A jewel-strewn glimpse of the couple of years it took this group to invent reggae, as the Studio One house-band from 1967 till the decade turned.
Mittoo and Robbie Lynn, Cedric, Horsemouth, Eric Frater (wielding a ‘Sound Dimension’ echo and delay), Sibbles, Ernest Ranglin and full crew.
Funkier than a mosquito’s tweeter.

A masterful, sublime cover of the Young Holt by the newly-formed Sound Dimension; backed with Roy Richards’ classic harmonica version of Summertime.

An uncompromisingly deep, rugged, rootical collection of dubs and instrumentals; funky to the max.
A terrific compilation. It’s a must.

No particular theme this time around… except scorchers only admitted.
A fresh, personal selection, stuffed with bangers and welcome strays and surprises; like getting a killer mix-tape from an old friend.
Jazzbo riding a vicious mix of Sidewalk Doctor, for example, and Spear’s majestic Door Peep Shall Not Enter… Wiggle’s Diggles by Noel Bailey the Hippy Boy… two sublime Sugars…
The broom to sweep the room!

Stuffed with staggering selections, comprising maybe our favourite compilation in this mind-boggling series. Deep, hypnotic, mystical music, often a bit wasted; featuring several extended 12” and 10” mixes, sparkling with electronic effects. Almighty sides like George Dudley’s Gates Of Zion and Lloyd Robinson and Devon Russell’s effervescently jazzy Push Push, sublimely channelling Curtis.
It’s a must.

A brazenly irresistible blend of unlikely secret weapons and stone cold classic killers, Soul Jazz style and fashion.
Deliriously creative wordplay overflowing some of the mightiest reggae rhythms of all time.
Surely a must.

An expert sampling of the original Studio One dub LPs, plus a couple of wild cards.

Chocka with scorchers.
Isaac Hayes, Booker T, Stevie Wonder, James Brown are in the house.
Some of the previously unreleased cuts are amazing, like the Jackie Mittoo spaghetti, The Sharks’ dread techno.

Staggering. Beautifully paced and varied, this classic compilation hasn’t aged a bit. Killer after killer, including numerous sides out here for the first time.

‘Vol 1 was mighty fine, presenting rare and deep recordings from Studio One’s mid-70s heyday. Hard to believe the Vol 2 is even better… As with all Soul Jazz material, the vinyl is heavyweight, with fine packaging and good liner notes. Reggae music doesn’t get much better than this: buy immediately and play loud’ (David Katz, Fact).
‘This will be hard to beat in the Studio One series in my humble opinion, amazing stuff. Too many good tunes on here to pick. Check this out you will not be disappointed’ (RYM).
‘Soul Jazz still crank out the best. Non-completist, non-purist, but always 100% killer’ (Mojo).
‘If anything, Studio One Roots 2 is even better than the first volume and has some superb (and rare) tracks’ (Record Collector).