A record so cool, it's practically a genre unto itself – and a set that's a key part of the On-U Sound approach of the 80s! The group draw initial influence from 70s Jamaican dub, but never hold to just the roots of that music – and instead explode into a huge range of odd sounds and ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Tony Aiken & Future —
Liberation ... CD Boom Shot, 2016. New Copy ...
$6.99
You might remember Tony Aiken for his classic funk album Unity, from the 70s – and here, he's back again – after nearly 40 years away from the studio! The album's got a style that's a lot more reggae-influenced than before – maybe not totally a reggae record, given the other ... (Soul, Reggae)read moreCD
An insanely huge amount of work from British rocksteady legend Laurel Aitken – especially when you consider that this set of 138 tracks was issued in the short space of just two years! In truth, Laurel's not the lead artist on all the cuts, but he had something to do with all of them – ... read moreCD
A record that comes as a real surprise – a concept that might not work if you were to just read the title – but one that opens up beautifully on the album! Part of the record's success might be the fact that The Archives are a group from the same Washington DC scene that once was home ... read moreCD
A really wonderful collection of dub tracks built on older grooves from the Treasure Isle label – better known as a hotbed of ska and rocksteady at the end of the 60s! The set features three unusual albums that were created by producer Errol Brown after the initial Treasure Isle label had ... read moreCD
An absolute classic! If you can own only one reggae LP, this one's in the front running – it's as if the words crucial and conscious were created to define the sound Winston Rodney, Burning Spear & the Black Disciples capture on this landmark roots LP. Though this is the Island version ... read moreCD
Tremendous work from Junior Byles – a singer with a sweet voice that would have been right at home in the rocksteady years, but which is maybe even more powerful here in a roots session produced by Lee Scratch Perry! That special Perry magic really helps balance things out with Junior's ... read moreCD
A great return to form for one of the greatest female singers of the 70s reggae scene – the lovely Susan Cadogan, who works here in a format that really lets her hit all the right sort of vibes! Rhythms are full, but laidback – and Susan's voice is beautifully upfront, maybe a bit ... read moreCD
Don Drummond —
Don Cosmic ... CD Studio One, Late 60s. New Copy ...
$18.9919.99
An incredible collection of work from one of the coolest musicians on the Jamaican scene in the 60s – the legendary Don Drummond – an artist who was schooled in jazz trombone, then went on to use the instrument as a surprisingly powerful force in ska, rocksteady, and reggae! This ... read moreCD
A pair of gems from the early years of reggae – stacked back to back in a 2CD set, along with a huge amount of bonus tracks too! First up is the legendary Freedom album from Clancy Eccles – one of the first great talents to emerge in the Jamaican scene of the 60s – a singer whose ... read moreCD
Frighty & Colonel Mite —
Life ... CD Profile, 1990. Used ...
$2.99
Includes "Life (Is What You Make It)", "Ragamuffin Girl", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "Realize", "Can You Handle It", "Maximum", "I Know You Know", "Don't Go" and "Jah Put It Deh". CD
A pair of unusual Lee Perry projects from the mid 70s – both of which feature a female singer in the lead, and give us a whole new side of Perry's talents! The first half of the set features material from an album issued under the title Lee Scratch Perry Presents Candy McKenzie – a set ... read moreCD
At last! After featuring a number of burning Joe Gibbs productions on their Dynamite! series of reggae compilations, Soul Jazz gets down to business with this excellent set dedicated to some of his finest output. All flavors get represented here: Dee Jay numbers, mellow harmony cuts, earth ... read moreCD
Fantastic work from Vin Gordon – who may well be one of the greatest reggae trombonists since the legendary Rico – working here in a very classic style that features plenty of contributions from saxophonist Nat Birchall! Nat's very much in the space of his previous collaboration with ... read moreCD
A massive package – the full rare Undertaker album from Derrick Harriott & The Crystalites, plus an insane amount of bonus tracks too! The core album is instrumental – a wicked set of rhythms from The Crystalites, a group who have a vibe that's right up there with the best of the ... read moreCD
Fantastic early material from Gregory Isaacs – captured here early in his career, and working in a deep roots reggae mode – recording at Channel One with great direction from Ossie Hibbert! The set's laidback and righteous, in ways that let all the soulful qualities of Isaac's vocals ... read moreCD
Mindblowing sounds from the great Bunny Lee – and exactly the kind of collection that makes us love the Pressure Sounds label so much! The track selection is wonderful – and most numbers are balanced in a unique space between reggae and rocksteady, and often have some crucial ... read moreCD
A wealth of rare tracks from the archives of Jamaican producer Bunny "Striker" Lee – tracks pulled from one-off dubplates mixed direct from the studio, and other unreleased tracks pulled from never-heard master tapes too! The music here definitely lives up to Lee's production ... read moreCD
Bunny Lee & Friends —
Tape Rolling ... CD Pressure Sounds (UK), Early 70s. New Copy ...
