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 still come through – but in a very different way than on his later hits! The rhythms are provided by the Revolutionaries – a perfect choice for the record – and titles include "Slave Master", "Story Book Children", "Get Ready", "Set The Captives Free", "Hand Cuff", "Storm", "Sacrifice", and "Smile". This great 2CD set features bonus material on CD1 – "The Sun Shines For Me", "Mr Know It All", "African Woman", "Thief A Man", "Love Light Burning", "My Conversation", and "Mr Brown". CD2 features the full album Leggo Dub – related dub material by the Ossie All-Stars – The Revolutionaries working with Ossie Hibbert on some wicked instrumentals that have plenty of core rhythms that never stray too far, while Hibbert makes magic with echo and other slight studio techniques! Titles include "Dubby Dubby", "Winners Dub", "Dub Down Babylon", "Ghetto Dub", "Brooklyn Style, "Leggo Dub", and "Doberman Skank". CD2 also features bonus tracks – "Jump & Pawn" by Clint Eastwood, "CB 200" by Dillinger, "War Of The Stars" by Ossie & The Revolutionaries, "Take A Dip" by Dillinger, and "Lik Her She Gone" by Big Joe. CD

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 showcases the kind of rock-solid instrumentation the group always had at the core! The sound is almost effortless here – the kind of spare but brilliant music that only a few studio groups could do this well – with guitar from Eric Lamont, bass from Errol holt, keyboards from Steely Johnson, and all these fantastic echoey drums from Lincoln Valentine Scott – all produced to perfection by Henry Junjo Lawes. The whole thing's great – a mindbending trip through sound and space – with titles that include "Young Banana Dub", "Headlamp Dub", "Dub In Flames", "Confessions Of A Dub Engineer", "Young Gal Dub", and "Carry On Dubbing". Next is 12 Inches Of Pleasure – one of the greatest albums ever from General Echo – a set of raunchy lyrics from the early days of the digital age – set to some fantastic rhythms from the mighty Roots Radics! The general talks and toasts his way through the lyrics – offering up a fair bit of sensual promises in the package – while the Radics provide all these fantastic spacey sounds and trippy rhythms in the background – on titles that include "That's How You Get Your Love Bump", "Old Man Love Young Gal Veggie", "Me Know Everything About She Pum Pum", "Lorna She Love Young Boy Banana", and "It's My Desire To Set Your Crutches On Fire". CD

The title's a bit confusing, but Cornell Campbell's essentially saying that he's a stalwart – something we can completely agree with, given his strong legacy in Jamaican music – and the sublime sound of a 70s classic like this! Cornell's got a higher range than some of his contemporaries, but never in a way that makes his music sound too light or airy at all – because there's a sense of soul going on that maybe stands as a Jamaican counterpart to 70s Marvin Gaye, especially in the way that Campbell inflects his notes on the sweeter tunes on the set! Most of the production is handled by Bunny Lee or Joe Gibbs – and titles include "The Gorgon", "The Stal-A-Watt", "The Investigator", "Hypocrite", "Two Face Rasta", "Two Timer", "Boxing Around", and "Bandulu". 2CD set features 19 more bonus tracks – including "Conscious Rastaman", "The Gorgon Speaks", "Help Them O Lord", "Gun Court Law", "Dance In A Greenwich Farm", "Lion Of Judah", "Natty Dread In A Greenwich Farm", "I Shall Not Remove", and "Give Me Love". CD

An unusual album, and one that features a host of recordings done by Lee Perry right before his Pipecock Jackson implosion in the late 70s – but presented by former partner Pauline Morrison, who deserves a lot of credit for putting together a host of great dub tracks that might have been lost otherwise! The record first surfaced in the UK around 1980, with the usual very spare set of packaging that seems to mark some of the best dub records from the time – so there's little in the way of actual details about the recordings, but the quality of the bassy, echoey tracks definitely resonates with the strengths of the Black Ark studios at their height Titles include "Cool Rockers", "Jah", "Rasta Man", "Camp", "Dreadlock", "Guidance", "In The Valley", and "Money". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of very obscure Lee Perry recordings – back to back in a single CD set! Black Ark In Dub features a host of recordings done by Lee Perry right before his Pipecock Jackson implosion in the late 70s – but presented by former partner Pauline Morrison, who deserves a lot of credit for putting together a host of great dub tracks that might have been lost otherwise! The record first surfaced in the UK around 1980, with the usual very spare set of packaging that seems to mark some of the best dub records from the time – so there's little in the way of actual details about the recordings, but the quality of the bassy, echoey tracks definitely resonates with the strengths of the Black Ark studios at their height Titles include "Cool Rockers", "Jah", "Rasta Man", "Camp", "Dreadlock", "Guidance", "In The Valley", and "Money". Black Ark Vol 2 is a bit different – more of a various artists collection, put together by Pauline Morrison, with material rescued from the Black Ark studios before their implosion – all mixed by Lee Perry with his amazing mid 70s ear for sound – which makes for timeless magic on cuts that include "Ethiopia" by Carol Cole, "Give Praises" by The Silvertones, "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Inamans, "Got To Be Irie" by The Originals, "I Am I Said" by Bunny Rugs, "Jah Love Is Sweeter" by Lacksley Castell, and "Mumbling & Grumbling" by Junior Byles. CD

