A long-overdue second volume to the original Pirate's Choice collection from Studio One – which itself was a bit of a stab at Duke Reid and his Treasure Isle label! Legendary Jamaican producer Clement Dodd serves up a host of lost gems from the Studio One catalog – not hits, but some rare mixes and under-heard tracks – all presented in the kind of format that shows just how deep Dodd's reach was back in the day, and how deep the Studio One vaults are to be turning up greatness like this! Titles include "All The Way" by Willie Williams, "You Hold The Handle" by The Conquerors, "Chinese Beauty" by Lennie Hibbert, "Heart Breaker" by Cool Operator, "Jah Light" by Cedric Im Brooks, "Pirate's Choice" by Brentford Rockers, "Sweet Child" by Freddy McGregor, and "Black Is Black" by Freedom Singers. CD features four bonus tracks – "Plea My Cause" by Main Roots, "Dirty People" by Roy Richards, "Jah Light Dub (dub plate mix)" by Brentford Disco Set, and "Homeward Bound Dub (dub plate mix)" by Freddie & Brentford Rockers. CD

An excellent dip into the rootsier material from the Studio One catalog – the kind of reggae classics that have forever made the label one of the best Jamaican companies! The package is every bit as sublime as Soul Jazz's other reggae compilations – and it features a selection of tunes that far outshines most other reissues of Studio One material, and which includes some great rare gems that have a heavy soulful feeling. Titles include "Meditation" by The Cyclones with Count Ossie, "Set Me Free" by L Crosdale, "More Creation" by Lennie Hibbert, "Fear Not" by Winston Jarrett, "Blackish White" by Alton Ellis, "Far Beyond" by Leroy Wallace, "Addis A Baba" by Willie Williams, "Lumumbo" by Bunny & Skitter, "Africa Here I Come" by Freddie McGregor, and "Congo Rock" by Sound Dimension. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from the years before reggae became the international sound of Jamaica – music from the island nation's jazz scene, which was at the crossroads of so many different styles of music – jazz from the north, Latin rhythms from Cuba and Puerto Rico, and a fair bit of other Caribbean sounds too – all of which filter through the wonderful collection of music on the set! The title breaks down the different genres featured – but there's often a surprisingly unified feel to the whole record too – one that stands partly as a testament to the musical strengths of all the performers involved! In the days before Trojan and Studio One, Federal Records was an important Jamaican label – and did an especially great job of capturing some of the sounds that were part of that nation's club culture and resorts in the 60s. Titles include "Angelima" and "Like Falling In Love" by Ernest Ranglin, "Profile Cha Cha" and "Rhumbina" by Cecil Lloyd & The Starline Troubadors, "Estrellita" and "I Love Paris" by The Lennie Hibbert Combo, "Tis Wonderful" by Eric Grant, "Linstead Market" by Baba Motta & Ernest Ranglin, "Wheel & Turn Me" by Bertie King, "Go Fife Go" by Count Owen, "Mango Walk" by Bertie King & Ernest Ranglin, "String Of Pearls" by Auldey Williams & His Orchestra, "Solas Market" by Baba Motta, and "Monday Monday" by Winston Turner Quintet. LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue second volume to the original Pirate's Choice collection from Studio One – which itself was a bit of a stab at Duke Reid and his Treasure Isle label! Legendary Jamaican producer Clement Dodd serves up a host of lost gems from the Studio One catalog – not hits, but some rare mixes and under-heard tracks – all presented in the kind of format that shows just how deep Dodd's reach was back in the day, and how deep the Studio One vaults are to be turning up greatness like this! Titles include "All The Way (alt mix)" by Willie Williams, "You Hold The Handle" by The Conquerors, "Chinese Beauty" by Lennie Hibbert, "Plead My Cause (take 3)" by The Main Roots, "Bongo Skank" by The Soul Rebels, "Heart Breaker" by Cool Operator & The New Establishment, "Jah Light" by Reuben Alexander & The Brentford Disco Set, "Pirate's Choice" by Brentford Rockers, "Sweet Child" by Freddy McGregor, "Dirty People" by Roy Richards, "Father Free Us" by Carlos Malcolm, and both the "original" and "single mix" of "Black Is Black" by Freedom Singers. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent compilation that's very much in the spirit of the 100% Dynamite sets on Soul Jazz! This time, Soul Jazz dig through the vaults of the legendary Studio One catalog – some of the most important reggae and rocksteady ever recorded, virtually all of it produced under the tutelage of Clement "Coxone" Dodd. Much of this material has been floating around over the years, but we'd be hard pressed to think of a better collection of it – especially when considering the excellent fidelity of the set, which is way better than an of Dodd's own reissues of the material. Plus, the folks at Soul Jazz have gone out of their way to put together the tracks as an extremely well-thought out introduction to the music, not just a scattered batch of tunes that happened to be available. The set also includes a recent interview with Clement Dodd, plus loads of great rocksteady and early reggae tracks. Titles include "Surfin" by Ernest Ranglin, "Real Rock" by Sound Dimension, "Feel Like Jumping" by Marcia Griffiths, "Greedy G" by Brentford All Stars, "Village Soul" by Lennie Hibbert, "Ethiopia" by Cedric Brooks, "Crabwalking" by Prince Jazzbo, "Hot Milk" by Jackie Mittoo, "Badder Dan Dem" by Lone Ranger, and "Bobby Bobylon" by Freddy McGregor. CD