Just Sold Out!
Rare gems from the vaults of Jamaican production genius Bunny Lee – material cut mostly at his home studio, in the company of some very good friends and musical associates – hence the artist listing on the set! Some of the cuts here are from rare dubplates or acetates, others are ... read moreCD
A fantastic tribute to the studio genius of Bunny Lee – and a set that's filled with the kind of tracks that may well knock Lee Scratch Perry right out of the spotlight! Bunny already had a long and varied career in Jamaican music by the time of these tracks – hustling things up right ... read moreCD
Four Trojan Records albums, all produced by Linval Thompson – and featuring some bonus tracks too! First up is Poor Man Style – a gem of a record from Barrington Levy – done in that laidback, easy-stepping style that always worked perfectly for the singer's vocals! Linval ... read moreCD
Link 'N' Chain —
New Day ... CD RAS, 1990. Used ...
$1.99
A beautiful collection – a full album and rare tracks from sweet-voiced reggae singer Jimmy London, plus a whole bonus disc of other material produced at Randy's too! The core album, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, is wonderful – recorded by a singer who maybe didn't hit the heights of ... read moreCD
Great early work by Bob Marley & The Wailers – some of it produced by the legendary Lee Perry, too! Some of the tunes are early takes on later famous versions – but in a way, they're actually more definitive – in that they tie Marley back to the rich Kingston culture, instead ... read moreCD
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' ... read moreCD
The last officially recorded live concert from Bob Marley & The Wailers – captured in Pittsburgh in September of 1980 on the Uprising tour – released here for the first time ever! It's a very well documented set – it's the sound quality is excellent – and the set ... read moreCD
A breakthrough album from Bob Marley – a set that was recorded equally in Kingston and London, and which has a globe-spanning vibe to match! Marley's star had already been rising by the time of this set – but this album helped cement both his lasting power, and the worldwide influence ... read moreCD
(2001 Island Remasters pressing. Cutout hole through case and tray card.)
Bob Marley & The Wailers —
Talkin' Blues ... CD Tuff Gong/Island, 1973/1975/1991. Used ...
$3.99
One of many, many posthumous compilations, but one with some nice rare bits. Comprised mostly of live recordings fromteh Wailers prime early 70s years, plus a few nice studio outtakes, and interspersed with snippets from a radio interview with Marley. Inlcudes "Talkin' Blues", "Burn ... read moreCD
A key moment in the career of the legendary Freddie McGregor – easily one of the best-known voices in reggae in the post-Marley years! The set captures Freddie at his youthful best – coming off of time doing vocal group work, but really shining strongly as a lead singer on his own ... read moreCD
Mighty Sparrow —
Slave ... CD National/Modern Harmonic, 1963. New Copy ...
$9.9914.99
A great 60s record from Mighty Sparrow – and the kind of set that shows just how different calypso music could sound when you got away from Harry Belafonte and the hits! The music here is every bit as political and socially conscious as earlier recordings of the genre – but you can ... (Global Grooves, Reggae)read moreCD
A pair of rare dub albums – back to back in a single set, with bonus tracks too! On A1 Dub, Blacka Morwell serves up some massive dub – working at Channel 1, for an obscure album on Trojan Records – but maybe coming across with some of the richness of the Island Records ... read moreCD
50 heavy cuts of pure niceness from Niney the Observer! Like Lee Perry and Bunny Lee, Niney Holness had the magic touch for coming up with enduring roots reggae and delivering timeless classics from the producer's chair, as this burning 2 disc set covering a nice swath of the man's career shows. ... read moreCD
Uber-classic dub from Augustus Pablo! Dubbing In A Africa was produced by Pablo and features a rhythm section of Bingy Bunny, Sly & Robbie and Gladdy. Here they deliver a nice, tight set of tunes which like many of Pablo's other classics, veer closer to rhythm workouts than deep space dub ... read moreCD
A stunner! High Plains Drifter collects material from the mighty Lee Perry during the crucially creative and fertile period between 1968 & 1973 – in which he founded the Upsetter imprint and had some chart success. It was such a productive period, resulting in hundreds of singles and a ... read moreCD
Pivotal Black Ark material from Lee Perry – with brilliantly tripped out echoey dub production – and scorching instrumentation laid down by the mighty Upsetters! Split roughly in half between Perry's nicely gritty instrumental moodcraft and hazy vocals, this collection features some ... read moreCD
(In a very cool Japanese-styled, LP-like cardboard sleeve cover!)
