By Robert Plummer

One of Jamaica’s all-time greatest roots reggae outfits, Culture, now have all their early singles together in one place on a new double CD entitled See Them A Come – The Joe Gibbs Collection. It’s out on 13 June 2025 on the Doctor Bird label via Cherry Red.

These are sad times for lovers of Jamaica’s greatest musical export. Since the start of 2025, a trio of classic reggae singers have died, leaving behind a powerful and eloquent legacy. First to depart this earth was conscious dancehall icon Cocoa Tea, who died on 11 March at the age of 65. Then venerable rootsman Max Romeo passed away exactly a month later aged 80. Most recently, another long-time Rasta ambassador, Junior Byles, died at the age of 77 on 15 May.

Yet like many other deceased practitioners of Jah music, they are gone but not forgotten, thanks to the tireless efforts of reissue labels to keep their tunes alive and in print. And few have been better served by reggae’s curators in these times than the late Joseph Hill, the great helmsman of the legendary Culture. In fact, his reputation has continued to flourish since his untimely death in August 2006, at the age of just 57.

As Culture’s lead singer and songwriter, Hill’s career spanned 30 years and 22 albums. But he is best remembered for the 1977 song Two Sevens Clash, which transcended reggae cultdom to be become massively successful among followers of the UK’s then burgeoning punk scene. That came during the first phase of Culture’s musical journey, when they made their name working with top-ranking producer Joe Gibbs.

Their much-loved recordings from that era have come out in various configurations and on numerous formats since then. But now, for the first time, all their 7” and 12” singles for Gibbs have been gathered together in one place, with rare dub versions, extended mixes and guest appearances by DJs. If you have them on scratchy hand-pressed Jamaican pre-releases, now is the time to hear them in pristine condition, sounding better than they ever have before.

See Them A Come – The Joe Gibbs Singles Collection features a total of 33 tracks, among them eight that have never previously been on CD. Two Sevens Clash is there in three different versions, while other renowned hits include Baldhead Bridge, Innocent Blood and Natty Dread Taking Over. All the vocal cuts are blessed with the exquisite three-part harmonies of Hill and his original bandmates, Albert Walker and Roy Dayes, with backing by Gibbs’s rock-solid house musicians, the ever-changing but always accurately named Professionals.

Joe Gibbs and his sound engineer Errol Thompson, known as the Mighty Two, crafted some of the most mind-bending dub versions to come out of Jamaica in the 1970s, and that side of their production work is well represented here. The outstanding example is I’m Not Ashamed Version, which strips the original recording down to ominous reverberating fragments, then augments them with a range of sound effects such as car horns, crying babies and running water.

It's astounding to think that Jamaica’s saga of sufferation in the 1970s was capable of distilling so much musical sweetness. But in the annals of reggae history, these tunes belong to the very crown of creation, the pinnacle of the island’s artistic achievement. No Caribbean music collection is complete without them.

FURTHER LISTENING: After leaving the Joe Gibbs stable, Culture recorded extensively for producer Sonia Pottinger. Their 7” and 12” releases from that period can be found on another Doctor Bird/Cherry Red collection, Children Of Zion – The High Note Singles Collection, released in 2021. 

Another reggae reissue label, VP Records, has also been busy reviving Culture’s albums. In January 2025, it put out a 25th anniversary edition of Humble African, originally released in the year 2000 but now featuring an entire previously unheard dub version of the album. And in May, it reissued the 1978 album Africa Stand Alone, containing tracks recorded between the Gibbs and Pottinger sessions that were released without the band’s authorisation, but remain prized by collectors. Unfortunately, VP have chosen a digital-only release for both albums, with no CD or vinyl version available.

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