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Foundation is right, in more than one sense of the word! The Brentford Avenue stalwarts are showcased here on a nice double album compilation of classic and groundbreaking early ska and rocksteady tracks that would become the template for so much Jamaican music to follow. The team of Coxsone Dodd with Don Drummond, Lloyd Brevett, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Jerry Hinds, Dizzy Moore and Johnny Moore was unstoppable, it's hard to imagine where the reggae sound would be without this seminal music! 32 tracks in all, including "Dick Tracy", "Alley Pang", "Christine Keeler", "Fidel Castro", "Beardsman Ska", "Third Man Ska", "Simmer Down", "Exodus", "King Solomon", 'Eastern Standard Time", "I Should Have Known Better", "Hot Cargo", "Black Sunday", 'Ska La Parisienne", "Don D Lion", "Third Man Ska", "Nimrod", "Cleopatra", "Addis Ababa", "Silver Dollar", "Killer Diller", "Naked City" and "Ringo's Theme". CD

As near as we can tell, this wasn't actually recorded live, but features Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd cuts compiled back to back soundclash style. Top to bottom it makes a great set, of bouncy good time reggae, with 16 tracks in all: Clue J & The Blues Blasters "Milk Lane Hop", Delroy Wilson "Duke & The Sir", Bunny & Scully "Don't Do It", Clue J & The Blues Blasters "Five Minutes On Beeston Street", Owen Gray "Grandma, Grandpa", Rolando & Karl McLaughling "Shocker's Hop", Basil Gabbidon "I'll Find Love", Clue J & The Blues Blasters "Swanee River Rock", Dukies Group "Dukies Cooking", The Skatalites "Twilight Zone", Roland Alphonso "Blackberry Brandy", Bunny, Skita & Count Ossie "Cool Breeze", The Skatalites "What Makes Honey", Duke's Group "Pink Lane Hop", Tommy McCook & The Supersonics "Pink Champain" and Busty & Cool "What A World". CD

Clement Coxsone Dodd and Lee Scratch Perry – a match made in any reggae lover's dreams! This tasty little collection pulls together more than chicken scratch, rather it documents a batch of deep cuts from Perry's formative years, early numbers cut under the tutelage of Coxsone Dodd during the ska era. Perry takes care of the vocal duties while the Skatalites and other luminaries from the Brentford Road stable deliver bouncing ska rhythms for a truly seminal collaboration between the best of the best on the Kingston scene! 18 tracks in all, including "Feel Like Jumping", "Chicken Scratch", "Solid As A Rock", 'Tackoo", "Roast Duck", "Gumma", "Just Keep It Up", "Open Up (Cook Book)", "Mother In Law", "Madhead", "Cannot Wrong (And Get Right)", "John Tom" and "Run Rudie Run". CD

To say this one's been a long time coming would be an understatement! This awesome set features a 4 hour (!) DVD, loaded with rare footage of the Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo and Ernest Ranglin, plus in-depth interviews with Dodd and a whole host of artists that had worked their way through the Studio One stable throughout the years. Then there's the 16 track CD – a fitting complement to the film and next worthy installment in the fine series of compilations of Studio One material that Soul Jazz has undertaken, this time spanning all the genres that Studio One would cover, including ska, rocksteady, roots and dancehall, including Theo Beckford "Easy Snapping", The Skatalites "Guns Of Navarone", Delroy Wilson "Dancing Mood", The Heptones "Baby", Alton Ellis "I'm Still In Love With You", Tommy McCook "Tunnel One", Sugar Minott "Jah Jah Children", The Dub Specialist "Banana Walk", Dennis Alcapone "Run Run", The Lone Ranger "Love Bump" and Jackie Mittoo "Freak Out". And if that weren't enough, there's the 100 page booklet, loaded with photos and a complete history of the label, making this choice set one of the nicest packages we've come across in a long, long time! CD

There's no doubting the impact that the scene made in Great Britain and how that helped break those sounds worldwide. This nicely priced box set collects 50 of the biggest Jamaican hits in the UK from the vaults at Trojan, covering mostly their great ska and rocksteady. Includes the Skatalites "Guns Of Navarone", Desmond Dekker & the Aces "007 (Shanty Town)", "Israelites" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want", Dandy Livingstone "Rudy A Message To You", Jimmy Cliff "Many Rivers To Cross" and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", the Maytals "Maokey Man", Dave & Ansell Collins "Double Barrel", Ken Boothe "Crying Over You", Dennis Brown "Money In My Pocket" and lots more. . . CD