part after his lead, which I suspect was largely free-styled and perfectly matches with the main lyrics (written by Igene)

• The whole production is expertly arranged and the mix has the quintessential 1982 reggae sound

• The 5:15 running time allows the song to breathe and is just right for an extended vocal/deejay mix

• There are beautifully-placed, high—and sweet—notes in the bass line, but those notes only appear just as the song is fading out at the end, barely audible, but perfectly mixed

Is there a reasonable and simple test for appreciating how good a local recording is, as compared with international reggae artists?

What works for me: if this song came on the radio in the middle of an extended roots mix, and it fell between a Mighty Diamonds song and a Wailing Souls song, would it fit right in?

In the case of Love Is the Answer, “yes” is the answer. The song delivers everything that a lover of reggae craves. It’s what has driven me to listen to this song in every season over the last forty years, ever since purchasing the vinyl in Harvard Square in the mid-1980s. It truly does not get old.

Healin’ of the Nations has provided a beautiful answer to the “questions we ask”…