An incredible duo, and one who look more like an American soul team on the front cover – and manage to deliver a similar vibe in the grooves! The style is definitely reggae, but as you'd guess from the Nina Simone cover in the title track, Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths are also reaching out for something bigger, too – really bringing a level of sophistication to their music that moves beyond the usual – an evolution past rocksteady, but also not in the same direction as other reggae acts of the time. Harry J produced, and gets an international flavor just right for the music – and titles include "Young Gifted & Black", "Private Number", "It's A Rocking Good Way", "We've Got To Get Ourselves Together", "United We Stand", "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", and "Keep The Customer Satisfied". 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

A mighty righteous set of roots material – but maybe that's no surprise, given that Fred Locks titled the album after the shipping line started by Marcus Garvey to help African-Americans get back to the homeland! On vocals, Fred's got an approach that's every bit in spirit with his rasta persona – lots of message in the music, but often delivered in a way that's nicely subtle, and partly personal – so that the politics come in alongside easygoing grooves, which maybe makes them even more powerful overall. All material is original, penned by Locks – and titles include "Wolf Wolf", "True Rastaman", "Don't Let Babylon Use You", "Vision Of Redemption", "Son Of The Almighty", and "Black Star Liners". LP, Vinyl record album

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A really striking mid 80s effort from the legendary Lee Scratch Perry – done at a time when his name and reputation had risen strongly on the global scene – which also seems to come through in the music as well! There's a wider range of styles going on here than before – and Scratch is more upfront, less hidden behind his own production – feeling that sense of mission as a messenger for madness that he seemed to take up at the time – a quality that comes through both in his lyrics and vocals, and in the nicely mish-mashed production as well! The set is credited to The Upsetters, but not the classic lineup – more a cast of characters behind much of the classic Black Ark material, though in good command of Scratch's brand of funky reggae. Titles include "Introducing Myself", "Time Marches On", "The Joker", "All Things Are Possible", "Grooving", "Drum Song", "I Am A Madman", "Show Me That River", and "Sexy Lady". Plus, 2CD set features all sorts of bonus tracks – 12 of which show up on CD for the first time ever – including "Time Marches On (take 1)", "Time Marches On Dubwise", "Rain Day In London", "The Perry Christmas Dub", "Madman Dubwise", "All Things Are Possible (12" mix)", "I Am A Madman (12" mix)", "I Am The Upsetter (1985)", and a number of different takes and mixes of "Merry Christmas Happy New Year". CD

The Trojan Records label was a pivotal force in taking reggae to a larger audience at the end of the 60s – pushing a huge amount of Jamaican artists into the global scene, and forever helping the sound of music in the process! Trojan was especially heavy in the years of ska and rocksteady, and this package is filled with some of the key cuts the label helped put on the map – tracks that are classic numbers from the early reggae years, and which had a hell of a lot of power both in Jamaica, and overseas in the UK! 2CD set features 50 tracks in all – and titles include "007" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe, "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" by The Pioneers, "54 46 Was My Number" by the Maytals, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "OK Fred" by Errol Dunkley, "Girlie Girlie" by Sophia George, "Money In My Pocket" by Dennis Brown, "Black Pearl" by Horace Faith, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Desmond Dekker, and "To Be Young Gifted & Black" by Bob & Marcia. CD

The Trojan Records label was a pivotal force in taking reggae to a larger audience at the end of the 60s – pushing a huge amount of Jamaican artists into the global scene, and forever helping the sound of music in the process! Trojan was especially heavy in the years of ska and rocksteady, and this package is filled with some of the key cuts the label helped put on the map – tracks that are classic numbers from the early reggae years, and which had a hell of a lot of power both in Jamaica, and overseas in the UK! 2LP set features 28 tracks in all – and titles include "007" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe, "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" by The Pioneers, "54 46 Was My Number" by the Maytals, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "OK Fred" by Errol Dunkley, "Girlie Girlie" by Sophia George, "Money In My Pocket" by Dennis Brown, "Black Pearl" by Horace Faith, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Desmond Dekker, and "To Be Young Gifted & Black" by Bob & Marcia. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent! An astounding 4CD set covering 15 years worth of fine Jamaican music, stopping at all the relevant points for novices, but digging deeply enough to unearth some nice hard to get bits for the initiated. The first disc in the set, Train To Skaville, represents an 8 year block during the formative years of the 60s, starting out with some Mento cuts, then a couple of nice Jamaican R& B numbers on through a nice batch of Ska. Disc 2, Do The Reggay, focus on the transition to Rocksteady and early reggae from 1968 to 1970, as the tempos started to get a little more laidback, and the dawn of the 70s gets highlighted with disc 3, Black & White: Reggae Rising. Disc 4, The Time Has Come, brings it all together collecting a tremendous batch of roots rock. 90 tracks in all, the set includes Derrick Morgan "Fat Man", Stranger Cole "Rough & Tough", Don Drummond & Tommy McCook "Music Is My Occupation", Roland Alphonso & The Soul Brothers "Phoenix City", Desmond Dekker & The Aces "Rudy Got Soul", Keith & Tex "Stop That Train", Toots & The Maytals "Do The Reggay", Lee Perry People Funny Boy", the Untouchables "Tighten Up", the Pioneers "Longshot Kick The Bucket", Gregory Isaacs "Don't Let Me Suffer", Harry J Allstars "The Liquidator", Niney "Blood & Fire", Ken Parker "Groovin Out On Life", Bob Marley & The Wailers "Small Axe", Horace Andy "I Fell Good All Over", Junior Byles "A Place Called Africa", Zap Pow "This Is Reggae Music", Slim Smith "The Time Has Come", Big Youth "S90 Skank", Burning Spear "Marcus Garvey", and way too many more to list here! CD

