Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica

Featured artists:
Lloyd Robinson
Peter Broggs
The Gaylads
The Silvertones
Ken Boothe
The Martinis
Arthur Robinson
Winston Francis

I am not exactly Joe Reggae. Yeah, I saw the Skatalites live once in Somerville, Massachusetts, and I think I once saw Shabba Ranks buying a cauliflower in Dean & Deluca in Soho. But I don't have the kind of encyclopedic rasta knowledge that would really allow me to expound on the importance of Studio One to ska, RockSteady, dub, and dancehall. Suffice it to say, however, that this disc has changed all that. It's so damned good I'm doing research and buying albums I can't afford. Much respect to Studio One and to Heartbeat Records for apparently trying to release everything ever done there.

These tracks were recorded between 1966 and the early '80s by eight different artists ranging in influence from Ken Boothe (who had a couple huge hits in England and whose name, if you are a true reggae lover, is pronounced in a hushed, reverent whisper) to the Martinis, who only recorded four songs. None of these songs have ever been on CD before, and they're all good. Current favorite: "Sing a New Song" by Peter Broggs, a lovers' rock of the first order. Yesterday's favorite: Winston Francis's "Going to Zion," which is pretty much Rastafari 101 sung in one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. Ask me again tomorrow and I'll probably be talking about Arthur Robinson's "Moments." I don't know how this stuff found its way to the reissue bin and hence to this CD, but I don't care, because I have my copy and now you have to get yours.

Warning to purists: this is not your disc. These tracks are largely dub reworkings of the originals, especially of the tracks from the '60s. If that's a problem for you...well, then you should get over yourself, because the dub is lovely and turns many of these songs into aural extravaganzae. The bionic echo effects that take over "Love Me With All Your Heart" by the wonderfully named Gaylads really turn the song into something strong and kind of timeless. And the electrobleeps that pop up here and there fit right in and make perfect sense, even though they were added ten years after the original tracks were laid down. If you listen closely, you can almost hear hip-hop and synthdance being born. But I'm not listening too closely. I'm too busy doing that spaced-out white-guy reggae dance all over my house while my children and wife look at me askance.