You gotta love Ken Boothe – a guy who can take familiar pop tunes like "Impossible Dream" and "Theme From The Godfather", and turn them into surprisingly soulful reggae classics! Yet that kind of magic is exactly what makes a great reggae album so great – the kind of special inflection and inversion of source material, especially when mixed with original inspiration – and served up in a classic Kingston setting that features the great Lloyd Charmers on piano and organ, as well as production of the entire set! But it's the soulful style of Boothe that really makes the whole thing great – as he presents the tunes with one of the most unique voices in 70s Jamaican music – almost a Caribbean trill at points, but mixed with raspier soul at other times. Titles include "Speak Softly Love", "Everything I Own", "Evil Girl", "Crying Over You", "Sad & Lonely", "Impossible Dream", "You Will Reach Your Goal", "Time Passage", and "My Kid". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from the team of Dave Baker and Ansel Collins – one a soulful singer from the Jamaican rocksteady scene, the other a hip keyboardist whose organ lines really make the album shimmer! The pair scored a huge international hit with this album – and the whole thing was a key crossover record in the years before Island Records and some of the bigger reggae artists to come! There's a raw, earthy vibe to the whole thing – and a heck of a groove too – and titles include "Double Barrel", "Wild Bunch", "Monkey Spanner Version", "Secret Weapon", "Impossible Mission", and "Ten To One". LP, Vinyl record album

A rocksteady classic from The Ethiopians – but a set that also has plenty more going on as well! The duo work here as a Jamaican counterpart to American soul groups – one of the first and best to hit the Kingston scene – but they also open themselves up to lots of other ideas in the process, and sometimes lay back vocally to just let the album open up and groove! Harmonies are The Ethiopians' strongest calling card – but they're often first directed by the rhythms, then slide in to warm things up and give a larger presence to the slow-stepping, midtempo grooves – all delivered with a classic Kingston head-nodding approach. The album's a key genre-building moment in Jamaican music – and titles include the classic "Train To Skaville", plus "Engine 54", "My Love", "You Got The Dough", "Woman's World", "Long Time Now", and "Unchanged Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great "mystery" projects from Dennis Bovell – a record that was originally designed to look like some obscure import from Kingston, but which was actually Bovell and crew working in a top shelf UK answer to righteous roots modes of the 70s! Tracks are full of righteous currents, but mostly deliver the message instrumentally – although there are lean vocals that drift through the dubby mix from time to time, augmenting the grooves! The approach is great – definitely different than some of Bovell's more polished creations – and titles include "Out A Order", "Sing A Man", "Go Deh", "Raw Kut", "Half Way To Za-Ion", "Jah Chase Dem", and "Ah Who She". LP, Vinyl record album

A sly little set from the hands of British producer Dennis Bovell – a record that was done to appear as an obscure Jamaican import – from the stripped-down packaging to the stripped-down sound in the grooves! The feel here is a bit looser and more laidback than some of the other UK productions of the time – roots work that has some occasional dub-style production at points, or a more straightforward groove at others – on many instrumental cuts that are perfect for blasting over a larger soundsystem! Titles include "None Ah Jah Children", "Skatter Skatter", "Sure Shot", "Younger Generation", "Bounty Hunter", and "Tribute To Idi Amin". LP, Vinyl record album

