A killer blend of soulful elements – the guitar of Jamaican legend Ernest Ranglin and the warmly grooving sound of the Miami scene – served up here with some mighty nice help from King Sporty in the studio! Despite the date of the recording, there's a vibe here that's a lot more like some of the best TK Records material of the late 70s – with Ranglin's guitar filling in a spot that might have been used by Little Beaver – in some great arrangements that are filled with other TK luminaries like Betty Wright and Timmy Thomas! The whole thing's great – solos from Ranglin on guitar, plus a bit of supporting vocal choruses – on titles that include "In The Rain", "Soft Touch", "Keep On Dancing", "Papa Doo", "Why Not", and "Be What You Want To Be". CD

Completely top-shelf work from the short-lived Top Deck label in Kingston – one of the great early imprints to really help get things going from the indie side of things in the 60s – run by Justin Yap, an entrepreneur with a great ear for the changing sides of the scene! This is badass early ska at its best – the Skatalites serving up plenty of jazzy instrumentation over hard-rocking rhythms – not the watered-down modes of the ska-revival years, but really sharp, short instrumentals that are to Jamaica what the Stax Records work of the MGs and Bar-Kays was to Memphis in the 60s! There's a starkness and darkness here that's wonderful – and titles include "Ghost Town", "China Clipper", "Lawless Street", "Chinatown", "Ska Ra Van", "Confucius", "Surftide Seven", "Skaravan", and "Ringo Rides". LP, Vinyl record album

An album issued under the name of Victor Axelrod, but one that features his talents as a producer and performer – working alongside a whole host of other artists who are part of the mighty soul and funk stable of Daptone Records! The set includes some 7" only cuts handled by Victor, plus unreleased numbers too – and if you know his work, you'll know that he's got a great way of updating older Jamaican soul and rocksteady modes with some of the leaner Daptone styles of the 21st Century – really letting the vocals soar in a wonderful way, while also serving up plenty of head-nodding grooves! Titles include "One Step Ahead" by Sugar Minott, "I Can Be Cool" and "I Can't Stand These Lonely Nights" by Bob & Gene, "I'd Rather Go Blind" by The Frightnrs, "Lover Like Me" by Binky Griptite, "If You Ask Me To" by Leon Dinero, "Whatcha Doing To Me" by Charles Bradley, and "How Long Do I Have To Wait For You" by Sharon Jones. (Deep Funk, Reggae) LP, Vinyl record album

An album issued under the name of Victor Axelrod, but one that features his talents as a producer and performer – working alongside a whole host of other artists who are part of the mighty soul and funk stable of Daptone Records! The set includes some 7" only cuts handled by Victor, plus unreleased numbers too – and if you know his work, you'll know that he's got a great way of updating older Jamaican soul and rocksteady modes with some of the leaner Daptone styles of the 21st Century – really letting the vocals soar in a wonderful way, while also serving up plenty of head-nodding grooves! Titles include "One Step Ahead" by Sugar Minott, "I Can Be Cool" and "I Can't Stand These Lonely Nights" by Bob & Gene, "I'd Rather Go Blind" by The Frightnrs, "Lover Like Me" by Binky Griptite, "If You Ask Me To" by Leon Dinero, "Whatcha Doing To Me" by Charles Bradley, and "How Long Do I Have To Wait For You" by Sharon Jones. (Deep Funk, Reggae) CD