Chase the Devil
| "Chase the Devil" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Max Romeo and The Upsetters | ||||
| from the album War Ina Babylon | ||||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Max Romeo and The Upsetters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Chase the Devil" is a reggae song, recorded in 1976 by Max Romeo, with the backing of Lee "Scratch" Perry's house band, The Upsetters.
Background
Composed by Perry and Romeo, "Chase the Devil" was released on the album War Ina Babylon in 1976. Also in 1976, The Upsetters recorded a version with different lyrics. The track, called "Croaking Lizard" and credited to The Upsetters and Prince Jazzbo, was included in their album Super Ape. Later, Perry made a dub remix of both versions, called "Disco Devil".
In a BBC interview recorded in 2010 Romeo describes the meaning of the song. He explains that the devil is everything negative in our minds, the iron shirt is our strength of spirit that allows us to cast out the devil.[1]
Track listing
- 7" UK Single[2]
- A. Max Romeo – "Chase the Devil"
- B. The Upsetters featuring Prince Jazzbo – "Croaking Lizard"
- A. "Chase the Devil" – 3:25
- B. "One Step Forward (Oye Oye Reggae)" – 5:00
Cover versions
- "Out of Space" by The Prodigy (1992) sampled the song.[5]
- Kanye West has used resung samples from "Chase the Devil" to produce Jay Z's song "Lucifer", which appeared on Jay Z's 2003 release, The Black Album.[5]
- Madness covered the song for their cover album, The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1, released in 2005.[6]
- Dreadzone sampled the song for their 2006 track "Iron Shirt".[7]
- Earl Sixteen covered the song in 2008: other reggae acts who have recorded their own versions include Macka B, Susan Cadogan and Mad Professor.[7]
- "Chase the Devil" was also used in the 2011 film Paul.[8]
Usage in media
- The song is featured on the K-Jah West radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[9] "Disco Devil", the remix, was later featured on the Blue Ark radio station in Grand Theft Auto V.
References
- ^ "BBC Four - Reggae Britannia, Max Romeo on I Chase The Devil". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Max Romeo / Upsetters, The Feat Prince Jazzbo – Chase The Devil / Croaking Lizard (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Max Romeo – Chase The Devil / One Step Forward ( Oye Oye Reggae ) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Chase the Devil / One Step Forward (Oye Oye Reggae) by Max Romeo : Reviews and Ratings". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ a b Kulkarni, Neil (26 April 2016). "One Step Forward Two Steps Backward: 1976, Reggae & Critical Amnesia". The Quietus. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Madness – The Dangermen Sessions, Vol. 1". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ a b McCann, Ian (16 September 2019). "Chase the Devil — when Max Romeo declared war on Lucifer". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Original Soundtrack – Paul". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Original Game Soundtrack – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