A soulful classic from The Heptones – easily one of the greatest trios to emerge from the Jamaican scene in the late 60s – and one of the few who were really able to evolve their style as the years went on! The style here is to earlier Heptones material as the early 70s Impressions records on Curtom were to their 60s albums on ABC – more righteous in content, and hipper in overall expression – with this beautiful interplay between the vocals of Leroy Sibbles, Barry Llewellyn, and Earl Morgan – all captured with this warm glow in the Harry J Studio! Includes material originally released in Jamaica on the album Book Of Rules, then issued by Trojan as Cool Rasta with additional tracks. Titles include "Black On Black", "Over & Over", "Peace & Harmony", "Dreadlock", "Suffering So" and and "Wah Go Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning early work from one of our favorite reggae groups ever – the mighty Toots & The Maytals, a key link between the soul styles of the Jamaican scene of the 60s, and the righteous years to come! There's a groove to the Maytals music that nobody else seems to get this right – or this tight – a fantastic criss-crossing of rhythms that's often nicely stripped-down, and which seems to set fire to the vocal interplay between Toots and the rest of the group – in a way that's as vocally explosive as the instrumentation at the core! Sure, these guys can harmonize as well as the rest of their contemporaries – but they've also got an even greater talent for trading back and forth, which seems to make every one of their tunes an instant groove. Titles include "Pee Pee Cluck Cluck", "Loving Spirit", "Dr Lester", "Gold Silver", "Koo Koo", "Revival Reggae", "Thy Kingdom Come", "One Eyed Enos", "A Time To Love", "9 O'Clock", "Know Me Good", "Got To Feel", "Feel So Good", and "Give Peace A Chance". LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking 70s work from Lee Scratch Perry – served up here with both work from The Upsetters, and a long list of "friends" – different singers who take the lead on some of the productions, which are then presented back to back with dub versions of the tracks that overflow with great contributions from a top-shelf lineup of musicians! Players on the cuts include Willie Lindo and Ernest Ranglin on guitars, Winston Wright on organ, Vin Gordon on trombone, and Richard Dirty Harry Hall on tenor – but the real talent here is clearly that of Perry, who's able to move between soulful vocal leads and some deeper, darker Black Ark sounds on the rhythms. Titles include "Mr Money Man" by Danny Hensworth, "Brother Noah" by The Shadows, "Traveling" by Debra Keese, "Ethiopian Land" by Peter & Paul Lewis, "Land Of Love" by Sons Of Light, "Peace & Love" by Shaumark & Robinson, "Freedom Street" by Eric Donaldson, "My Little Sandra" by Leo Graham, "Long Long Time" by Winston Heywood, "White Belly Rat" by Lee Perry, "A Wah Dat" by Junior Dread, and "Feelings" by Sharon Isaacs – and the set features dub versions of every cut by The Upsetters too! LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early work from Lee Perry & The Upsetters – and an album that already shows that Perry's got a fantastic production style firmly in place! The rhythms are great – the kind of laidback, bad-stepping grooves you'd expect from The Upsetters – but there's also a special finish to the album, as Lee works the studio knobs with some subtle tricks to make the tunes explode with strange sonic elements – never in a way that gets in the way of the vocals, when they're important – but always enough to augment the record in really thrilling ways. Titles include "Kentucky Shank", "In The Iaah", "Jungle Lion", "Hail Stones", "Ironside", "Soul Man", and "Cold Weather" by The Upsetters – plus "Stick Together" and "Double Six" by U Roy, "We Are Neighbours" and "Just Enough" by David Isaacs, and "High Fashion" by I Roy. LP, Vinyl record album

Early 80s dub at its best – recorded at a time when Sly & Robbie were really making some huge waves in the mainstream, but were still also able to provide plenty of heady rhythms when working in the Roots Radics combo! Of course, the pair aren't the only stars here – as Mikey Dread and Scientist both helped with mixing, which really sends the core instrumentation over the top – and which definitely creates plenty of special sonic magic with the relatively lean style of the original rhythms! Titles include "Two Track Dub", "Control Tower Dub", "Raving Style", "Dub Addict", "Brain Wave", "Dreadlocks Dub", and "Queen Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a bunch of young British skinheads pictured on the cover – but the legendary Symarip are a group of West Indian descent, and created the kind of rocksteady grooves that really drove the London scene wild at the end of the 60s! The group were one of the first to fully rise up from British recording origins with a level to top some of the imports coming from Jamaica – and while they'll forever be known for the classic title cut of the album, they've also got a huge amount of extra greatness to offer – a raw, echoey vibe that not only sets the group apart from some of their Kingston contemporaries, but which also echoes the Two Tone generation to come! Titles include the classic "Skinhead Moonstomp" – plus "Phoenix Reggae", "These Boots Are Made For Walking", "Chicken Merry", "Skinhead Jamboree", "Try Me Best", "You're Mine", "Fung Shu", and "Stay With Him". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a striking title – and a set that really marked the full promise of Linval Thompson in the 70s – a dubby classic that's every bit as strong on the vocal side of Thompson's skills, as it is the production side! The album was recorded at Tubby's with the Revolutionaries band and an uncredited Junjo Lawes (who would later go on to cut some of the best dub albums ever, with Scientist) – and the vocals have this great style of cresting between sweeter modes and more biting modes – particularly when wrapped around the social themes that always made Thompson stand out. Titles include "I Love Marijuana", "Don't Push Your Brother", "Dread Are the Controller", "The Children of the Ghetto", "Not Follow Fashion", and "Jamaican Colley Version". 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

