Various Artists
20 Reggae Classics
Label:   
Format:  FLAC
Genre:  Reggae
    Track Listing:
      Volume 1:
      1.  
      		 Tony Tribe - Red Red Wine    2:59
      2.  
      		 Melodians - Sweet Sensation    3:15
      3.  
      		 Nicky Thomas - Love Of The Common People    2:28
      4.  
      		 Slickers - Johnny Too Bad    3:05
      5.  
      		 Maytals - Pressure Drop    2:56
      6.  
      		 Harry J. All Stars - Liquidator    2:56
      7.  
      		 Symarip - Skinhead Moonstomp    2:54
      8.  
      		 Pioneers - Longshot Kick De Bucket    2:47
      9.  
      		 Winston Groovy - Please Don't Make Me Cry    3:30
      10.  
      		 Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross    2:41
      11.  
      		 Desmond Dekker & The Aces - 007 (Shanty Town)    2:32
      12.  
      		 Dandy Livingstone - Rudy A Message To You    2:36
      13.  
      		 Boy Friday - Version Girl    3:04
      14.  
      		 Eric Donaldson - Cherry Oh Baby    3:05
      15.  
      		 Clancy Eccles - Fattie Fattie    2:43
      16.  
      		 Bob Marley - Keep On Moving    3:09
      17.  
      		 Pioneers - Time Hard    2:33
      18.  
      		 Maytals - Monkey Man    3:36
      19.  
      		 Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon    3:27
      20.  
      		 Ethiopians - Train To Skaville    2:44
      Volume 2:
      1.  
      		 Maytals - 54-46 Was My Number    3:13
      2.  
      		 Roland Alphonso - Phoenix City    3:01
      3.  
      		 John Holt - A Love I Can Feel    2:32
      4.  
      		 Augustus Pablo - Java    2:54
      5.  
      		 Dandy Livingstone - Reggae In Your Jeggae    2:59
      6.  
      		 Andy Capp - Pop A Top    2:22
      7.  
      		 Dave & Ansil Collins - Double Barrel    2:51
      8.  
      		 U Roy & John Holt - Wear You To The Ball    2:33
      9.  
      		 King Stitt & The Dynamites - Herbsman Shuffle    2:41
      10.  
      		 Bob Marley - Small Axe    5:55
      11.  
      		 Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Israelites    2:42
      12.  
      		 Andy Capp - The Law    2:17
      13.  
      		 Derrick Morgan - Fat Man    3:15
      14.  
      		 Winston Groovy - So Easy    2:41
      15.  
      		 Ethiopians - The Whip    3:01
      16.  
      		 Maytals - Pomps & Pride    3:11
      17.  
      		 John Holt - The Further You Look    3:09
      18.  
      		 Upsetters - Return Of Django    2:33
      19.  
      		 Bob Marley - Soul Shakedown Party    3:11
      20.  
      		 King Stitt & The Dynamites - Fire Corner-Next Corner    5:15
      Volume 3:
      1.  
      		 Al Brown & Skin Flesh & Bones - Here I Am Baby    4:13
      2.  
      		 Derrick Harriott - Some Guys Have All The Luck    3:31
      3.  
      		 Erik Dunkley - A Little Way Different    2:56
      4.  
      		 Louisa Mark - Keep It Like It Is    2:38
      5.  
      		 Diamonds - Just Can't Figure Out    3:09
      6.  
      		 Ken Boothe - Everything I Own    3:45
      7.  
      		 Bob & Marcia - Pied Piper    2:45
      8.  
      		 Horace Faith - Black Pearl    2:43
      9.  
      		 Derrick Harriott - Groovy Situation    2:59
      10.  
      		 Hopeton Lewis - Boom Shacka-Lacka    2:40
      11.  
      		 Upsetters - Live Injection    3:28
      12.  
      		 Nora Dean - Barbwire    2:22
      13.  
      		 Lloyd Parks - Baby Hang Up The Phone    3:09
      14.  
      		 Big Youth - Hit The Road Jack    3:07
      15.  
      		 Nicky Thomas - Rainy Night In Georgia    3:24
      16.  
      		 Bob Marley - Mr. Brown    3:30
      17.  
      		 Derrick Harriott - Eighteen With A Bullet    3:38
      18.  
      		 Peter Tosh - Them A Fe Get A Beatin'    1:55
      19.  
      		 Paragons - The Tide Is High    2:39
      20.  
      		 Delroy Wilson - Better Must Come    2:47
      Volume 4:
      1.  
      		 Lord Tanamo - I'm In The Mood For Ska    2:32
      2.  
      		 Kingstonians - Singer Man    3:00
      3.  
      		 Lord Creator - Kingston Town    3:11
      4.  
      		 Eric Donaldson - The Way You Do The Things You Do    2:44
      5.  
      		 Hopeton Lewis - Groovin' Out On Life    2:49
      6.  
      		 John Holt - Stick By Me    3:15
      7.  
      		 Dave Barker - On Broadway    3:07
      8.  
      		 Jackie Robinson - Homely Girl    3:19
      9.  
      		 Scotty - Draw Your Brakes    3:16
      10.  
      		 Ken Parker - Help Me Make It Through The Night    2:23
      11.  
      		 Rupie Edwards - Ire Feelings    3:46
      12.  
      		 Boris Gardner - My Commanding Wife    3:07
      13.  
      		 Slim Smith - Everybody Needs Love    2:23
      14.  
      		 Susan Cadogan - Fever    2:24
      15.  
      		 Johnnie Clarke - Tears On My Pillow    3:10
      16.  
      		 Marcia Griffiths - When Will I See You Again    3:15
      17.  
      		 Pat Kelly - He Ain't Heavy    2:42
      18.  
      		 Max Romeo - Wet Dream    2:48
      19.  
      		 Ken Boothe - Who Gets Your Love    3:28
      20.  
      		 Cimarrons - Rock Your Baby    3:22
      This disc should be prescribed like medicine to everyone who thinks of "Red Red Wine" as a UB40 song. It leads off with Tony Tribe's rock steady version of that number (which was a cover itself -- "Red Red Wine" was actually written by Neil Diamond) along with 19 other ska, reggae and rock steady tunes that have been covered by more recent artists, often with significant commercial success. Did you know that the Specials' "Rudy a Message to You" was originally cut by Dandy Livingstone, or that Paul Young's "Love of the Common People" was an early reggae song by Nicky Thomas, whose version prominently featured a string section? Other tracks are more familiar in their original versions -- Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)," the Melodians' "Rivers of Babylon," etc. Every song on this compilation is an essential piece of reggae history.

