Red

Black Uhuru’s fourth album helped mark a crucial transition in reggae’s evolution from the roots style of the late '70s to the digital dancehall of the '80s and beyond. Produced and backed by legendary bass-and-drum duo Sly & Robbie, the music here has a nervy, almost abrasive quality to it: Just listen to Michael Rose’s vocal delivery on “Journey” or the jerky riddims of “Youth of Eglington”—reggae played with the coiled energy of punk. Within a couple of years, the band had shifted their sound dramatically (see 1984’s Grammy-winning, synth-pop-tinged Anthem), making Red the peak of a style they left behind.