Four fantastic albums from the legendary Prince Far I! The set begins with the classic Free From Sin – Great early work from Prince Far I – a stunning mix of reggae and dub, with a righteous quality that really gives the prince his title amongst 70s Jamaican royalty! Backing is by a ... read moreCD
A wonderful later album from legendary Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin – a lean, funky little set that marks a tremendous return to form for his talents! The album's dedicated to a famous saxophonist, mentioned in the title – but the spare setting has Ranglin's guitar fully in the ... (Jazz, Reggae)read moreCD
(Out of print, punch through barcode & promotional stamp on booklet cover.)
A great pair of records – plus a huge amount of bonus tracks too! First up is the debut Reggae Strings album – one of the most unique albums on the Trojan label during the 70s – and a surprising hit for the company too! The approach here is very unusual – as the cuts here ... read moreCD
An augmented reissue of the classic Revelation Time LP, by this roots singer who got his start singing lover's tunes and novelty cuts for the sound systems. By the time he'd begun recording the tracks that were to make up this recording though, he had become fully ensconced in Socialist ideology ... read moreCD
A pair of classic dub and vocal albums – tied together beautifully in this set! First up is the instrumental 12 Inches Of Dub – a massive set of rhythms from the legendary Roots Radics – one that's definitely got the dubby elements you'd expect from the title, but which also ... read moreCD
An unusual album from the West African scene of the 70s – a set that brings together that area's styles with touches of reggae and maybe a slight current of soul – all of which makes for a very distinct approach to rhythm, which is also echoed in the vocals and instrumentation! There's ... (Global Grooves, Reggae)read moreCD
One of the most important albums on the mighty 2 Tone label – and part of a huge ska revival on the British scene that would send ripples through modern music for years to come! And sure, the words "ska" and "revival" in the same sentence can often make most folks wince ... (Rock, Reggae)read moreCD
Jah Stitch takes a page from Big Youth's book, and chants some lyrically conscious knowledge over some bottom heavy rhythms cut by Tubby and produced by Striker Lee. 14 massive DJ numbers, that prove Stitch's claim as the original raggamufifn wasn't unfounded: "African People", "Ragg ... read moreCD
A seminal album in Jamaican music from Lord Tanamo – a singer with roots in calypso, but a sound that really paves the way for ska and rocksteady to come! The record's a full length set from the Gaydisc label of important early producer Sonia Pottinger – and like some of Pottinger's ... read moreCD
A fantastic debut from The Techniques – and a set that also features a fair bit of work from Jamaican trumpet legend Baba Brooks! The vocal quartet have a great sound that's even more soulful and sharp than some of their contemporaries – maybe the difference that four voices make ... read moreCD
Tennors & Friends —
Reggae Girl ... CD Trojan/Grover (UK), Late 60s. New Copy ...
$12.9918.99
A smoking slice of work from The Tennors – plus some great cuts by other "friends" on the Jamaican scene of the late 60s! The group really shine on their own singles, then step aside to let some other artists come in too – almost all with a similar mix of soul and rocksteady ... read moreCD
A trio of classic albums produced by Linval Thompson – with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Linval's I Love Marijuana record – an album with a striking title – and a set that really marked the full promise of Linval Thompson in the 70s – a dubby classic that's every ... read moreCD
Toots & The Maytals —
Toots Live ... CD Island (UK), 1980. Used ...
$14.99
A triumphant live performance from Toots Hibbert and The Maytals – recorded in London at a time when the group was really riding high – able to serve up their music with a sense of majesty that really fit the spirit of the larger arena! The tunes are mostly classics, but they've got a ... read moreCD
You could go 'round and 'round with music historians arguing whether or not this album, or Java Java Java or Aquarius Dub was the first full length dub LP, but it makes no difference to us, this is one mighty set of Perryisms, wrought in the pre-Black Ark era. There's a dozen of the Upsetter's ... read moreCD
(Front insert has a small tear from one of the plastic tabs – very minor.)
