Their album On Top was released by their first producer Coxsone in 1968. Many opinions have credited it as the best album to have ever come out of Jamaica, notably singer and producer Sugar Minott.
The best players - the Soul Vendors are here, and the singers' voices truly are on top. To add to that, almost every song on the album has been versioned since.
However, Equal Rights, the opening song, stands out amongst the others here.
First of all, its lyrics are militant and as they're dealing with racial and social equality, the Heptones are paving the way for one of the hottest topics in the decade to come.
The lyrics are simple, but effective. The song opens with the first article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen :
"Every man has an equal right to live and be free"
Indeed, Jamaica gained its independance in 1962 but its colonial past lead to race and social separation issues that persist today.
Secondly, although Equal Rights definitely has a rocksteady beat and that cherished Studio One sound, the nyabinghi drumming brings forward this rootsier feeling.
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