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

Horace Andy is one of the few cats who can sing in the higher end of the vocal register, yet still come across with a totally badass vibe – thanks partly to the righteous message in his lyrics, and the hip-tripping grooves on the tracks – which could make just about any element sound great, and only reinforce the greatness of the Horace Andy style! The album's a stone classic, and for good reason – and titles include "Leave Rasta", "Do You Love My Music", "Hey There Woman", "Government Land", "Problems", "In The Light", and "Collie Herb". This set also includes the seminal In The Light Dub – one of those cases where a dub album contains all the brilliance of the original set around which it was based – yet comes across with a completely different sound altogether! The original record was focused strongly on the soulful currents of Horace Andy's voice – but the dub set is predominantly instrumental, which buries a bit of the political message in the lyrics – yet seems to paint the same sort of social pictures with the power of its sounds – a rich palette of rhythms, electronics, and effects – often with a darkness that's unspeakable in words, but incredibly powerful at a sonic level. Titles include "Dub There", "Government Dub", "Rasta Dub", "Fever Dub", "Dub The Light", "Dub Down Rome", and "I & I". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark work from Desmond Dekker – one of the first Jamaican artists to break bigger on the global scene at the end of the 60s – thanks to soulful sets like this! The music is still very much in a rocksteady mode, but has some currents of ska that's kept it on turntables for years – not the upbeat variant of the genre, but the laidback mode that was perfect for a hot night in Jamaica – when nobody ever wanted the grooves to move too fast! Both the instrumentation and production are impeccable – the latter handled by Leslie Kong – and Desmond is completely charming throughout, on titles that include "Music Like Dirt", "Rudy Got Soul", "007", "Sabotage", "Wise Man", "Shing A Ling", "Unity", "Mother Pepper", and "Mother's Young Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

Really heady sounds from Frightnrs – a group who've changed up their sound slightly since their last full length release – at a level that makes them even more interesting than ever before! The group still draw heavily from older rocksteady and soulful reggae modes – but it also feels as if they're leaning a bit more heavily on sweet soul modes from the early 70s too – coming across with the warmth of a harmony vocal record on the lyrics, while still also reveling in the best sort of slow-stepping, dub heavy rhythms in the music! Dan Klein handles the vocals, always with a great sense of echo – and Chuck Patel adds lots of great organ and keyboards to the music – including some great spacey effects. Victor Axelrod did a superb job with production – and titles include "30 56", "You Still", "Profilin", "Expectations", "Tuesday", "Always", "Maybe Isle", and "Why Does It Feel Like A Curse". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from the great John Holt – a Jamaican singer who managed to find a real way to weave connections between reggae and the sweeter side of soul music in the 70s – often at a level that had John taking on songs from the American scene and making them sound even better with a reggae groove! Yet the work of Holt also goes way past that formula used on some of his hits – as you'll hear on this massive collection that offers up some of the greatest cuts he recorded for Trojan Records, plus some nice surprises along the way. Most of the tracks have a loping midtempo groove that's perfect for Holt's vocal approach – and the 2LP set features 28 tracks in all, with titles that include "Stealing Stealing", "I Wanna Dance", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", "Sister Big Stuff", "Stick By Me", "Ali Baba", "You Baby", "The Tide Is High", "Let's Build Our Dreams", "Sweetie Come Brush Me", "Wild Fire", "I'll Be Lonely", "My Heart Is Gone", "Strange Things", "My desire", "I'll Take A Melody", and "Time & The River". LP, Vinyl record album

