Third World: Prilly (vocals); Cat Coore (guitar, cello); Ibo Cooper (keyboards)'; Richie (bass); Cornel (drums); Carrot (percussion).

Producers: Chris Blackwell, John Burns, Third World.

Recorded at Strawberry Hill, Jamaica. Originally released on Island (9369).

An all-time reggae classic, 1976's THIRD WORLD shows the band at the peak of its early Rasta pride. A powerful collection of bass-heavy roots reggae classics, THIRD WORLD is also the band's most explicitly political and religious album, with tracks like "Freedom Song," "Got to Get Along," and "Brand New Beggar" featuring the most direct lyrics of its career.

Where later albums included rock and R&B covers, the pair of covers on this album fit in with the lyrical and musical themes of the band's own songs. While the remake of Burning Spear's classic "Slavery Days" doesn't quite match the original, Third World's take on the Abyssinians' "Satta Amasa Gana" transforms the song into a masterpiece of controlled tension. This is classic Jamaican roots reggae at its finest.