      Taken from reggae's heady early days, this 20-track Trojan sampler is a perfect entrée for neophytes: Neither biased towards hits or relatively obscure gems, the disc digs into the cuts that especially made the British charts light up during the first half of the ‘70s. Rasta takes a powder while Marley, the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker revel in Jamaica's early love affair with U.S. R&B. But with a just few solid shots from John Holt and the Ethiopians completing the vocal portion of the program, instrumental and DJ highlights from U-Roy, the Upsetters ("Return of Django"), Augustus Pablo ("Java"), and Roland Alphonso ("Phoenix City") deliver most of the goods. And let's not forget Andy Capp's latter-day rude-boy gem "The Law" and ing Stitt's chalice-wielding mantra "Herbman Shuffling." With the knob-twiddling likes of Clement Dodd, Clancy Eccles, and Leslie Kong in attendance and more booty from Dave and Ansel Collins and Derrick Morgan, this is a disc that will please both pundits and the floor-filling masses.

      This is one of a handful of Trojan samplers covering rocksteady and early reggae favorites. And while it's not quite as impressive as the first two discs in the series, 20 Reggae Classics, Vol. 3 still boasts a hefty mix of standout vocal, DJ, and instrumental sides. This time out the focus is definitely on solo and harmony vocal cuts, like Ken Boothe's "Everything I Own," Delroy Wilson's "Better Must Come," and the Wailers' "Mr. Brown." Other highlights include Hopetown Lewis' infectious Jamaican Song Festival winner, "Boom Shacka Lacka," Big Youth's DJ version of "Hit the Road Jack," and a pair of top-notch Derrick Harriott numbers, including a go at the future Rod Stewart hit "Some Guys Have All the Luck." And with additional booty from Peter Tosh, the Upsetters, the Paragons, and Nicky Thomas, not to mention the guiding touch of producers like Joe Gibbs, Duke Reid, and Lloyd Charmers, 20 Reggae Classics, Vol. 3 ranks with other quality documents of the music's vintage years.

      Never pass anything from the fertile Trojan vaults and collections.