A great mix of classic covers and original tracks – all served up with a mellow groove and plenty of influence from Jamaican music! Years back, Soul Sugar were more of a jazzy funk combo – but over the years, they've evolved into more of a reggae/rocksteady mode – one that's a perfect setting for the Hammond, Fender Rhodes, and other keyboards handled by Guillaume Metenier – a player who solos strongly on the instrumental tracks, then steps back a bit more on the few vocal numbers that grace the set! One of those, a sweet remake of the Curtis Mayfield classic "The Makings Of You", is worth the price of admission alone – and other tracks include "Black Byrd", "Happy Riddim", "Just A Little Talk", "Fly Away", and "Tubby's Ghost". (Deep Funk, Reggae) LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of U-Roy, and an album that paves the way for countless wonderful sounds to come! The album's an early one in the toasting approach – and has U-Roy calling out the tunes in this echoey style that's wonderful – somehow more urgent than reggae records of just a few years before, and almost dismantling the tunes as he works alongside them! Rhythms are cooked up by Duke Reid – and the album's the stuff that put both him, and the role of the DJ in reggae firmly on the map! Titles include "Your Ace From Space", "On The Beach", "Version Galore", "True Confession", "Tide Is High", "Things You Love", "The Same Song", "Happy Go Lucky Girl", "Rock Away", "Wear You To The Ball", "Don't Stay Away", and "Hot Pop". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of albums from this Guyana group – both recorded overseas, and with a really unique sort of vibe! Young Ones Of Guyana On Tour was recorded in 1970, while the group was in London – at the legendary Landsdowne Studios, home to some really groundbreaking jazz at the time – a location that must have left some sort of imprint on the combo, as they work here in a mix of different styles that includes soul, Latin, and even Jamaican modes – often using strong lead guitar upfront, usually peppered with very cool Farfisa organ lines too. Many of the cuts are instrumentals, and some are vocals – and the mix reminds us a lot of the sorts of variety you'd get on a late 60s rocksteady album. Titles include "Liquidator", "Monkey Man", "Express Way", "Love Can Make You Happy", "No More Heartaches", and "Meditation". Reunion was recorded in Toronto in 1973 – after the group took a hiatus from recording for a bit, to reemerge here with a style that's definitely matured for the time! The organ has shifted from Farfisa to Hammond, but still used in these nice lean lines – and the vocals are more prominent, and maybe more soulful too – especially when the group take on some American soul tracks from the time. Titles include "Guitar Man", "Hooked On Me", "Poppa Joe", "Oh Girl", "If Loving You Is Wrong", "Suriname", "Ain't No Sunshine", and "Lean On Me". (Global Grooves, Reggae) LP, Vinyl record album

A classic blend of saxophone and dub – one that shows just how much big the shift in Jamaican production styles was during the 70s! In the previous decade, reedman Tommy McCook was right on top of the mix on most of his performances – echoing the tenors of American R&B and soul musicians of the 50s and 60s – whereas here, he's much more layered down in the grooves – often mixed with a fair bit of echo and effects, so that his horn and the work of The Agrovators is beautifully muddled together – as the best elements of a cocktail can be in the hands of a true mixmaster! Titles include "Creator Of Dub", "A Happy Dub", "A Collie Dub", "The Dub Station", "Inspiring Dub", "Sprinkling Dub", "At The Dub Market", "The Meducia", "The Dub Duke", "The Height Of Dub", "Joh Soy Dub", and "King Tubby Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done collection of cuts originally issued on the small Rockers label headed by Augustus Pablo – groundbreaking dub material that really transformed reggae at the time, and which still stands head and shoulders above so many other work from the period! The set features rare numbers, obscure singles, and more – wonderful stuff we're happy to collected in a such a well selected compilation and certainly ripe for fresh listens after all these years! Titles include "Pablo's Theme Song", "Mountain View Dub", "Brown Jim", "Ethiopia Dub", "Israel In Harmony", "Third Eye", "Pablo's Armageddon", "Memories Of The Ghetto", "King David's Melody", "Jah Dread (7" version)", "Skanking Easy", "Cassava Piece (79 Style)", and "Pablo Meets Mr Bassie". LP, Vinyl record album

There's no stopping the double-dee jay power of Clint Eastwood and General Saint – as they pair together here on a classic album that's every bit as great as their Two Bad DJ set! The mix of voices trading back and forth is wonderful, especially over the laidback rhythms of the set – bridging some early digital modes with a warmth that comes from the way the pair interact – almost more down to earth than a solo dee jay might have, as the duo have a conversational vibe that gets past occasional hyperbole in the solo format. Also interesting is the way the pair can update older themes with a very contemporary vibe – in a set list that includes "Rock With Me", "Vote For We", "Nuclear Crisis", "Shame & Scandal", "Stop Jack", "True Vegetarian", "Everything Crash", "Monkey Man", and "Happy". LP, Vinyl record album