Reggae — Recently Added

Some of the earliest recordings you'll ever hear from the legendary trombonist Rico Rodriguez – sides recorded long before his famous 60s work in ska, and his bit 70s records under his own name – done with a much rootsier groove overall! The setting here is that mode that has the early ... CD

A pair of albums from Marcia Griffiths – the well-titled queen of reggae at the end of the 70s! First up is Naturally, a fantastic album from Marcia Griffiths – very much the kind of material that made her one of the best female singers on the Jamaican scene in the 70s! The set's got ... CD

A killer 70s set from Johnny Clarke – a set that's as spiritual as it is bad-stepping – thanks to righteous lyrics from Clarke, and some superdope rhythms from The Aggrovators! The album's got a laidback vibe that provides a subtle slide for the message in the music – very ... CD

A mindblowing moment from the legendary King Tubby – a set that takes his original Soundclash album, and strips it to the core – served up in an assortment of very heavy digital dubs that are maybe even more bass-heavy that work from the analogue generation! Despite the late date of ... CD

A fantastic tribute to one of the greatest reggae labels of all time – one that features 12 sides of pure Trojan Records greatness – all packed in a very limited package, too! The set features super-heavy vinyl – actually nicer than Trojan pressings from the 70s – and the ... LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sounds from the On-U Sound label – and a record that perhaps provides one of the most lasting illustration of the label's genius! African Head Charge work in this unique blend of Jamaican dub, British post-punk electronics, and some earthier textures that might be more at home in ... LP, Vinyl record album

Harmony soul from the Jamaican scene of the 60s – served up here in a host of hardcore production from the great Winston Riley! The grooves definitely show the style of Kingston, but the vocals almost echo the best of the indie soul scene in the US – that sophisticated harmony approach ... CD

A classic early reggae collection on Trojan Records – so early, the back cover notes refer to the sounds as "West Indian popular music" – instead of by any sort of specific genre or style! There's a strongly unified vibe to the set – as all tracks are late 60s ... CD

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

The album may not have been much of a Money Maker for Studio One Records – given that it's one of the rarest in their catalog – but it stands as a key illustration of the label's genius, and just how far away they were from most of their contemporaries! The set's a bit of a split ... LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage soulful Jamaican groovers circa '69 by Roy Panton – produced by Boris Gardiner at Federal with nice, laidback style. "Endless Memory" is the mellower of the two, but that's strongly service of the soulful vocal and steady rhythm. The flip "Tell Me" has a more ... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark album from Desmond Dekker – and a seminal slide of Jamaican music that really broke big on the global scene in the years before reggae! The set's a bit ska, a bit rocksteady, and completely sold all the way through – thanks to near-perfect production from Leslie Kong, who ... LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime soul from Cornell Campbell – a Jamaican singer, but one who lists Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, and Bobby Womack as his strongest inspirations! You can definitely hear that trio of heavyweights on Cornell's vocals here – which are wonderful, and filled with inflections from 60s ... CD

Fantastic early work from Prince Far I – already a mystical force in reggae, with a sound that definitely lives up to his name! The Prince serves up a very righteous brew of lyrics – spoken and toasted over the top of some wicked dubby rhythms – grooves that are often as much a ... LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy-duty set of reggae rarities – all Trojan Records singles from the year 1969 – a moment when the UK label was bursting out big, and really helping the sound of Jamaican music to establish big roots in the UK! The grooves here are sharp-edged, and step out of the best early ska ... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A dub album so mysterious, copies of the set were actually found stuffed inside the wrong record sleeves – which might well testify to the pretty stripped-down packaging of this version of the album! Yet don't judge the book by its cover – as the album's filled with well-crafted dub ... LP, Vinyl record album

U-Roy still riding high on the follow-up to Dread Inna Babylon – delivering another stone classic with Natty Rebel! Deep, steady rhythms courtesy Sly Dunbar & Lloyd Parks, background singers Barrington Spence and Flip Wilson bringing such a depth of aching, emotive soul, and U-Roy at his ... LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic dub counterpart to the vocal album by Hugh Mundell – carved out of the same studio tapes as the original, but with even more space for amazing sounds from Augustus Pablo and the rest of the musicians on the set! Even without the message in the lyrics of the original, there's ... LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet jazzy instrumentals from Jamaica – mellow, moonlight numbers by vibes player Lennie Hibbert and an amazing group of Carribbean players – coming together beautifully on one of his earliest records as a leader! Coming in the early 60s, there's a wonderful Afro-Carribbean jazzy soul ... LP, Vinyl record album

The birth of the rocksteady sound in late 60s Jamaica – all presented here in a selection of tracks that came from one of the men who made the whole thing happen! Producer Duke Reid had an especially strong ear for more soulful sounds on the Kingston scene – and this set is one of the ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of those 70s dub albums that's completely mysterious in terms of the cover notes and content – but which hardly needs any information at all to convey the majesty of its music! The album is reportedly one of the first dub records actually pressed in the US, with material sourced from ... CD

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

The late night lover gets on the African Roots wagon and heads deep into Rasta territory with Joe Gibbs at the helm on this mid 70s gem! Dennis Brown was well established as a leading Lovers Rock and Jamaican soul singer by the time he cut this excellent roots effort for Joe Gibbs in the mid 70s, ... LP, Vinyl record album

Boss reggae, but with a strong current of jazz, too – thanks to great guitar lines from the legendary Ernest Ranglin! Ranglin's gone on to do so much wonderful work in different styles in the decades since this early set – but even at the start, he's totally amazing – a musician ... LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary meeting of talents in the Studio One studios – the wickedly-grooving Soul Defenders and the heartbreakingly soulful Freddie McKay – both coming together here on an album that was an instant Studio One classic! The Soul Defenders have a slow-stepping groove with a nice ... LP, Vinyl record album

Second installment in Joe Gibbs' African Dub series, featuring super-heavy spaced out dubs of Gibbs' solid gold rocker's rhythms. Somehow he manages to sound just this side of gimmicky when dropping in all those weird sound effects of dogs barking and sirens, but with those chubby riddims ... LP, Vinyl record album

The crowning achievement of the legendary Keith Hudson – a landmark album of instrumental dub that started out in very small circulation, but soon grew to become one of the most important albums of the genre! The sound here is spare, stark, and simple – but in the best way possible ... CD

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 ... CD

Stunning early work from one of our favorite reggae groups ever – the might Toots & The Maytals, a key link between the soul styles of the Jamaican scene of the 60s, and the righteous years to come! There's a groove to the Maytals music that nobody else seems to get this right – or ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the deepest records of the roots reggae generation – a set that was so far ahead of its time, it never saw release until a decade after it was recorded! Sylford Walker has this very powerful way of putting over his words – part singing, part chanting – and often set to ... CD