Happy 40th Anniversary to Steel Pulse’s fourth studio album True Democracy, originally released May 4, 1982.
Rejoice rejoice / Good tidings I bring you / Hear ye a message to you my friend / Voices cry invoke your angels / When pressure drop it cannot conquer dread no / So blow away your bluesy feeling - “Chant a Psalm”
When I got the assignment to write an anniversary tribute for Steel Pulse’s True Democracy, one of the first things I did was look up which albums were released in 1982. I was surprised at the number of great and important LPs that dropped that year, with Michael Jackson’s Thriller topping the list. Other LPs released that year were Prince’s 1999, Bad Brains’ self-titled debut, and Roxy Music’s Avalon, just to name a few.
As I got deeper into my research, I found several “top 100 LPs of 1982” lists, none of which included True Democracy. At first, I thought I had overlooked it, but, alas, it was nowhere to be found. Without scrolling down the lists, I could immediately rattle off at least 20 titles that did not match the level of True Democracy. Not that those LPs weren’t any good, but True Democracy is an underrated gem that deserves a closer look.
In 1981, with three albums (1978’s Handsworth Revolution, 1979’s Tribute to the Martyrs, and 1980’s Caught You) under their belt, Steel Pulse found themselves out on the road touring and separated from their label Island Records. While on the tour, they met with producer Karl Pitterson, who produced their first two LPs and he was on the outs with Island Records as well.
After the tour, the band cut five demos with Pitterson, but they still had no record deal and no money to produce the album. “But Jah was on our side,” the group’s lead singer David Hinds recently recalled to the Jamaica Observer. “The news had reached Scandinavia about Steel Pulse. Apparently, there was a small record label over there that had a freshly built recording studio. They were curious to hear what a reggae band would sound like in there. We jumped on that opportunity by taking a boat from England to Denmark.” The band recorded the album in 25 days at Feedback Studios in Aarhus with Pitterson at the helm. Shortly afterward, they were signed to Elektra Records.
True Democracy is a brilliant mix of social commentary and some of the most danceable music I’ve ever heard on a reggae album. What makes this album so great is the same thing that makes any great album special: it resonates long after its release. “It has most certainly held up after 40 years,” Hinds stated to the Jamaica Observer. “I believe it’s because of the initial impact it had when it first came on to the market. It was the freshest product that echoed the political energy of its time,” said Hinds. “Therefore, packed with that kind of synergy and sentiment, the music-loving population had no other choice but to respond in a positive way towards its contents.”
With songs like “Chant a Psalm,” “Blues Dance Raid,” and the sublime “Your House,” True Democracy is one of the standout LPs in Steel Pulse’s catalog. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with True Democracy, but it is an underappreciated classic that deserves to be heard. It’s certainly one of the top 10 albums of 1982.
LISTEN: