A nice mix of reggae and soul – recorded at Aquarius! LP, Vinyl record album

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

Eek-A-Mouse's early 80s classic – and the benchmark meeting between the wildly unique deejay and vocalist with producer Henry Junjo Lawes! The Mouse is out front of stellar rootsy backing by The Roots Radics Band. Titles Include "Ganja Smuggling", "Long Time Ago", "Operation Eradication", "There's A Girl In My Life", "Slowly But Surely", "Wa-Do-Dem", "Lonesome Journey", "Noah's Ark", "I Woll Never Leave My Love" and "Too Young To Understand. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual entries in this amazing set of releases from the Habibi Funk label – a set that's definitely what's promised in the title – in that Ibrahim Hesnawi delivers a really unique take on the sound of Kingston! The music is certainly in a rhythm that echoes conventional reggae, but the instrumentation is often nicely different, with ties to some of the more mainstream Mid-East modes of the period, especially on the keyboards – a quality that's also echoed in the lyrics here, which on most tracks are in Libyan Arabic, with phrasing that's miles away from the world of Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff! Titles include "Only World", "Tayr Al Salma", "Kesati", "Enti", "Watany Al Kabir", "Tendme", and "Fouhi Ya Nesma". (Global Grooves, Reggae) CD

Great work from one of the undisputed UK maestros of lovers rock during the 80s – producer Neville King, who serves up this totally sweet batch of overlooked gems from the time! The groove is nice and mellow – that fantastic blend of contemporary soul and reggae rhythms that really took hold in London and other UK spots from the late 70s onward – perfect for slow-stepping in the more laidback hours of a party, or chilling out back home on your own! Singers on all these tracks are great – nicely understated, but plenty soulful – and titles include "What About Me" by Blood Sisters, "Lady Lady" by One Blood, "At The Dance" by Leroy Simmonds, "It's Love That Makes A Woman" by Karen Dixon, "They Don't Stay Long" by Unique, "Open Up The Door" by Charisma, "The Day Will Come" by The Sadonians, "Love Sweet Love" by Love & Emotion, and "Not My Baby" by The Sensations. CD features bonus tracks – "Hold Me Tight" by Natural Touch, and "Loving Kind" by Simplicity. CD

Killer funky organ – and 100% Dynamite! Jackie Mittoo is one of the all-time great organists – as essential to Jamaica as Booker T was to Memphis, or Jimmy McGriff was to New York. He's legendary these days as the player who completely transformed the Hammond sound with his unique Jamaican instrumental style during his early years with the Skatalites, and on his later solo recordings for Studio One. This set's probably the first time Mittoo's work has been properly packaged and remastered – and the folks at Soul Jazz have done an amazing job of selecting just the right tracks for such a project. The whole thing wails along with a stone rocksteady groove – with plenty of nice drum parts and funky rhythm bits underneath Jackie's soulful organ. If you dug the label's 100% Dynamite series, you'll really dig this one – and the whole thing's very much in the same vein. Tracks include "Drum Song", "Reggae Rock", "Hot Tamale", "Killer Diller", "Black Organ", "Stereo Freeze", "Wall Street", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Juice Box", and "Killer Diller". LP, Vinyl record album

Lee Scratch Perry's funky reggae party, put together at the Black Ark, with Boris Gardner, Mickey Boo, Sly Dunbar & Winston Wright. A nice batch of crackling Jamaican funk, with the requisite Black Ark smoke blowing throughout. Includes a bunch of classic Perry-isms, with Scratch dropping verses with his own unique perspective, like "Yu Squeeze My Panhandle", "Roast Fish & Cornbread", "Soul Fire" & "Free Up The Weed" LP, Vinyl record album