A hell of a record from bassist Aston Barrett – best known for his work behind Bob Marley during the classic years, but stepping out here as a powerful force on his own – away from the late Great One, and recording here either under his own name, or with The Wailers! As the title implies, these tunes are all instrumentals – work from the pre-dub years, then later work from that generation – a time when the bass was even more crucial than ever, and kind of the glue that could hold together a really great dub! Some tracks were issued on Aston's own Fam's label, and others are from a variety of other obscure 45s from the time – titles that include "Gideons High", "Soul Constitution", "Guided Missile", "Work", "Family Man Skank", "Cobra Style (disco mix)", "Well Pleased (disco mix)", "Tribute To Y Mas Gan", "Rebel Am I", "Distant Drums Version", "Ixes", and "Steppers Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

The American debut of The English Beat – aka the UK group The Beat, who'd been making some big waves with import 45s on the 2Tone label, the burst forth on our US market with a slight shift in name, due to another group hogging their original moniker on our side of the Atlantic! That bit of backstory hardly need matter, though – as the group wear their English loud and proud here, setting off a huge ska revival as they blend Jamaican roots with London attitude in the post-punk years – stacking up a set of classics that continue to groove many turntables all these many years later. Titles include "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", and "Jackpot". (Rock, Reggae) LP, Vinyl record album

The first Bob Marley album on Island Records – and the start of a really legendary run that would not only transform reggae in the 70s, but the rest of popular music as well! Chris Blackwell's partially at the helm on production, but the album was mostly recorded in classic Kingston studios – Randy's, Dynamic, and Harry J's – and retains the same vibe as some of Marley's earlier work, but with more of the forward-thinking vision he brought to his time at Island. Bunny Livingston lays down some excellent percussion on the set – and rhythm is from the team of Aston and Carlton Barrett on bass and drums. Titles include the classic "Stir It Up" – plus "Slave Driver", "Kinky Reggae", "High Tide Or Low Tide", and "Concrete Jungle". Very cool 3LP/12" edition – comes in a box, with new notes and rare photos! LP2 features a rare live set recorded in London at the Paris Theater in 1973. LP3 features more unreleased tracks – eight from the sessions, including Jamaican alternative and extended versions of "Slave Driver", "Stop That Train", "No More Trouble", "Stir It Up", "400 Years", and "High Tide Or Low Tide" – and the bonus 12" single features three more unreleased live tracks from 1973! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from the mighty Jacob Miller – material recorded with Augustus Pablo in the years before Miller went onto greater fame in Inner Circle – and with a rootsy vibe that's still extremely powerful all these many years later! Pablo's at the height of his talents here – able to hit just the best righteous modes, but without ever going over the top – at a level that seems completely effortless, and which really empowers the message in Miller's vocals! The set's overflowing with gems – and titles include "Keep On Knocking", "Each One Teach One", "Who Say Jah No Dread", "False Rasta", "Baby I Love You So", and "Girl Named Pat" – plus the dubs "Knocking Version", "Hungry Town Skank", "King Tubby Meet Rockers Uptown", "Jah Dread", "Each One Teach One Version", and "Girl Named Pat Version". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Dubby genius from the great Augustus Pablo – a set that continues the spirit of his best 70s work in this mode, but with a sound that has a few slight 80s touches! The overall sound is still very nice and spare – laidback, gently tripping in the rhythm department, and with both melodica solos from Pablo – and some other keyboard work that really echoes the moody, spacey, snakey sound of his work on the blown instrument! The title names are a bit basic, but that hardly matters, given the sound of the set – and tracks include "Riot Dub", "In The Red Dub", "Hanging Dub", "Night Patrol Dub", "Rastaman Dub", "Zion Way Dub", and "Dubbing King James". LP, Vinyl record album