A real moment of righteous power from Lee Scratch Perry – as you might expect from the image on the cover – clearly indicating a strong sense of pride and identity that also tracks with the 70s shift in Jamaican music too! Lee's the producer here, but also extends full creative control throughout – which makes the album's mix of vocal and instrumental tracks feel much more like some of the unified albums from the Black Ark era, than previous Trojan packages which usually just culled together previous singles. The album's got lots of instrumentals billed to The Upsetters – including "Move Me", "Surplus"," Go Slow", "Not Guilty", "Long Sentence", and "Bad Luck" – and other titles include "Do Your Thing" by Dave Barker, "Well Dread (version 3)" by Addis Ababa Children, "Isn't It Wrong" by The Hurricanes, and "Place Called Africa (version 3)" by Winston Prince. CD

The first Bob Marley album on Island Records – and the start of a really legendary run that would not only transform reggae in the 70s, but the rest of popular music as well! Chris Blackwell's partially at the helm on production, but the album was mostly recorded in classic Kingston studios – Randy's, Dynamic, and Harry J's – and retains the same vibe as some of Marley's earlier work, but with more of the forward-thinking vision he brought to his time at Island. Bunny Livingston lays down some excellent percussion on the set – and rhythm is from the team of Aston and Carlton Barrett on bass and drums. Titles include the classic "Stir It Up" – plus "Slave Driver", "Kinky Reggae", "High Tide Or Low Tide", and "Concrete Jungle". Includes bonus tracks "High Tide Or Low Tide" and "All Day All Night". CD

The first album from Culture, and still their most classic – a set that takes its title from a prediction by Marcus Garvey – who said that there would be trouble in the world when "two sevens clash" on July 7, 1977! Fortunately, we made it all through that date in one piece – and good thing too, as the record's gone on to even more legendary status as the years have gone on – with a righteous sort of energy that just seems to get more important over the decades. Joe Gibbs produced, and arranged with Errol Thompson – and the slow-stepping rhythms of the set, heavy on bottom-end sounds, are a perfect backdrop for the message-oriented lyrics in the music. Every cut's a classic – and titles include "I'm Alone In The Wilderness", "Pirate Days", "Two Sevens Clash", "Calling Rastafari", "I'm Not Ashamed", "Get Ready To Ride The Lion To Zion", "Black Starliner Must Come", "Jah Pretty Face", "See Them A Come", and "Natty Dread Taking Over". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album from Culture, and still their most classic – a set that takes its title from a prediction by Marcus Garvey – who said that there would be trouble in the world when "two sevens clash" on July 7, 1977! Fortunately, we made it all through that date in one piece – and good thing too, as the record's gone on to even more legendary status as the years have gone on – with a righteous sort of energy that just seems to get more important over the decades. Joe Gibbs produced, and arranged with Errol Thompson – and the slow-stepping rhythms of the set, heavy on bottom-end sounds, are a perfect backdrop for the message-oriented lyrics in the music. Every cut's a classic – and titles include "I'm Alone In The Wilderness", "Pirate Days", "Two Sevens Clash", "Calling Rastafari", "I'm Not Ashamed", "Get Ready To Ride The Lion To Zion", "Black Starliner Must Come", "Jah Pretty Face", "See Them A Come", and "Natty Dread Taking Over". This 30th anniversary edition combines the 10 tracks of the original LP with 5 bonus numbers! CD

Discomix versions of stellar late 70s and early 80s selections from Joe Gibbs & Errol Thompson – giving the extended mix treatment to some stellar singles by a number of great vocalists and augmented by the top notch players! The approach essentially pairs up jams for an extended mix – running 6 to 8 minutes each – and the musician ship is incredible! Players including Sly Dunbar, Lloyd Parks, Ossie Hibbert, Tommy McCook and others. Volume 1 includes "Feeling Soul" from Ruddy Thomas & Trinity, "My Man/Blouse & Skirt" by Marcia Aitken & Trinity, "How Can I Leave You/Bubbling Love" by Dennis Brown & Prince Mohammed, "A Win Them/News Carrier" by Leo Graham & I Roy, "Natty Contractor/Drunken Master" by Michael Black & Ranking Joe and more. CD