The charismatic Joseph Hill founded the vocal trio Culture around 1976. He and his cousins Albert Walker and Roy Dayes initially called themselves "The African Disciples", but soon changed their name after hooking up with producer Joe Gibbs. Before Culture split up in 1982, they had an unfortunate engagement with Duke Reid's famous "Treasure Isle Studios" (the unauthorized album "Africa Stand Alone"), and a series of three excellent albums at Sonia Pottinger's "High Note" label ("Harder Than The Rest", "Combolo" and "International Herb"). Culture performed at the legendary "One Love Peace Concert" in 1978, and later toured heavily in the U.K. with the Revolutionaries.

This debut album is often considered as one of the masterpieces of the roots era. The title song swept across the island like a wildfire, and also became a major success in the U.K. Most Rastafarians believed the apocalypse would begin when the two sevens clashed, the most fearsome date of concern was July 7th, 1977, when the four sevens clashed. However, the song itself was fearless, and for those of true faith, the end of the world did not spell doom, but release from the misery of life.

The backing, provided by the Revolutionaries, perfectly complements the lyrics' ultimate optimism, and is quite distinct from most dread albums of the period. Although definitely rootsy, Culture had a lighter sound than most of their contemporaries. Sadly, no other group followed Culture's lead, and even the trio itself did not take advantage of it, especially after parting ways with Gibbs. When the group re-emerged in the mid-'80s, they swiftly moved into a reggae light/world music mode - a world apart from where they started. Thus, "Two Sevens Clash" remains forever in a class all of its own.

(Last edit: 2006, Mar 11, SB, Reggae-Shack)