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 rhythms that are maybe a bit grittier than the usual Kingston studio modes of the late 70s – especially the percussion, which can have a very raw vibe alongside the basslines. Horns are nice and stark, too – and the whole thing almost feels as if someone took a trip back to the rocksteady years of recording, to put together a roots-oriented album. Glen L Brown produced and arranged – and titles include "Chant Down Babylon", "Lamb's Bread", "My Father's Homeland", "Eternal Day", and "Deuteronomy". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a bit confusing, but Cornell Campbell's essentially saying that he's a stalwart – something we can completely agree with, given his strong legacy in Jamaican music – and the sublime sound of a 70s classic like this! Cornell's got a higher range than some of his contemporaries, but never in a way that makes his music sound too light or airy at all – because there's a sense of soul going on that maybe stands as a Jamaican counterpart to 70s Marvin Gaye, especially in the way that Campbell inflects his notes on the sweeter tunes on the set! Most of the production is handled by Bunny Lee or Joe Gibbs – and titles include "The Gorgon", "The Stal-A-Watt", "The Investigator", "Hypocrite", "Two Face Rasta", "Two Timer", "Boxing Around", and "Bandulu". LP, Vinyl record album

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 still come through – but in a very different way than on his later hits! The rhythms are provided by the Revolutionaries – a perfect choice for the record – and titles include "Slave Master", "Story Book Children", "Get Ready", "Set The Captives Free", "Hand Cuff", "Storm", "Sacrifice", and "Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

A really classic set from the great Max Romeo – a record that oozes with the soulful vocals he first forged back in the 60s, and sparks with some of the more righteous themes of his rasta roots work of the 70s! The production is perfect – laidback, unassuming, and very much a showcase for Max's role in the lead – singing over rhythms that seem as dictated by his charisma upfront, as they are part of the bedrock of the album! Although carved out in a 70s roots mode, most of the songs have themes that are still pretty darn meaningful all these many years later – with titles that include "Warning Warning", "A Quarter Pound Of I'cense", "Three Blind Mice", "Blood Of The Prophet (parts 1 & 2)", "Open The Iron Gate (parts 1 & 2)", and "Revelation Time". LP, Vinyl record album

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 you might know from the contemporary reggae reissue label) – and was always very close to the ground in the Kingston scene, which is why these cuts were right on the cusp of key changes in Jamaican music in the late 60s! As with other Doctor Bird collections of this nature, the quality is great – even topping previous CD packages on Trojan from years back – on 27 titles that include "If I Needed Someone" by Joe White & The Gaylads, "I'm The One You're The One" by Randy's All Stars, "Lick It Back" by Winston Samuels, "Pepper Pot" by Count Matchuki, "Hold On Girl" by The Lyrics, "Rocking Chariot" by Tommy McCook, "Together" by Delroy Wilson, "Waterfall" by Randy's All Stars, "Me Want Man" by Nora Dean, "October" by Dave Barker, and "Someone To Love" by Joe White & The Gaylads. CD

King Jammy may have come to the reggae party a bit later than some of his famous predecessors – but the man's ears and studio talents helped provide a great way for the whole scene to move forward strongly – as you'll hear from these crucial productions from the key dancehall hears! Although the bigger version of that style meant chart crossover, and even a bridge to other musical communities – the sound here is nicely stripped-down, and very rootsy – definitely a bit digital in the production, but always with a richness that goes right back to the earlier dubplate years of the 70s. As with all Dub Store titles, the choice of cuts is wonderful, and the presentation is right up there with the best from Soul Jazz and 17 North Parade. Titles include "History" by Dennis Brown, "One Big Ghetto" by Half Pint, "Don't Take Your Gun To Town" by Al Campbell, "Crucial Boy (version)" by Prince Jammy, "Victim Of Babylon (version)" by King Jammy, "Love Light Of Mine" by Horace Andy, "Cry For The Youths" by Wackad, "Dangerous System" by Pad Anthony, "No Drugs" by Tinga Stewart, and "Move On" by Wailing Souls. LP, Vinyl record album

Pivotal early dub! Depending upon whose history of the Jamaican recording industry you subscribe to, this is can be considered by many to be the first dub LP – and whether that's proveable or not, it's certain among the first! History aside, it's a mighty set with some raw early dub style workouts at the hands of Errol Thompson at the renowned 16 North Parade recording studio run by Randy's, with some deft production by Clive Chin. Needing virtually no introduction, the Impact All Stars drop some incredible rhythms, many which will be immediately recognizable as having been versioned from massive numbers for Augustus Pablo, Junior Byles and the Soul Vendors. Titles include "Java Dub", "Cheating Dub", "ET Special", "Ordinary Version Dub", "Hide Away Dub" and "Black Man's Dub". LP, Vinyl record album