Brawny, get-onboard rocksteady, with nyabinghi drumming throughout — including a tasty break. A first sighting of Solomon, from Police And Thieves.

Tasty, brilliantly-arranged, minor-chord instrumental of the Tonight rhythm, led by the saxophone of Cannonball ‘Money Generator’ Bryan; with a secret-weapon piano-lick on the flip.

The best of Ern’s sixties LPs. A lovely bunch of rocksteady instrumentals, featuring a cool and deadly Summertime, bumping versions of Hold Me Tight and Flamingo, a moody Story Book Children, some bluesy honky-tonk, and the far-eastern stylings of Sling Shot, to close.

Soul jazz from the jazz pianist plus trio. The first half’s a bit soft, before Aquarius marks the dawning of the funky stuff — Evil Ways, Shaft, Booty Butt — ending with a cooking cover of The Meters’ Funky Miracle.

A fresh, deadly combination of rocksteady with funk and British Invasion.
With a Beatles on the flip.

Pure loveliness from 1967 — with an acappella version.

Perfectly irresistible, bumptious girl-pop from Judy Mowatt’s group.

Juggernaut version of the Four Tops, with Ike Bennett at the organ leading Ilya Kuryakin on the flip.

All-time rocksteady murder.
The flip’s killer, too. ‘I don’t want no trouble now, no, no, no.’

Staggering, stone-classic roots, originally released on Family Man’s handsome imprint in 1972.
Bunny Wailer on percussion; Dirty Harry on fife. Awesome Tubbys dub.
Knockout.

Stupendous rendition of a Chinese folk song over red-hot rocksteady, produced by Ronnie Narsalla in 1967. Aimed at the Chinese community in Kingston; super-rare ever since.
Pure worries. The guaranteed musical detonation of any kind of dance or party.
Cheng, evidently, not Chang. Essential reading, here.

Magnificent, militant roots with the heart of a lion. Bunny’s greatest record under his own name, much superior to the version on the Liberation LP, this was originally released as a UK disco 45 in the early eighties.

Super-heavyweight Aggrovators roots. Barry Brown at his very best; deadly, sombre horns; lethal Tubbys dub. Scorcher.

A master-class in digikal dread, by the Cool Ruler and King Tubby.
Swingeing Firehouse rhythms, expertly dubwise, with driving, tumping bass, and the burning horns of Dean Fraser and Vin Gordon. Utterly masterful singing.
The overall mood is foreboding, sombre and distressed. ‘Your trouble wanna trouble you,’ warns Gregory. ‘War in the morning, war in the evening.’ ‘Everyone is wondering who will be next.’
The gist is the toll of everyday living — paranoia and alienation, loneliness and heartbreak, drugs and violence — and the gravitational pull of prison, so it’s great to see the emblematic art-work of the original UK issue, by the aptly-named Serious Business, back again. (We miss the Rudy Gone Whaling typo of an old bootleg, still.)
Typically dapper, trash-and-ready reissue by Dub Store in Tokyo, with ace sound, handsomely sleeved (though the tracks are listed in the wrong order).
Masterworks like Long Sentence, Once A Man — giant-slaying Fade Away excursion — and Badness.
Hotly recommended.

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.

Rollicking, mid-sixties, post-Skatalites ska thriller, led by Bobby Ellis and Roland Alphonso, with slightly different soloing to the original release.
Backed with a charming, forsaken, rare Summertairs: ‘I love you, Errol… come back today… but not too late… Errol, my dear.’