A sweetly soulful set from Robert Ffrench – a completely self-produced set, which seems to give the whole thing a very down to earth vibe – especially given its release in the middle of the digital dancehall generation! There's certainly elements in the music that link it to that moment – especially the electric rhythms and keyboards – but there's a very personal approach to the record that recalls some of the more intimate modes of the lovers generation, and some of the more earnest, soulful expressions of the decade before! The whole thing's great – a rare gem that really deserves the attention its warranted in critical circles over the years – with titles that include "You Are So Special", "Heartbreaker", "I Can't Finance You", "Sweet Sixteen", "Give Me Your Love", and "I Am Wondering". LP, Vinyl record album

Produced by Niney. Includes "Ethiopian National Anthem", "Slave Call", "Guilty Conscience", "Hurry On", "Train To Skaville" and "Obeah Book". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of charmers from legendary producer Lloyd Charmers – served up here with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is the classic Sweet Bitter Love from Marcia Griffiths – a set that helped cement her reputation as one of the most soulful female singers in Jamaican music at the time – and one that really helps bridge worlds by serving up some great reggae-styled takes on American soul music! Marcia serves up sublime takes on tunes by Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Roberta Flack, and others – completely reworked by Charmers' instrumentation – which also includes some wonderful keyboards! Titles include "Play Me", "Gypsy Man", "Sweet Bitter Love", "Green Grasshopper", "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", and "Everything I Own". Far & Distant features wicked guitar work from Willie Lindo – spun out here over an all-instrumental set that almost feels more like Jamaican records of the late 60s than you'd guess from the mid 70s date of the album! The grooves are definitely more 70s – certainly with a strong reggae current – but the spare, stripped-down manner of presentation takes us back more to some of the instrumental rocksteady records – especially in the way the production allows for lots of focus on the core musician – which means you really get to hear all the wicked, trippy currents of Lindo's instrument – used in a heady style that almost makes him come across like the Phil Upchurch of the Jamaican scene! Lloyd Charmers produced, and also plays piano and organ – and titles include "Drum Song", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Midnight train To Georgia", "Samba Pati", "Chopper", "Hear I Am Baby", "Charmers Mood", "Mystic Mood", "Breezing", and "Holly Holy". 2CD edition features 20 more bonus tracks – 17 of which are new to CD – a full alternate mix of the Marcia Griffiths album, the tune "Midnight & You" by Willie Lindo, and more Lloyd Charmer productions from rare 7" singles – work by Big Youth, Drifting Blenders, Bob Andy, BB Seaton, Errol Thomas, and others. CD

Don't think "disco" as in the New York scene at Studio 54 – as these cuts are much deeper and dubbier – served up under the supervision of Bunny Lee by studio maestros Barnabas and Pat Kelly! Instrumentation is by the Aggrovators, but the magic comes equally from the production effects as it does from the massive rhythms by the group – as all the elements are filtered out in space, and criss-cross back and forth in this wonderful way – never too sloppy or experimental, but definitely tripping out with the groove! Vocals are muted when they do make an appearance – and titles include "The Aggrovators Special Dub", "Money In My Pocket Dub", "Portobello Special Dub", "Super Rockers Dub", "The Bomb Dub", "The Killer Dub", and "The Dub Specialist". LP, Vinyl record album

How this burningly bad set has remained under wraps for so long is beyond us, but thanks to the folks at Honest Jon's, it's been brought to the much needed light of day! An excellent set collecting work from throughout the career of Cedric Im Brooks, spanning a wide assortment of styles, but all with a deep spiritual approach that Brooks gathered from time spent in his youth in Philadelphia, where he fell under the influence of Sun Ra, almost joining the Arkestra before returning home to Jamaica. The set jumps from heavy, dark roots and Nyabhingi influenced reggae, including some nice dubbed out versions, to Jamaican jazz sides like his take on Horace Silver's classic "Song For My Father", to some tightly snapping disco influenced grooves and bouncing afrobeat rhythms that would make Fela proud! 19 tracks in all, including "Free Up Black Man", "Satta Massa Gana", "Jah Light It Right", "Lambs Bread Collie", "Salt Lane rock", "Rasta Lead On Version", "Sly Mongoose", "Africa", "Collie Version", "Rebirth" and "Sabebe". CD

How this burningly bad set has remained under wraps for so long is beyond us, but thanks to the folks at Honest Jon's, it's been brought to the much needed light of day! An excellent set collecting work from throughout the career of Cedric Im Brooks, spanning a wide assortment of styles, but all with a deep spiritual approach that Brooks gathered from time spent in his youth in Philadelphia, where he fell under the influence of Sun Ra, almost joining the Arkestra before returning home to Jamaica. The set jumps from heavy, dark roots and Nyabhingi influenced reggae, including some nice dubbed out versions, to Jamaican jazz sides like his take on Horace Silver's classic "Song For My Father", to some tightly snapping disco influenced grooves and bouncing afrobeat rhythms that would make Fela proud! 19 tracks in all, including "Free Up Black Man", "Satta Massa Gana", "Jah Light It Right", "Lambs Bread Collie", "Salt Lane rock", "Rasta Lead On Version", "Sly Mongoose", "Africa", "Collie Version", "Rebirth" and "Sabebe". LP, Vinyl record album