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BEATS OF LOVE 

59. Rough Road by Telford Nelson 

LIKE MANY suburban reprobates in 80s Britain, the band Culture marked my initiation into the satisfying warmth of roots reggae via listening to Peel.

Joseph Hill's sweet voice and their wondrous harmonies on creations such as Holy Mount Zion and I'm All Alone in the Wilderness have since lullabied me to sleep after many marathon sessions. 

Nowadays, with marathon sessions a thing of the past, I can fully appreciate these harmonies far more as I begin to capture a truer sense of the deep spirituality at the heart of roots reggae. That sounds not unlike a musical bible when played well.  

Telford Nelson was a latecomer to the Culture stable and his input passed me by, but this solo effort is simply magnificent. Voiced for producer and long-time friend Sonny Thomas in 1990, its sparse digi-rhythm is more in the vein of Latin Quarter's wonderful cod-reggae than of the classic ensemble mould.  But every single note well and truly hits the spot.  

On a warm sunny evening after a long shift of work when the temptation to pop open the fizz at Johnson's predictable departure is strong, I instead steady myself and put this song on the stereo. And let its sun-kissed majesty interplay with the clear night sky. As a result, I now feel less pensive, much calmer, clearer headed, and more hopeful about all manner of things than I would be by necking back the fizz.  

The fizz is for when we finally find the collective strength to kick the tories out for good.