Reggae — All Formats  

A great collection of work from Bob Marley – put together as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, but a set that works equally well as a rich introduction to his music! There's a handful of classics here, but also some nice lesser-remembered tunes too – and the package includes a fair bit of live recordings, which make up almost a third of the 2CD collection! Titles include "Small Axe", "Concrete Jungle", "Work", "Crazy Baldhead", "Corner Stone", "Judge Not", "Stir It Up", "Simmer Down", "Natty Dread", "Trenchtown Rock (live)", "One Love", "Could You Be Loved", "High Tide Or Low Tide", "Redemption Song", "I Shot The Sheriff (live)", "War (live)", "No Woman No Cry (live)", "Exodus Dub (Kindred Spirit dub)", 'Three Little Birds", and "Real Situation".

Ho!! Here's one to take you on a short trip down memory lane! We say short because in today's groove scene new sounds and movements take hold and shift to another scene so quickly, it's easy forget how recently they were birthed. So never mind dub step or broken beat or any of the grandchildren of the drum and bass scene and cruise back to the salad days of the mid 90s with this fab compilation showcasing the original breakbeat sound! Non-stop jungle tracks with relentless rhythms that sound as fresh today as they did when they were new, new unstoppable sound system rockers and neck snapping underground club anthems of East London. 13 tracks in all, including "Original Nuttah" by UK Apache & Shy FX, "Super Sharp Shooter" by DJ Zinc, "Illegal Gunshot" by the Ragga Twins, "No Doubt" by Shut Up & Dance, "Under Mi Sensi (X-Project rmx)" by Barrington Levy &Beenie Man, "Bad Boy Lick A New Shot" by Ninjaman, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man & Ninja Ford, "Press The Trigger" by Poison Chang and "Incredible" by M Beat with general Levy.

The Lone Ranger delivers a silver bullet with this batch of bouncing dancehall niceness featuring a Channel One posse that includes Sly & Robbie, Soldgie, Scientist and Barnabas! Probably best known as Studio One's top DJ, the Lone Ranger proves he can keep the bad guys in check even under his own production with this set that delivers a tight batch of tracks that hit the bull's eye with every shot! 10 tracks in all, including "Tom Drunk", "Rub 'N' Scrub", "Legalize The National Herb", "Gunshot Mek Daughter Drop", "Liviing As A Poor", "Johnny Make You Bad So", "The Clock", "Lone Ranger & Tonto", "Solomon" and "Love Affair Problem".

Sweet grooves from the great Bob Marley – a set cut at a time when Marley was really riding his international fame – and able to create the kind of music that reached out way more than conventional reggae! The Kingston roots of the sound are still very firmly in place – but there's also a more globally-expansive vision here too – partly the tight production on the music, partly the warm feelings that ebb and flow throughout the entire set – a vibe that's very different than American soul, and which has turned out to be surprisingly encompassing over the years. Titles include "Is This Love", "Running Away", "Kaya", "Satisfy My Soul", "Easy Skanking", "Sun Is Shining", "She's Gone", "Misty Morning", "Crisis", and "Time Will Tell". 2CD version features the bonus track "Smile Jamaica (version)" – plus 13 more tracks recorded live in Rotterdam in 1978 – "Jamming", "No Woman No Cry", "I Shot The Sheriff", "The Heathen", "Positive Vibration", and "Exodus".

The rawest of the raw, island style boom bap! Early Bullwackie Barnes tracks, many of them recorded in Jamaica before he, his studio and label relocated to New York, stripped to their bare essentials, pretty much just bass, drums and guitar, with a little spicy sauce added here and there. Nice raw dubs and rhythms with the trademark spacious Wackie's tone science, 10 of them in all, including "High Times", "Dread Feeling", "Shotgun Skank", "Disco Reggae Rocker", "Black Brigade" and "Open The Gates".

One of the more far-reaching compilations in the Jazz Club series – reggae covers by jazz mainstays and more from late 60s onward, with a focus on great stuff from the 70s! All of the material was culled from the vast Universal vaults – and it's a pretty sweet set of jazzy reggae and reggae jazz, from artists as diverse as Ernest Ranglin, Bernard Pretty Purdie, The Skatalites, Bill Fraser, Deodato and Medeski, Martin & Wood! 14 tracks in all: "54-46 – (Was My Number)" by Ernest Ranglin, "Jammin'" by Monty Alexander, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Junior Mance, "Natty Never Get Weary" by Dean Fraser, "Rock Fort Rock" by Skatalites, "Montego Bay" by Pretty Purdie, "I Shot The Sheriff" by Deodato, "Walking On Sunshine" by Bill Summers, "Pressure Drop" by Brass Fraser and more.

A massive collection of ska instrumentals – all the real deal from the initial 60s start of the genre – and all pulled from the legendary Top Deck catalog! There's a crisp, raw edge to these tracks that nobody else was able to ever match again – a sinister vibe that comes from the bold production style, cool compressed rhythms, and soulful sax and trumpet solos that really make these numbers cook! Given that the set's all instrumental, the vibe here is a lot different than most ska revival work too – almost more in a 60s soul instrumental mode – with great traces to the inspiration of the genre. Titles include "Shot In The Dark" and "Determination" by Roland Alphonso, "China Town" and "China Clipper" by The Skatalites, "Scattered Lights" and "Red Is Danger" by Tommy McCook, "Warlock" by Jackie Mittoo, "Love In The Afternoon" by Don Drummond, "Live Wire" by Lyn Taitt & Jackie Mittoo, "Yogi Man" and "Red Is Danger" by Johnny Moore, "Shock Resistance" by Baba Brooks, "Lawless Street" by King Sporty & The Skatalites, and "Ti Pi Tin" by Raymond Harper.

Another blistering treasure trove of Canadian reggae! You heard us right, this batch of deep and heavy roots comes all the way from Toronto, and though it may be geographically isolated from the Caribbean, the vibes are deeply rooted foundation rock, not unlike some of the other astoundingly great material the folks at Light In The Attic have reissued. Jerry Brown's Summer Records imprint churned out no small number of tremendous reggae cuts, as this excellent compilation documents, working with West Indian ex-pats, visiting luminaries and local talent, too! The tracks run the gamut from bright and crisp to murky smoked out but it's all unbelievably great and will open your eyes to a whole new scene in the same way that the refreshing Jamaica Toronto set did! 15 tracks in all, including "Love Makes The World Go Round", "Warrior" and "Jah Jah Live Forever" by Johnny Osbourne, "Sufferer" and "Awakening" by Earth, Roots & Water, "Run Them A Run" by Willi Williams, "Reach My Destiny" by Noel Ellis, "Dreadlock Lady" by Jerry Brown, "Come Together" by Bobby Gaynair and Earth, Roots & Water, and "Mankind" by Adrian Homer Miller and Earth, Roots & Water. Plus as a bonus, there's a DVD layer on the CD, with 20 minutes of excellent archival footage of Jerry Brown and his artists in the studio and at the dance!

Barry Brown at Channel One – a record titled Right Now, largely recorded in the early to mid 80s – and has a truly timeless sound that holds up incredibly well! Barry's working with producer/arranger Jah Screw on the tracks – and backed by We The People Band and Roots Radics for on most tracks – plus the Owen Rennalls Band on the stellar "Mafia". This nice 2012 CD version includes a bunch of great bonus dub versions – and titles include Includes "Sister Magling","Lonely Girl", "I Give My Love", "Guide And Protect Us", "Mister Minister", "Jukes And Watch", "Good People", "Mafia" and more by Barry Brown, plus "Mafia Dub" by Owen Bassie Rennalls Band, "Make It With Version", "Jukes And Watch Dub" and more by Roots Radics, "Sister Magling Dub", "It's Not So Easy Dub" and more by We The People Band, and "No Shot Nuh Fire" by Triston Palma. 20 in all.

The first album from The English Beat – and not only is it one of the most essential of the English ska revival era of the late 70s and early 80s – it's one the most enduring records of 1980 in any genre! The English Beat, like the best of their peers, used ska and rocksteady inspiration to fuel their own contemporary UK sound – and it sounds great to this day! The rhythms are tighter and punchier here than on later records, with some pop, mod and soul lacing their songwriting and vocal. A landmark! Includes "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off. . .She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", "Jackpot" and more. This 2012 CD version also includes "Ranking Full Stop" – which wasn't on the original UK release.

A tasty set of rootsy mid 70s rhythms, cut by the core of the Upsetters band, with Wire Lindo, Bobby Chung and Carlton and Family Man Barrett, alongside a host of other musicians. Though it's not credited as such, the set's supposedly cut at Tubby's and was mixed by one of his acolytes, Prince Phillip Smart, who approaches the mix with a very minimalist touch, not too much space dust sprinkled over the rhythms here, which is just the way we like it on this set, it lets the percolating funk bubble up from underneath without too much echo to get in the way! A heavy lesser known dub side that's one of our forgotten favorites! 11 tracks in all, including "Bradsta Dub", "Ista Episode", "Dub In My Soul", "KC Black", "Mike-O-Lette", "Capo Dub" and "Shotman Chow".

Solid!! 19 burning shots of prototypical island jams! The sounds of Studio One have been passed down from generation to generation of musicians, even being sampled by some of today's digital producers, and recut in version after version, and with their series of Studio One reissues, Soul Jazz illustrates why. Coxsonne Dodd was not only a genius producer of rhythms, but assembled some of the finest musicians not just on the island, but anywhere in the world to cut these mighty tracks, including the Skatalites "Coconut Rock", Cedric Im Brooks "Mun-Dun-Gu", Tommy McCook "Shocker's Rock", Jackie Mittoo & Ernest Ranglin "Jerico Skank", Karl Bryan & Teh Afrokats "Money Generator", Lester Sterling "Afrikaan Beat", Sound Dimension "Heavy Rock", Sugar Belly "In Cold Blood", Soul Bros "Bugaloo", Vin Gordon 'Red Blood", Pablove Black "Push Pull" and Karl Bryan & Count Ossie "Black Up".

Classic dub & rocksteady from Joe Gibbs & The Professionals and Sly & Robbie – Errol Thompson & Joe Gibbs produced dub,rocksteady and dancehall LPs – 4 classic albums in a great little 4CD box set! It starts with classic easy and dubby rocksteady of the State Of Emergency album, rolling on with the killer rhythms of Majestic Dub and African Dub Chapter 5 set, and ends with the crisp steppin' dancehall sounds of Sly & Robbie's Syncopation album. Includes 3 Joe Gibbs & The Professionals albums, including State Of Emergency from 1976 on the first disc, with "Bounty Hunter", "Wicked & Dreadful", "I Shot President", The Great Escape" and more. Majestic Dub from 1979 on the second disc, with "Ten Commandments", "Social Justice", "Kings Of Dub", "Bionic Encounter", "Martial Law", "Nations Of Dub" and "Embargo". The third disc features African Dub Chapter 5 from 1984, and titles include "The Day After", "Long Distance Affair", "Chaper Five", "Ladies Night Out" and more. The fourth disc features the Errol Thompson and Joe Gibbs produced Sly & Robbie set Syncopation from 1982, with "Syncopation", "Free Ticket To Ride", "Flirting In Space", "Flight To Nowhere" and more. Each comes in a mini replica sleeve of the original LPs.