Cymande - Promised HeightsThis year marks the 50th anniversary of Cymandes Promised Heights, a record that closed out an historic three album run of seminal early '70s Afro soul that also included their 1972 self titled debut and 1973s Second Time Round. Promised Heights solidified Cymandes place in music history, and contains some of their most beloved and often sampled tracks such as Brothers On The Slide. As children of the Windrush Generation, Cymande were part of the

I want to try

'Let It Live' slides along on a perfectly blazed bass line and 'Pollinate' is all crashing cymbals and distorted amps

And what did pop music have to say about it

Featuring 62 wild and way out tracks

though the Damned themselves rejected it and never performed any of its songs again

Emboldened by the success of their initial venture

don’t cry / I love you forever / But I gotta grow up now / No I can’t keep holding onto you anymore” she sings on the album closer “Mia”

It’s about the pain and tragedy that comes with such destruction

and a line-up that comprises some of the most progressive 21st-century talents in British jazz and beyond

where he penned material for other Hi stars like Al Green

The album includes contributions from Rustie‰۪s friends and past collaborators

arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk