Various Artists – Mojo Rock Steady (1994)

“Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd ruled the ska age, but as tempos slowed and the style downshifted into rocksteady, Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label came to the fore, pushing Studio One aside. Revenge was delivered by virtually every other producer on the isle, beginning in the mid- to late ’70s as Studio One’s gorgeous rocksteady melodies were resurrected in the new rockers style. With the demise of the Skatalites, Roland Alphonso and Jackie Mittoo set up shop at Studio One with the rhythm team of Joe Isaacs and Brian Atkinson. Under the Soul Brothers moniker, this unit laid down myriad scintillating instrumentals and phenomenal backings as ska evolved into rocksteady. …”
allmusic

“The Sound Dimension have recorded some of the most important songs in Reggae music; songs such as Real Rock, Drum Song, Heavy Rock, Rockfort Rock, In Cold Blood – all classic songs that have become the foundation of Reggae music, endlessly versioned and re-versioned by Jamaican artists since the time they were first recorded to the present day. As the in-house band at Studio One in the late 1960s, The Sound Dimension also played alongside everyone from The Heptones, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths and more. Similar to their US counterparts The Funk Brothers at Motown and Booker T and The MGs at Stax, The Sound Dimension recorded on a daily basis incredibly catchy and funky tunes matched by a seamless musicality. …”
Soul Jazz Records

YouTube: The Sound Dimension – Mojo Rocksteady b/w Version, Gaylads – I Am Free, The New Establishment – Rockfort Rock, Roland Alphonso – Take Me, Hot and Cold – The Soul Brothers, alton ellis & the soul vendors – whipping the prince, Roland Alphonso & The Soul Vendors – Rock and Sock

Sugar Minott – Sufferer’s Choice (1983)

“The obvious follow-on from Buy Off the Bar, Sugar Minott’s excellent work with Sly & Robbie and the Roots Radics continues here, with Peter Chemist controlling the mix. Contrary to its title though, only side one of the album concerned sufferers and social commentary — the flip is pure lovers rock. Fittingly, U.K. fans chose one of each — ‘A Rough Ole Life (Babylon)’ and ‘Lover’s Race’ — and propelled them both straight into the charts. In reality, though, virtually the entire album was filled with worthy contenders for hits. Certainly ‘Rough Ole,’ with its hints of reggae’s past, had hit written all over it, but the title track, a slow, stripped down dub, is equally strong. The sublime ‘Uptown Ghetto’ created a rich atmosphere via a few well-placed guitar riffs and fat, booming beats, while the song’s theme of ghetto denizens moving uptown is a particularly sharp piece of social commentary. ‘Lovers Race’ keeps the rootsy atmosphere intact, while adding a softly rocking air perfect for swaying across the dancefloor. The whole second side is permeated by this gently rocking feel, as the rhythms swing between the electro beats and guitar or piano, while Shakespeare’s bass throbs in the background. The music aurally caresses the listener — sultry lovers rock at its most exquisite. The final track is a more dancehall-flavored number, providing the perfect bridge back to the sufferer’s side, and chances are you’ll be tempted to hit the replay button and hear it all again.”
allmusic

YouTube: Sufferer’s Choice, Rough Ole Life, Dress Up, Keep On Loving You, Ghetto uptown

Jah Shaka and Friends “45 Disco Stylee”

“Jah Shaka and Friends (Wailing Souls, Roots Radics, Linval Thompson, Johnny Osbourne, Earl Sixteen, Augustus Pablo, Barrington Levy, Eek-A-Mouse, Black Uhuru, Prince Jammy, Te Track, Rockers All Stars, General Saint & Clint Eastwood, Vivian Jones).”
YouTube: “45 Disco Stylee” 1:02:15

Max Romeo – Open the Iron Gate 1973-1977 (1999)

“For reggae neophytes who first encountered Jamaican music in the punk ’70s, Max Romeo seemed like kind of a one-trick pony who rode the big-time rep he deservedly got for the 1976 classic War ina Babylon to legendary status in reggae circles. Open the Iron Gate 1973-1977 shows there’s more depth to that reputation, because these tracks largely drawn from his 1975 Revelation Time are prime examples of simple but creative roots reggae marked by Romeo’s expressive, unadorned singing and further enhanced by exceptional sound restoration that even surpasses Blood & Fire’s usual superb norm. ‘Every Man Ought to Know’ is a Jah-praise song with a nyabinghi tinge and sweet singing with great backing vocals, an unusual bubble-up bassline, plus hints of ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’ and a direct quote from ‘What a Friend I Have in Jesus’ in the melody. …”
allmusic

YouTube: Open the iron gate (FULL ALBUM)

Jacob Miller ‎– Mixed Up Moods (1979)

“Jacob Miller (May 4, 1952 – March 23, 1980) was a Jamaican reggae artist, who first recorded with Clement Dodd. While pursuing a prolific solo career, he became the lead singer for reggae group Inner Circle with whom he recorded until his death in a car accident at the age of 27. Jacob Miller was known as one of Jamaica’s most distinctive vocal stylists, with a trademark vibrato he used to accent his performance. He was born in Mandeville, Jamaica to Joan Ashman and Desmond Elliot. At the age of eight he moved to Kingston, Jamaica where he grew up with his maternal grandparents. In Kingston, Miller began spending time at popular studios including Clement Dodd’s Studio One. He recorded three songs for Dodd, including “Love is a Message” in 1968, which the Swaby brothers, (Horace, later called Augustus Pablo, and Garth) played at their Rockers Sound System. While the song did not garner much success nor maintain Dodd’s attention in Miller, it resulted in Pablo’s sustained interest in Miller. …’
Wikipedia

YouTube: Mixed Up Moods 57:18
00:00 – Mix Up Moods 04:20 – Mr. R Officer 08:18 – Jolly Joseph 12:36 – Come Seek Jah 17:39 – Take a Lift 21:37 – Chapter a Day 28:48 – Mix Up Moods [2nd Version] 34:18 – Once Upon a Time 38:26 – Is It War 41:51 – Election Now 45:28 – Olympic Boycott 49:40 – Russian Invasion 53:51 – Hostage 50

Studio One Kings (2007)

“This music is instantly recognizable: nectar-sweet falsettos, soaring harmonies, socially conscious lyrics, all backed by a tight stable of top-notch session players. Sound familiar? It could be Motown, obviously, but the descriptions above are equally applicable to what, in many ways, was its equivalent in a lesser-known, much less funded parallel universe: what Detroit was for soul music in the ‘60s, Kingston’s Studio One was for reggae music in the ‘70s. And, to belabor an easy analogy, the Berry Gordy of Studio One was Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd—the owner, producer, and mastermind behind some of the best-loved music of the last century, as well as a treasure trove of forgotten, unknown, and undiscovered material. …”
PopMatters

YouTube: Studio One Kings 1:02:00
01-Larry Marshall – I’ve got to make it 00:00- 02-Horace Andy – every tongue shall tell 02:53 03-Alton Ellis – well run dry 05:15 04-Johnny Osbourne – water more than flour 07:48 05-Anthony Rocky Ellis – I am the ruler 13:59 06-Cornell Campbell – pretty looks isnt all 16:16 07-Alexander Henry – please be true 18:47 08-Burning Spear – them a come 21:28 09-Joe Higgs – change of plan 24:40 10-Devon Russell – roots natty 26:49 11-Ken Boothe – be yourself 29:48 12-Freddie Mc Gregor – I shall be released 32:07 13-Freddie Mc Kay – father will cut you off 42:12 14-The Ethiopian – locust 45:01 15-George Philips – one one 49:17 16-John Holt – I dont want to see you cry 52:21 17-Delroy Wilson – wont you come home 55:08

Randy’s 17 North Parade (1987)

“Randy’s, run by the Chin family out of a storefront at 17 North Parade in Kingston, was one of the great reggae studios of the 1970s. It produced more than its share of great rhythms, among them some of the seminal examples of Augustus Pablo’s ‘Far East’ sound and early vocal performances by Dennis Brown and Junior Byles. Randy’s is also where the great producer Errol Thompson got his start, engineering under the supervision of Clive Chin. (Thompson would later leave Randy’s to make history with Joe Gibbs.) But for all of its historical significance and for all of the great music it produced, Randy’s never gained the same level of international notoriety as that enjoyed by Channel One, Dynamic, and Studio One. This collection makes a strong case for the injustice of that situation. It features excellent performances by the likes of Alton Ellis (a fine early version of ‘Too Late’), Black Uhuru (the rough and lovely ‘Going to Zion’), and a single by an obscure vocal trio called the African Brothers, which included a young Sugar Minott. Granted, it also features the forgettable vocals of one Senya (who sounds eerily like a female Hugh Mundell), but her tracks only serve to accentuate the quality of everything else. Recommended.”
allmusic

Daily Motion 00:00 Broadway – Guns In The Ghetto. 03:24 Alton Ellis – Too Late. 06:27 Senya – Roots Man. 09:41 The Gladiators – The Race. 12:55 Errol Dunkley – Created By The Father

Dennis Brown – Let Love In (1972)

YouTube: Let Love In (& Dub)

Errol Grandson – Jah Garden (1978)

YouTube: Jah Garden (& Dub)

Pablo Moses – We Should Be In Angola (1976)

“After a long and bloody struggle, in 1975 Angola finally wrested its independence from its colonial master, Portugal. Unfortunately, nationhood did not mean the end of the struggle, for South African forces promptly invaded the country in the months before independence, fanning the flames of civil war. Providing men, arms, and training to the puppet UNITA faction, South Africa (with the able assistance of the U.S.) kept the war raging for decades. Which explains why Pablo Moses was proclaiming ‘We Should Be in Angola.’ With agile reasoning, the singer explains that Jamaicans should stop fighting each other, and instead join the MPLA in driving out the South African intruders. Moses delivered his unusual unity theme wrapped in a revolutionary message with suitable insistence, with strong harmony support from Don Prendes and Val Bailey. The musical backing is irrepressible, its solid roots rockers rhythm and bouncy organ wrapping the entire arrangement in an upbeat atmosphere. Expertly produced by Geoffrey Chung, this was yet another hit for the rising roots star.”
allmusic

YouTube: 7” Pablo Moses – We Should Be In Angola (& Dub)