Ace Ken Khouri productions for Federal, from 1964-5; beautifully repackaged.

Toddler at the control tower, over heavier-than-lead Roots Radics. Scientist cuts the dub right back to the bone.

Ain’t no house like Waterhouse for Black Crucial, Anthony Johnson, Junior Reid and co.

Melting, copybook Lovers Rock from 1977.
Willie Lindo, Harold Butler Robbie Lyn and co at Federal. Marcia Griffiths on backing vocals. A classy Waiting In Vain.

Stone classic. Stuffed with monster Lee Perry rhythms like War In A Babylon.

The first decent compilation of these Clement Bushay productions.
Downright crucial Jazzbo like Step Forward Youth and Every Nigger Is A Winner.

Sweet, implacably socialist lovers, re-phrasing the Still Cool classic beloved by Shaka (and its metrical debt to Jah Jah See Them A Come).
Produced by Adrian Sherwood; with George Oban from the original Aswad crew, playing bass.

Go straight to the head-spinning dub. Magnificently zonked, killer music emanating from the wildly creative seismic crack which links the Upsetter in Kingston to Bullwackies in New York, and both to Half Moon in Toronto. Man called Fitty leads the Ishan Band, on flute and saxophone; Jerry aka Keith absolutely smashes it, at the controls. From 1978.

Jerry Brown was a founding member of rocksteady aces The Jamaicans, long before migrating to Canada. He helped Oswald Creary establish the Half Moon label; he set up his own Summer imprint in 1974. Both labels shared the same studio, in the basement of Creary’s house, on a dead-end street in Malton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. Local and visiting reggae alumni would hang out and make music: Jackie Mittoo, Willie Williams, Johnny Osbourne, Prince Jammy, Stranger Cole, Alton Ellis…