God’s own ska. Cornerstone of the Far East in reggae. (No Augustus Pablo without it.) We put a dubplate mix on Studio One Scorcher; first ever time out for the second take here.

Heavy, slowed-down Green Island excursion, revisited as a duet with the mighty Lennie Hibbert. Originally a Down Beat dubplate special.

Previously-unreleased takes of this ball of fire hurtling East with no survivors (from the second Ska Authentic). Pitiless, wondrous companion-piece to Last Call, from the same session.

Roland Al tearing up Louis Jordan in 1962; plus a tasty, doowop-derived ska shuffle.
Both sides previously unreleased.

Rudie gone soft. Irresistible love songs — with simmering brass, splashing cymbals on the A; classy sax on the flip.

The godfather, with a Tommy McCook. Two classy body-rockers.

Two Duke Reids: hard-swinging, emotionally distressed rocksteady from Mr Soul Of Jamaica himself, down on his knees, hand on heart; and a terrific version of Gene Chandler’s Duke Of Earl on the flip.

The greatest rocksteady instrumental of them all.
Haughtily cool and deadly; a stepping razor of a tune. (Just ask the ODB.)
Back in after a long absence. Hail the rebel sound.

The alluring, mystery female vocalist here is cool and deadly amidst the mayhem, beside a tasty harmonica lead. Nice bebop saxophone, too, on the flip.

Superb rock steady, from the dark end of the street. Recorded for Sonia Pottinger, on the eve of Delano Stewart’s leaving the group to join Lee Perry. So nice The Heptones did it twice.