A wonderful set from Carroll Thompson, one that easily slides back and forth between easy rocking lover's numbers on the reggae front, and polished 80s commercial soul. The set was originally issued on the SG imprint, and fell unfairly into obscurity almost immediately, perhaps because Carroll didn't neatly fit into either the then-burgeoning UK soul scene or London's reggae happenings, which leaned more towards the rootsier side of the spectrum. But whatever vein she was mining, her sophisticated approach shines brightly in both her own production and arrangements, and her sweetly grooving vocals. A young Cleveland Watkiss makes a supporting appearance, as does heavyweight Kingston key-man Jackie Mittoo, but it's Thompson that's the real star here! There's 9 numbers on the original album, including "Word Of Love", "A Happy Song", "Change", "Stay With Me Tonight", "Music (It Will Never Die)", "Just A Little Bit", "Hoping On Love", "Dreams Of You" and "Your Love". 8 bonus tracks, too – including single mixes of Make It With You", "Honis I Do", "People Of The World", "Earth Man" and more. CD

A wicked little record, and one that lives up to its Space Invaders theme right from the start – thanks to a host of sweet electronic touches from Scientist, over a set of killer head-nodding dubs from Roots Radics! The group themselves are in totally top form – massive bass from Flabba Holt and drums from Style and Santa – topped with wicked guitar licks, and some sweet organ lines from Winston Wright – but it's clearly Scientist who's the star of the show, for the way he cooks the elements together and comes up with a sound that more than does justice to the extra-cool cover! Familiar elements are nicely abstracted, and juxtaposed with clever shifts in the studio – all to create massive dubs that include "Beam Down", "Red Shift", "Time Warp", "Cloning Process", "Pulsar", "Laser Attack", "Dematerialize", "Fission", "Super Nova Explosion", and "Quasar". 2LP version features bonus vocal tracks – by Wayne Wade, Wailing Souls, Sammy Dread, Linval Thompson, and Johnny Osbourne! LP, Vinyl record album

There's a wonderful sense of sound going on throughout this obscure set of dubs from the Bullwackies crew – music that's got some of the headier, bassier sounds of the generation – but which is also dappled with lighter touches at points, especially on keyboards – which makes the whole thing sparkle with a really timeless vibe! Joe Auxumite serves up vocals on about half the tracks on the set, and the instrumentals are equally great – working together with the more lyrical numbers to make a set that's maybe a lot more well-conceived overall than you might expect. Titles include "Shining Star", "Rain From The Cloud", "Simple Little Woman", "Troubled Land", "Recording Connection", "United Rock", and "Black World". CD

wicked little record, and one that lives up to its Space Invaders theme right from the start – thanks to a host of sweet electronic touches from Scientist, over a set of killer head-nodding dubs from Roots Radics! The group themselves are in totally top form – massive bass from Flabba Holt and drums from Style and Santa – topped with wicked guitar licks, and some sweet organ lines from Winston Wright – but it's clearly Scientist who's the star of the show, for the way he cooks the elements together and comes up with a sound that more than does justice to the extra-cool cover! Familiar elements are nicely abstracted, and juxtaposed with clever shifts in the studio – all to create massive dubs that include "Beam Down", "Red Shift", "Time Warp", "Cloning Process", "Pulsar", "Laser Attack", "Dematerialize", "Fission", "Super Nova Explosion", and "Quasar". 2CD version features bonus vocal tracks – by Wayne Wade, Wailing Souls, Sammy Dread, Linval Thompson, and Johnny Osbourne! CD

