Distant Thunder by Aswad

Distant Thunder, released by Aswad on Mango in March 1988, finds the British reggae band at their smoothest and most ambitious. They cut it across a small army of London studios, from RAK and Sarm West and East to Strongroom, Eastcote, Rooster, the Point and the Fallout Shelter, and produced it themselves with Chris Porter and Ron Fair.

By then Aswad had been at it for more than a decade, and the record leans into what set them apart: reggae with a rich, velvety layer of soul and R&B poured over the top. "Don't Turn Around" was the smash, a UK number one that year, all lilting groove and ache in the vocal.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.