Some of the deepest work we've ever heard from Jamaican funk giant Boris Gardiner – and a set that might have been called "Ultra Rare Dub" instead – given the obscurity of the recordings! The core material here is from 45s that Boris issues in the early 70s – the kind of heavy grooves that have made him as much of a legend with funk collectors as reggae fans – but the tracks are taken to very different territory than the originals, in keeping with the dub promised in the title – yet with a sense of variety that's very different than other dub albums of this nature! Currents of American soul come into play as much as reggae roots – and instrumentation and rhythms vary nicely throughout, which really keeps things interesting. The original albums were issued in very tiny runs, and titles include "Freedom Roots", "Expression (dub)", "Racking Roots", "Love (dub)", "Paying Roots", "Mine (dub)", "Rider Roots", and "Gimmy (dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

Produced by Willie Lindo. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

No monkey business here – as the collection's an incredible document of early reggae tracks that broke big on the UK scene – embraced by the first wave of young skinheads who took the torch from earlier mods! Use of the word "skinhead" here is nothing like its later use in the US – and instead, the term applies to working class kids in the UK who shook off some of the fancier trappings of mod culture, and went back to basics – and often found the shift from rocksteady to reggae to be a perfect soundtrack for their scene! As a result, skinheads were huge supporters of new sounds coming from Jamaica – and really helped establish a UK audience for the music, on labels like Trojan and Island – the former of which is featured heavily here. Titles include "Liquidator" by Harry J All Stars, "Tighten Up" by The Untouchables, "Fatty Fatty" by Clancy Eccles, "54 46 Was My Number" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, and "Elizabethan Reggae" by Boris Gardiner & The Love People. LP, Vinyl record album