Two classic Lloyd Charmers albums – both new to CD, and presented here with lots of first-time CD bonus tracks too! First up is the great Gold Connection album – an obscure little record, but a soulful one too – a rare 70s Federal Records session that mixes together reggae and soul – with vocals by a trio of female singers that includes a young Marcia Griffiths and Cynthia Schloss! Lots of tracks take a disco inspiration, but slow the pace down a lot more for the Kingston scene – so that the grooves are dubby steppers with a lot more going on at the bottom than their American counterparts up north – laidback, and given some nice instrumentation from Willie Lindo on bass, Harold Butler on keyboards, and Cedric Brooks on tenor! Titles include "That's The Way I Like It", "Fly Robin Reggae", "Love's Theme", "Soul Charm", "Do It Anyway Reggae", "Latin Hustle Reggae", and "Darling I Like It". Next up is Sweet Dreams, a very unique album from Jamaican sweet soul singer Dobby Dobson – an artist who seems to owe a bit to Sam Cooke, and who references music from Sam's era too – remaking some older cuts with a warmer, sweeter 70s vibe overall! The Lloyd Charmers production makes for an unusual blend of reggae and classic soul – and titles include "Little Stars", "Sweet Dreams", "Oh Gee", "You're Mine All Mine", "Muriel", "My Special Prayer", and "It's A Miracle". 2CD set features 20 more bonus tracks – including the great Supernatural Thing project from Richard Ace with Lloyd Charmers – and more tracks from Sister Stern, The Africans, Richard Ace, Delroy Wilson, and CHARM! CD

A lean and spooky little set from the Rockers All Stars – put together with killer production from Augustus Pablo and Everton Da Silva! The vibe here is in the moodiest territory that Pablo might explore on albums under his own name – and although the father is providing help, it's clear that the group can make plenty of fantastic magic on their own! The set was mixed at King Tubby's and Harry J's – and although we're guessing the proceedings were laidback and casual, the record's gone on to become an underground dub classic over the years. Titles include "Hammer Dub", "Fire Dub", "Jah Dub", "Money Dub", "Static Dub", "Equal Rights Dub", and "Clean Sweep". 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

The very first album from Coxone Dodd – the start of a huge legacy that ran into classic Studio One Records productions of the 60s and 70s, and which started with this initial album of early Jamaican grooves! There's plenty of jazz in the mix here – freer-flowing solos than you'd hear in Jamaican music a few years later – especially on the saxophone lines, which seem to get strong solo space in both the vocal and instrumental cuts! The music has some strong currents of American R&B at points, particularly the jazzier west coast variety – but the rhythms are already clearly the sound of Kingston, and really give the music a unique appeal. Titles include "Campus Hop" by Dennis Sindrey & Rico, "Beeston Street Riff" by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, "I Done You Wrong" by Simms & Robinson, "Freedom" by Clancey Eccles, "Donna" by Blues Busters, "I Was Wrong" by Winston Samuel, "Rub Up" by Dennis Sindrey & City Clickers, and "Little Willie" by Aubrey Adams & Blues Blasters. CD

A massively expanded version of a legendary album – presented here as a 2CD set, with 22 tracks that appear on CD for the first time ever! At the core is the original Dubbing With The Observer album, the first-ever dub album from Niney The Observer – based around rhythms he'd cooked up for Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, and Delroy Wilson – all transformed completely in the studio by King Tubby! The sounds here are often very abstract – light years away from the originals – and given these spacey, repetitive cycles that seem to trip out even more than conventional dub! A landmark little record, and one that sounds even darker all these many years later – with cuts that include "Casanova Dub", "Rebel Dance", "Jam Down", "Parade Dub", "Turntable Dub", "Corn Man", "Mister D Brown Skank", and "Youth Man". The set then goes way way deep, with 37 more bonus tracks, that really take off as a magnificent demonstration of Niney's skills in the studio – all presented here with very detailed notes that really get at this important moment of genius in the history of dub! CD

