Classic Box Set Review: Various Artists | This is Reggae Music: Golden Era
This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Reggae compilations are a dime a dozen. And frankly, that’s about what most of them are worth.
This is Reggae Music, on the other hand, is easily worth its weight in Acapulco gold. First because it smartly and handily chronicles the development of Jamaica’s national music from the early ’60s (when it evolved out of mento, R&B and ska) to the mid-’70s (when Bob Marley took offbeat grooves and scritchy guitars to the masses). Second because it contains more crucial cuts than you can shake a dreadlock at, from Millie’s sugary My Boy Lollipop and Desmond Dekker’s irresistible Israelites to the work of latter-day icons like Toots & the Maytals (Do the Reggay, Monkey Man, Pressure Drop, Funky Kingston), Jimmy Cliff (Many Rivers to Cross, though The Harder They Come is noticeably absent) and Bob Marley (early hits like Duppy Conqueror, Trenchtown Rock, Lively Up Yourself). Third because it tosses in original versions of famously covered chestnuts like Johnny Too Bad, Cherry Oh Baby, The Tide is High and Rivers of Babylon. And fourth because in doing all the above, This is Reggae Music lives up to its title.
DISCS: Four.
TRACKS: 90.
YEARS COVERED: 1960 – 1975.
NEW STUFF: Thankfully, nothing.
EYE CANDY: A 48-page book with a quartet of historical essays and track-by-track notes.
DAMAGE: $60.
NOTE: I couldn’t find this box set online, so here’s a decent reggae playlist.
