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Cool Runnings

Cool Runnings

By Karl Pearson on Monday, May 7, 2012 - Comment

One of Bristol's longest lasting bands finally gets their material released.

Sampler

Having had glimpses of Cool Runnings via Bristol Archive Records excellent ‘Bristol Reggae Explosion’ series it is finally great to hear them on an album in their own rights. Cool Runnings were one of Bristol's longest lasting reggae bands with a career that spanned twelve years including the entire 1980s. During this time Robin Hoods Of The Ghetto was inexplicably the only cut to ever see a proper release. The rest of this album is therefore made up of tracks recorded between 1983 and 1985 at various local studios with a couple of live tracks, Lawman and You Can’t Pay Me thrown in for good measure, which help highlight why the band had great appeal as a live experience.

Their sound is somewhat located at the lighter end of reggae, towards the Lovers Rock market, which fits the soulful style of vocalist Winston Minott like a glove, just check out the smoothness of album closer Last Train. This style and their multiculturalism is bound to draw comparisons with UB40 but the vibe I get from is much more akin to that of Gregory ‘The Cool Ruler’ Isaacs and just like Gregory they can belt out a good rootsy tune as well, as is proved by the repatriationish cry of We Must Go Home, the serene Children Of Zion and of course the afore mentioned, brass backed, Robin Hoods Of The Ghetto.

Reasons as to why more of Cool Runnings work has never seen the light of day until now are beyond me, but it is with big thanks to keyboardist Mark Tuck and guitarist George Condover who originally formed the band and who have held onto the various master tapes that we are able to enjoy them now, twenty years after they split and went their separate ways. Perhaps with better / proper management and wider exposure they may have achieved more success back then, there is no doubt in my mind that their sound would have been very commercial for that time, but for whatever reason at least Bristol Archive Records have come up trumps again to fill in another missing piece of Bristol’s cool reggae musical heritage.