The crowning achievement of the legendary Keith Hudson – a landmark album of instrumental dub that started out in very small circulation, but soon grew to become one of the most important albums of the genre! The sound here is spare, stark, and simple – but in the best way possible – as Hudson takes the music right down to its core, yet seems to create even more powerful flow in the process – revising the 60s Jamaican love of American soul into a more cosmic mode for the next decade – but all with a raw approach that makes each element come across with a great deal of focus. Titles include "Black Heart", "Pick A Dub", "Don't Move", "Blood Brother", "Michael Talbot Affair", "In The Rain", and "Satia". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible lost slice of music from the young Bob Marley – an unissued set of recordings done at the Capitol Studios in LA, at a time when the Wailers were just beginning to rise in global power! The session came at an unusual moment for the group – they had come to the US to tour with Sly & The Family Stone, and were fired because the audiences were not yet ready for their groove – leaving the group a bit astray in California. But an opportunity arose to record at Capitol, a performance that was also filmed – and the result is this amazing set of tracks that captures Bob and the group at a level that's even different than their massive Island Records sets to come. There's a current of funk running through a number of these tracks, and a lean groove that's wonderfully soul-drenched throughout – not just in Marley's vocals, but in the overall performance of the rest – a tight sextet that includes Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett, and Earl Lindo. Titles include "Rastaman Chant", "Midnight Ravers", "Put It On", "Stop That Train", "Get Up Stand Up", "You Can't Blame The Youth", "Slave Driver", "Duppy Conqueror", and "Burnin & Lootin". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from the great Bob Marley – material cut with the initial lineup of The Wailers, at a time before the group would go onto much greater global fame on Island Records! The equally legendary Lee Scratch Perry is at the helm on production – and although the music here has more rough edges than some of the polished commercial work of Marley's classic years, that also makes for a heck of a lot of appeal – and a quality that also links the group's work more tightly to some of the other Jamaican trios of the rocksteady years. A few cuts here were remade later, and titles include "Keep On Moving", "Don't Rock My Boat", "Fussing & Fighting", "Put It On", "Duppy Conqueror (Version 4)", "Kaya", "Memphis", "African Herbsman" "Brain Washing", and "Sun Is Shining". In the original Upsetter mono mix, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A calypso set, but not the sort that you'd know from big crossover records of the late 50s – as the Mighty Sparrow works here with that jazzy blend of horns and rootsy rhythms that kept a strong edge in his music, and made his sounds as important on the pre-reggae scene in London as they were at home in Trinidad! There's a nicely rattling vibe to the record that really matches the sharpness of the vocals – an important current of politics, social commentary, and personal brag – all of which had a huge impact on later sounds and styles of music. The saxophone lines really keep things soulful – and titles include "The Village Ram", "Martin Luther King", "I'll Be Around", "You Don't Love Me", "Castro Eating Banana", and "Tour Of Jamaica". (Global Grooves, Reggae) LP, Vinyl record album

The last train to skaville, and a record that should be the first in line when you're digging for rare instrumental ska – as the collection offers up a mix of the mighty Hammond skills of Jackie Mittoo and the searing rhythms of the Soul Brothers – who also serve up great solos on tenor, trumpet, and trombone! This isn't the sleepy ska of the revival years – and is instead the kind of hard-burning music that was strongly inspired by American instrumental soul in the late 60s, and really made waves on both the scenes in London and Kingston! All cuts are from the original run of gems from Studio One – and titles include "Voodoo Moon", "Ska Shuffle", "Dr Ring Ding", "Got My Boogaloo", "Home Made", "Hot & Cold", "One Stop", "James Bond", and "Mr Flint". LP, Vinyl record album

