The Buster selection we’d been waiting for.
A terrific haul of rare and unreleased sides; rocksteady gold, from start to finish.
Macka Osaka connoisseurship.

‘Glen Brown Meets King Tubby.’
Authentic, raw, unheard dubs of almighty murder like Merry Up, Forward The Good, Long Live Zion, Never Too Young To Learn, and the timely We All Have The Right To Live.
Brutally magnificent music. Crucial bunny.

Island disco sung by a Rasta in the Bronx, over an 808 & chopper bass, with a gospel chorus, and fuzz guitar which sounds like P-Funk! Originally released in 1982 on the Sunshine label.
Plus Wilie Lindo leading a mellow instrumental version of Barry White’s Midnight & You, with Lloyd Charmers at the controls, for all the lovers in the dance. Original released in 1975 on Wild Flower.

A judicious compilation of cornerstone, pioneering UK Lovers: One Blood, Simplicity, Karen Dixon…

A Federal 45 from 1974 featuring Ken Boothe, Lloyd Charmers, BB Seaton, Busty Brown… taking off from the Temptations’ Smiling Faces Sometimes. Plus a tropical disco chugger by Leslie Butler, with sick synths, originally out on Jay Wax in 1975.

Reggaefied electro funk from 1986, riding the reverberations of Planet Rock.
Beatbox, synth, trumpet, and nursery-rhyme MC.

Funkin’ for New York (JA).
Betty Boop and a Alleyoop was jumping up and down… This feelin’s funk, that’s what it is, let it get into you, Jamaica funk, that’s what it is… Take it to the cosmo.

Lovely, upful, Chi-Town, rare groove vibes, with falsetto singing, horns and chorus. Produced by BB Seaton;  originally out on Golden Heart in 1974.

An upful, radiant, chugging version of the McFadden & Whitehead, by way of Harry J, strung out on flute and Syndrums.

Unmistakably sexy, classy SC over fun, rickety island disco produced by Franklyn Waul — from the Taxi Gang — in 1988.

Ace, earnest cover of the Barry White killer. Tight backing by the Dragonaires, with horns in full effect.

Links was an artists’ cooperative, formed in 1968 by The Gaylads, Ken Boothe, The Melodians, and Delroy Wilson, fed up with getting ripped off by Studio One and co. They did everything themselves — hiring Dynamic / Wirl studios, printing up labels, organising the pressings, and distributing in person to Kingston record shops — in the teeth of peeved obstructiveness from other labels, producers, and radio stations. Many of their 45s were blanks, hand-stamped with BB Seaton’s home address: ‘Links Records, 39 Wildman Street, Phone 24954’.
The backing band was probably Lynn Taitt & The Jets to start, giving way to the Conscious Minds (with Joe White and Ken Boothe on keys), whose instrumental Something New is one of the highlights here, featuring killer guitar and trombone by Harris Seaton and Derrick Hinds.
Links was short-lived; ironically unable to cope with the success of a Melodians’ hit entitled It Comes & Goes.
It’s a fascinating story, and this is top-notch rock steady; the first compilation of the dozen or so Links releases. Scorchers by Conscious Minds, The Melodians, Randall Thaxter, and Ken Boothe — doing his best Otis Redding — steal the show.

Characteristically bootin’, irresistible version of Huey Smith’s millions-selling New Orleans R&B smash. (What a monster 45 that was, double-headed with Don’t You Just Know It. Huey and his Clowns, fronted by drag queen Bobby Marchan.)
With a spirited Derrick & Patsy duet on the flip, enlivened by handclap percussion.

A storming selection, warmly endorsed by Honest Jons old boy Steve Barrow: ‘Many unreleased and alternate versions of prime-quality ska, produced by a founding father of the genre, featuring great Jamaican musicians like Baba Brooks, Roland Alphonso and Raymond Harper, and various permutations of the premiere group of musicians collectively known as the Skatalites. It includes in-demand collector’s items like the Spanish Town Skabeats’ Stop That Train. All tracks are taken directly from tape. This release is truly a feast for lovers of ska, and Jamaican R&B in general.’

It was Prince Buster who convinced a reluctant Melodisc lawyer to give the go ahead to our London Is The Place For Me series, nearly twenty years ago.

Driving do-over of Funky Stuff, by Kool & The Gang, with tough, stripped dub.
Ace.

Cream-of-the-crop Island Soul, produced by Tony Robinson for TR Groove Master, featuring beautifully crafted covers of The Impressions, Betty Wright, Kool & The Gang, The Moments, Smokey Robinson, The Stylistics…

A worthy take on the Betty Wright classic, with funky drums and bass, rocking brass and jazzy flute. The guitarist gets his freak on, pon flip.