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

Mr Soul is right – as Alton Ellis was one of the greatest Jamaican singers of his generation, and an artist who was able to bring a deeper sense of soul than most! The music's got this laidback rocksteady vibe that really lets Ellis soar – with backings by Tommy McCook & The Supersonics, and some harmonies behind his lead that really knock things out of the park! The album brings together cuts that were recorded over the space of a number of years in the late 60s, showing a nice evolution of both Ellis and the scene – and titles include "Breaking Up", "I Can't Stop Now", "Baby I Love You", "If I Could Rule The World", and "What Does It Take". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Sweet grooves from the great Bob Marley – a set cut at a time when Marley was really riding his international fame – and able to create the kind of music that reached out way more than conventional reggae! The Kingston roots of the sound are still very firmly in place – but there's also a more globally-expansive vision here too – partly the tight production on the music, partly the warm feelings that ebb and flow throughout the entire set – a vibe that's very different than American soul, and which has turned out to be surprisingly encompassing over the years. Titles include "Is This Love", "Running Away", "Kaya", "Satisfy My Soul", "Easy Skanking", "Sun Is Shining", "She's Gone", "Misty Morning", "Crisis", and "Time Will Tell". LP, Vinyl record album

A righteous classic from the legendary Bob Marley – and a set that really pushed the roots reggae sound strongly into the mainstream – almost making the mode the defining global understanding of Jamaican music, thanks to the power and presence of the album! All the Marley Tuff Gong modes are gelling perfectly here – bad-stepping rhythms from The Wailers, sweet backup from the I-Threes, and even some great guitar lines from Chinna Smith – all to complement Marley's tremendous vocal power in the lead – rising here with majesty on tracks that include the classic "Roots, Rock, Reggae", plus "Crazy Baldhead","Rat Race", "Night Shift", "Positive Vibration", 'Who The Cap Fit", "Cry To Me", "Johnny Was", and "Want More". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the sharpest, most righteous albums from Bob Marley – in case you couldn't guess from the title, which is his response to a recent assassination attempt! The whole thing's got a very classic vibe – and the lyrics have even more of a political current than some of Marley's other music from the period – a renewed sense of purpose that rises with a global anthemic power that really echoes the different national spirits pictured on the cover! Titles include "Ambush The Night", "Ride Natty Ride", "One Drop", "So Much Trouble", "Zimbabwe", "Wake Up & Live", "Africa Unite", and "Top Rankin". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever compilation of work by this overlooked 70s roots reggae group – a Dominican act, but one who have a sound that resonates with the best underground Kingston work of the time! The tunes have this quiet sort of urgency that's a bit of a surprise – wavering vocals that serve to underscore the message in the music, with a gentle intensity that really makes the whole thing resonate strongly after all these years! Titles include two versions of "Stranger" – plus "I Am What I Am", "Burning In Fire", "Suffering", "Dread Man Freedom", "Moving To Zion", and "Jah Children". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from the years before reggae became the international sound of Jamaica – music from the island nation's jazz scene, which was at the crossroads of so many different styles of music – jazz from the north, Latin rhythms from Cuba and Puerto Rico, and a fair bit of other Caribbean sounds too – all of which filter through the wonderful collection of music on the set! The title breaks down the different genres featured – but there's often a surprisingly unified feel to the whole record too – one that stands partly as a testament to the musical strengths of all the performers involved! In the days before Trojan and Studio One, Federal Records was an important Jamaican label – and did an especially great job of capturing some of the sounds that were part of that nation's club culture and resorts in the 60s. Titles include "Angelima" and "Like Falling In Love" by Ernest Ranglin, "Profile Cha Cha" and "Rhumbina" by Cecil Lloyd & The Starline Troubadors, "Estrellita" and "I Love Paris" by The Lennie Hibbert Combo, "Tis Wonderful" by Eric Grant, "Linstead Market" by Baba Motta & Ernest Ranglin, "Wheel & Turn Me" by Bertie King, "Go Fife Go" by Count Owen, "Mango Walk" by Bertie King & Ernest Ranglin, "String Of Pearls" by Auldey Williams & His Orchestra, "Solas Market" by Baba Motta, and "Monday Monday" by Winston Turner Quintet. LP, Vinyl record album

Two rare compilations from Trojan Records – back to back in a single set, with an insane number of bonus tracks too! Both records capture that time when the groove was moving from rocksteady to early reggae – still yet to hit global fame, which makes for a really nice mix of music from an array of lesser-knowns who were getting circulation outside of Jamaica by Trojan. The set really digs deep, way past the bigger tracks and hits – and there's a fair bit of artists here who might be new to anyone but the more serious reggae collectors. Plenty of work here resonated strongly with the growing UK reggae market for reggae at the end of the 60s – and alongside soulful vocals, there's a nicely laidback groove on most numbers – never too overproduced, and filled with plenty of surprises along the way! The set features the full tracks from both records in the title, plus 31 bonus tracks – and most cuts are new to CD – a massive lineup of work from The Slickers, GG All Stars, Maytones, Keeling Backford, Lloyd & Robin, Gladstone & The Followers, Charlie Ace, Trevor & Keith, Vernon Buckley & Alvin Ranglin, and Eric Monty Morris. CD

A very cool take on the sound of Studio One – a package of late 60s themes from James Bond films and other soundtrack sources! The mix is maybe not that surprising, given the use of Jamaican music early on in the series – as part of the Dr No soundtrack – and maybe that global moment of understanding helped the groups back home in Kingston to reach for the skies with material like this! The whole thing is a fascinating document of two strands of Brit culture in these post-colonial years – with titles that include "James Bond Danger Man" by The Soul Brothers, "Pussy Galore" by Lee Perry & The Wailers, "Mr Flint" by The Soul Brothers, "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" by The Soul Brothers, "Hang Em High" by Jackie Mittoo, "From Russia With Love" by Roland Alphonso & The Studio One Orchestra, "Ball Of Fire" by The Skatalites, and "James Bond Girl" by The Soul Brothers. CD

Funky nuggets from one of the greatest reggae labels of all time – a really wonderful collection that gets at some of the more hard-hitting material from Kingston powerhouse Studio One Records! Given the way that Studio One helped bridge the worlds of soul during the years of Jamaican ska and rocksteady, the funk is no surprise – and the package features both remakes of American funky numbers and plenty of homegrown cuts, all served up by some of the giants from the scene at the time. Titles include "Sidewalk Doctor" by Pablove Black, "007" by Soul Brothers, "Love Jah" by Sound Dimension, "Do Your Thing" by Leroy Sibbles, "Idleberg" by Cedric Im Brooks, "African Descendants" by Alton Ellis, "Reggae Feet" by Lloyd Williams, "Hang Em High" by Jackie Mittoo, "Beat Down Babylon" by Prince Frances, "Funky Broadway" by Delroy Wilson, "It's A Shame" by Alton Ellis, "Melting Pot" by Underground Vegetables, "Music Answer" by The Sharks, and a surprising remake of "Shaft" by the unlikely Cedric Im Brooks. CD

An incredible document of the Kingston scene in the 70s – and one that really opens up our understanding of reggae culture at the time! The set features portions of two radio shows hosted by Winston Williams – one from 1977, one from 1978 – both complete with announcer intros and a really great blend of music – reggae cuts from the time, including a number of exclusive disco mixes, served up at just the right vibe for the audiences in Jamaica at the time. The 1977 show has a surprising current of soul – right down to the intro theme song, which is a reworking of Johnny Lytle's "Village Caller" – and both programs really open up the music in a wonderful way, especially as Williams puts the sounds in local context with some of his spoken bits – done in this very cool English-accented voice! CD