Rebel Souls
Rebel Souls is an album by the British band Aswad, released in 1984. They supported the album with UK and North American tours. Rebel Souls peaked at No. 48 on the UK Albums Chart.
Production
Rebel Souls was recorded in Jamaica. The band's cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, [Mercy Me ]" includes backing vocals by the London Community Gospel Choir. "54–46 " is a cover of the Toots and the Maytals song. "Need Your Love " is performed in a lovers rock style. "Rainfall, Sunshine" is about the exploited working class.Critical reception
The Los Angeles Times opined that the album "offers well-crafted reggae with a pop slant, but it pales beside the powerful 1983 concert captured on Live and Direct." The Wycombe Midweek noted that "when the rhythms gel and the horns punch, there is a sparkle that even West Indies-based artists find hard to touch." The Birmingham Post & Mail called Rebel Souls "less strident and more soulful than recent albums."The Baltimore Sun concluded that the album "manages to combine the easy melodicism of Jamaican pop with the down-to-business intensity of the best of Black Uhuru." LA Weekly labeled it "another crucial mix of hard rhythms, spaced by the blistering horns of the most requested brass section in London." The Daily Telegraph listed it among the 10 best "rock" albums of 1984.