A key moment in the career of the legendary Freddie McGregor – easily one of the best-known voices in reggae in the post-Marley years! The set captures Freddie at his youthful best – coming off of time doing vocal group work, but really shining strongly as a lead singer on his own – getting this nicely subtle Studio One backing that are heavy on the roots vibe, which makes a nicely deep rhythmic contrast to the sweetly crackling vocals of McGregor! The set came out at the start of the 80s, but it's got an instant classic vibe that resonates almost more strongly with some of the most soulful Jamaican recordings at the end of the 60s. Titles include "Bandulo", "We Need More Love", "What Difference Does It Make", "Go Away Pretty Girl", "Tomorrow Is Like Today", "Bobby Bobylon", "Wine Of Violence", "Gonna Take Over Now", "Rastaman Camp", and "I Am A Revolutionist". CD features 8 bonus tracks – including "Come Now Sister (ext mix)", "Freddie", "Homeward Bound", "Little Girl", "When I'm Ready (ext version)", "Rastaman Camp (ext mix)", and "I Man A Rasta (orig 7" mix)". CD

Derrick Morgan's a superstar in Jamaican music, but this album's one of his most obscure – also one of his most righteous too, as you might guess from the gritty 70s image on the cover! The set's got a soulful flow that's in the late rocksteady mode, but also bubbles with some of the roots energy to come – a headier vibe that has Morgan's vocals cresting over the tunes in a way that almost echoes some of the shifts that Marvin Gaye was making at the time – even thought Derrick's vibe here is completely his own! Morgan arranged and produced – and titles include "Festival 10", "Me Na Run", "Bring In The Guns", "One Morning In May", "Father Killam", "Send A Little Rain", "Never See My Baby", "Hold Your Jack", and "Still Around". LP, Vinyl record album

Reggae takes on Beatles tunes – both from the early and later years of the Fab Four – served up with vocals from a variety of different singers! There's a soulful vibe to the record right from the start – and the rhythms move between roots and lovers rock-styled pacing – but definitely change up nicely to fit the needs of the singers, which is a nod to the production and arranging styles of Clive Hunt, who put the whole thing together! Titles include "Taxman" by Nai-Jay, "Here Comes The Sun" by Barry Biggs, "Norwegian Wood" by Little Roy, "Revolution" by Yaniss Odua, "Michell" by Pierpoljak, "Help" by Gentleman, "You Won't See Me" by The Pioneers, and "With A Little Help From My Friends" by Tarrus Riley. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best place to start if you're looking to dive into the short but incredible legacy of music left behind by Bob Marley – as the album marked a real global turning point for the singer, and includes a number of tracks that are still his standout classics after all these years! The set was recorded in London, but with a nicely understated sound – just the right focus on all the best elements of the Wailers sound – in a way that creates a magical flow throughout. And sure, some of the cuts here are some of Bob's biggest hits ever – but heard in the context of the core album, they've got a lot more righteous power than when they're cribbed for a commercial or a TV soundtrack. Titles include "Natural Mystic", "Three Little Birds", "One Love/People Get Ready", "Exodus", "So Much Things To Say", "Guiltiness", "The Heathen", "Jamming", "Waiting In Vain", and "Turn Your Lights Down Low". CD

Maybe the best place to start if you're looking to dive into the short but incredible legacy of music left behind by Bob Marley – as the album marked a real global turning point for the singer, and includes a number of tracks that are still his standout classics after all these years! The set was recorded in London, but with a nicely understated sound – just the right focus on all the best elements of the Wailers sound – in a way that creates a magical flow throughout. And sure, some of the cuts here are some of Bob's biggest hits ever – but heard in the context of the core album, they've got a lot more righteous power than when they're cribbed for a commercial or a TV soundtrack. Titles include "Natural Mystic", "Three Little Birds", "One Love/People Get Ready", "Exodus", "So Much Things To Say", "Guiltiness", "The Heathen", "Jamming", "Waiting In Vain", and "Turn Your Lights Down Low". This version also includes 5 bonus tracks on CD 1 – versions and b-sides of numbers from the LP. The second disc has 5 previously unreleased live songs,including "Crazy Baldhead", "Jamming" and a burning 11 minute version of "Exodus", plus 5 songs recorded with Lee Perry in Jamaica around the time the LP was released, including "Keep On Moving" & "Punky Reggae Party". CD