Killer early work from producer Clancy Eccles – a special set that focuses on rocksteady and early reggae productions – most compiled here for the first time ever! The work here is great – raw, soulful, and grooving in ways that move from midtempo to a slightly quicker pace ... read moreCD
A huge run of music from the legendary Blue Beat label – a crucial British label that brought the sounds of Kingston to the shores of London – forever helping transform the musical culture in that city! Blue Beat got its start in the 60s, and much of this work is in the earliest ... read moreCD
Deep Jamaican sounds from the 70s – all work produced by the legendary Sonia Pottinger, and which shows that her talents for roots music were every bit as great as her work with earlier styles too! With Pottinger, the key is almost less what she does in the studio than what she does with her ... read moreCD
Pivotal early dancehall work from the Kingston scene – all of it produced by the legendary Sonia Pottinger, almost all of it issued on her short-lived Dance Hall label! The music here shares some of the qualities of the emerging mode at other labels – but unlike, say, Studio one – ... read moreCD
Sufferer's choice! 2 discs worth of heavy roots, not just heavy in terms of the dark, militant rhythms, but also heavy in the message, giving the Kingston-centered take on life in the ghetto. During the height of the roots era nearly all culturally minded artists approached the subject of yard ... read moreCD
Later work from legendary Jamaican producer Duke Reid – best known for the rocksteady classics on his Treasure Isle label in the late 60s, but still going strong here well into the 70s! The tracks here represent nearly every single 12" release issued by Reid on the many branches of ... read moreCD
A pair of classic Clancy Eccles-produced compilations from the start of the 70s – issued here with plenty of bonus tracks too! Foolish Fool was initially billed to Cynthia Richards, the great singer who delivers the leadoff title tune – but the real start of the set is maybe Clancy ... read moreCD
An excellent collection spotlighting a neglected corner in the history of Jamaican music! David Hendley pulls together a fine selection of some the heaviest jams to rock the dancehalls, when the roots movement was beginning to take a back seat to these party rocking numbers. Loads of cuts that ... read moreCD
An unusual collection of mento material from Jamaica – a later document of sounds that were initially the first on the path towards rocksteady and reggae! Back in the late 50s, Bermuda had calypso and Jamaica had mento – a style that was similar, but which had a slightly different ... read moreCD
The hits of 77 here aren't the big American chart hits of 1977 – but instead are some key cuts from the Jamaican scene in Kingston – served up here in versions produced by the legendary Sonia Pottinger! And in fact, it might be a stretch to call all these cuts hits – but that's ... read moreCD
A searing set of early reggae tracks from the Randy's label in Kingston – all produced by the mighty Vincent Chin, and featuring 15 cuts that appear here on CD for the first time ever! Chin worked out of his legendary store – Randy's Record Mart, located at 17 North Parade (an address ... read moreCD
A stunner of a collection of reggae sides from 1974-1979 – records made during the creative peak of Tommy Cowan's Talent Corporation enterprise – a company engineered by the voice of late 60s rocksteady pioneers the Jamaicans to give exposure to many of the incredible artists that ... read moreCD
Music from Lord Composer & The Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra, Hubert Porter, Harold Richardson & The Ticklers, Monty Reynolds & The Shaw Park Calypso Quintet, Lord Fly, Baba Motta & His Jamaicans, Boysie Grant, Monty Reynolds & The Shaw Park Calypso Band & more. CD
The first-ever full collection of work based around the production efforts of Karl JJ Johnson – maybe not the biggest name in Jamaican studio talent, but a producer with a great ear for the most soulful sounds bubbling up at the time! Johnson was known as Sir JJ – and worked most ... read moreCD
A mighty mighty tribute to the great Bob Marley – served up here by a host of former associates, family members, and Jamaican contemporaries – all in some lively concert performances that really open things up! The double-length set was a great seller at the time, and continues to be a ... read moreCD
A fantastic collection of roots reggae from a lesser-known source – material issued on the Big Phil label of Phil Mathias – brought together to make a superb album as a whole! There's a nice mix of artists here, and the production styles are also nicely varied – with some numbers ... read moreCD
A treasure trove of pre-reggae work from the Kingston scene – all of it from the hands of music entrepreneur JJ Johnson – figure with a well-trained ear for a special sort of single, given his years of experience in record retailing and the jukebox business! Johnson's not as well-known ... read moreCD
Music from Skankin' Pickle, Agent 99, the Skandalous All-Stars, the Skatalites, Agent 99, the Checkered Cabs, Mobtown, Hurtin' Buckaroos, Skahumbug, the Miggedys, Mealticket, the Jinkies, and more. CD
We'll resist any temptation to make an obvious pun on "ska" and just let the tracks state the facts on this fab fifth volume in the long running Ska Down Jamaica Way reissue compilation series: the Deacons "Man Alone", Baba Brooks & The Trenton Spence Orchestra "Distant ... read moreCD
The long-overdue release of a killer collection of underground ska from the Jamaican scene of the 60s – a package put together by a small London label to feature the best production work of Kingston producer Lindon Pottinger! These cuts lie in the Trojan Records vaults for decades – ... read moreCD
A deep dive into the big wave of new ska music that exploded in the UK after the early years of punk – music that had clearly been an inspiration to many of the young artists who were coming out of London with a more political vibe, created anew by British groups who helped to give ska and ... (Rock, Reggae)read moreCD
A set that offers up a slightly different look at the Studio One label – and at the lovers rock style of reggae that broke big at the end of the 70s! Studio One is often known for its rough-edged early classics – but right from the start, the label had a great ear for soul – ... read moreCD
Jamaican Ska, and a whole lot more – a key batch of early Studio One recordings that show just how many styles were criss-crossing in Kingston at the time! There's definitely lots of rhythms here that would make a rude boy happy, but there's also some richly soulful vocals that point the way ... read moreCD