A really incredible mix of reggae and soul – a set released in the early 90s, but which was recorded in the years before – as a long-running collaboration between singer Devon Russell and guitarist/producer Earl Chinna Smith! Russell's got a sweetly crackling vocal style that really lives up to the honesty of Curtis Mayfield's music, but with a spirit that's definitely all his own – and which, with the reggae-styled backings, make the whole thing way more than just a cover album of old Curtom tunes. Instead, the album maybe stands as a testament to the power of the message in Mayfield's music to transcend time and space – served up on tunes that include "Keep On Moving", "Move On Up", "The Makings Of You", "Love To The People", "Wild & Free", and "Give Me Your Love". Features bonus tracks – "Choice Of Colors" and "Falling In Love With You". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary Jamaican group finally get their time in the spotlight – as Sound Dimension backed up plenty of artists in the glory days of Studio One – singers who include Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Horace Andy, and dozens of others – while also getting the chance to cut some killer instrumental work on their own! The lineup is the stuff of legends – Ernest Ranglin on guitar, Jackie Mittoo on Hammond, Cedric Brooks on reeds, and Vin Gordon on trombone – plus other musicians who really help keep things soulful throughout, and make the music here a blinding set of instrumentals from the late ska years into early reggae rhythms! Titles include "Soul Shake", "The Thing", "Holy Moses", "Hail Don D", "Full Up", "Love Land", "Bitter Blood", "Baby Face", and "Man Pon Spot". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning amount of music recorded in just the space of two short years – all standing as a mighty strong testament to the production genius of Niney The Observer during the roots reggae generation! The package features a fair bit of tracks that have never been on CD before, and as stated, includes a host of rare 7" singles originally issued on the Observer, Third World, and other labels – sounding far better here than on some crackly, mispressed, or recycled vinyl! The clarity of the package makes both the vocals and subtler elements of production come out strongly, while also giving plenty of grounding to the rhythms and their sweet dubby touches around the edges. The 49 track package is a who's who of hipper reggae singers of the time – with work from Gregory Isaacs, Junior Byles, I Roy, Horace Andy, The Soul Syndicate, Jacob Miller, Big Youth, Leroy Smart, Dillinger, and others – including Niney himself. CD

A set that's heavy on roots reggae numbers, but which also maybe predates some of the more mainstream work in the field – especially some of the more easygoing tracks that were playing bit in American dorm rooms at the end of the 70s! Instead, these are cuts from a scene where the message in the music was plenty crucial, especially amidst the early 70s turmoil in Jamaica – where Studio One was close to the streets, and able to capture the moment with the same sort of brilliance and sharpness they brought to earlier generations of rocksteady and ska! The instrumentation is great, as some of the older players evolve into more spiritual modes – and titles include "Jah Righteous Plan" by Willie Williams, "Run Babylon" by Larry Marshall, "Babylon Rock" by Vin Gordon, "Behold The Land" by Joseph Hill, "Tenor On Call" by Tommy McCook, "Sun Is Shining" by Winston Matthews, "Satta" by Cedric Im Brooks, "Message Of Old" by Ken Boothe & Joe Higgs, "Sleeping Trees" by The Saints, and "Small Garden" by Zoot Sims. LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary Studio One label recorded some of the hippest singers on the Kingston scene from the late 60s onward – and one of the ways they made them sound especially great was to use some of the city's coolest musicians on the sessions, and also give them some space to cut some key instrumentals of their own! The cuts here represent a time when Jamaican music was really hitting its stride with a really unique vibe – and these groups have really shifted from the sort of jazz, mento, or calypso that instrumental groups were cutting in the early part of the 60s – to work in ska, rocksteady, and early reggae modes that offer up a perfect blend of heavy rhythms and standout solo instrumentation! The package brings together 19 tracks from these glory days at Studio One – and titles include "Heavenless" by Don Drummond, "Bugaloo" by Soul Bros, "Black Up" by Karl Bryan & Count Ossie, "Still Calling" by Soul Defenders, "Namibia" by Liberation Group, "Sidewalk Doctor" by Jackie Mittoo & Brentford Rockers, "Heavy Rock" by Sound Dimension, "Money Generator" by Karl Bryan & The Afrokats, "Jericho Skank" by Jackie Mittoo & Ernest Ranglin, and "Ringo Rock" by The Soul Vendors. LP, Vinyl record album