Ken Khouri’s Federal Records gave Jamaica its musical identity The Federal Record Manufacturing facility was the first pressing plant in Jamaica... their studio gave birth to mento, ska, rock steady and reggae of the highest calibre. This album features an astonishing selection of well known classics and rarities transferred straight from their master tape

Early ska instrumental with vibing call and response from the organ and guitar. Backed by the finest Jamaican jazz played by the likes of Don Drummon, Tomy McCook and Roland Alphonso.

The big hit Ska classic everybody loves, sang by one of the top groups of the 60’s!! Along with the Maytals and the Wailers, the Blues Busters were one of the top groups at the time, however commercially they were going more of a mainstream than the others. Since their career goes way back in the late 50’s, they must have been idolized by so many of those who made their debut later in the Ska era. This is an essential mainstream Ska classic by the brilliantly skilled duo in their best form backed by no other than Byron Lee.

American rhythm & blues fervour, boosted by a multitude of sound systems playing 78rpm records on increasingly larger sets, gripped Jamaica from the late forties onwards but, towards the end of the decade, the American audience began to move towards a somewhat softer sound. The driving rhythm & blues discs became increasingly hard to find and the more progressive Jamaican sound system operators, realising that they now needed to make their own music, turned to Kingston’s jazz and big band musicians to record one off custom cut discs. These were not initially intended for commercial release but designed solely for sound system play on acetate or ‘dub plates’ as they would later be termed. These ‘specials’ soon began to eclipse the popularity of American rhythm & blues and the demand for their locally produced music proved so great that the sound system operators began to release their music commercially on vinyl and became record producers. Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd, Duke Reid ‘The Trojan’ and Prince Buster, who operated his Voice Of The People Sound System, were among the first to establish themselves in this new role and the nascent Jamaican recording industry now went into overdrive.

In 1954 Ken Khouri had numbered among the first far sighted entrepreneurs to produce mento records with local musicians (mento is Jamaica’s original indigenous music) before progressing to opening Jamaica’s first record manufacturing plant. Three years later he moved his operation to Foreshore Road (later renamed Marcus Garvey Drive) where, with the assistance of the inestimable Graeme Goodall, he updated and upgraded his recording studio. The importance of this enterprising move was critical to the development of Jamaican music and its influence both profound and far reaching.

Known as a synonym for “killer”, this is one of the best singles released on Studio 1 by Don Drummond, including another precious take that’s been previously unreleased. Compare to any other artists, the extreme tension that Don Drummond brings into his sessions were next level. His trombone skills were above genius and it is clear to hear his strong personality and humanity through his music. With his works being released on Studio One and other productions, he had established the “Far Eastern Sound” which still lives today in Jamaica. The fact all the music that was influenced by this sound has been evaluated since therefore it is a proof of how his music is universality. It is interesting that all the unreleased Skatalites tracks from this era have different solo phrases each time, showing how valuable these recordings are for the archive.

Rated as the world’s top five trombone players, here is a stunning reissue of rare killer ska by Don Drummond backed with an authentic vocal ska with Cornell Campbell.

An exotic cover of the standard - by young Monty Alexander for Studio One. Its heavy and exotic arrangement by Monty’s own the Cyclones could well be the version of the famous “Summertime” that Jamaica has been proud of, and also out of million others to date this stands out as one of the most distinguished covers of all. From a number of Coxsone’s own labels, this is one of the rarest and includes nice shuffle-instrumental on the other side like the original press. A very rare piece that the collectors have been searching for.

The Wailers have recorded a number of tunes for Studio One, however this release still gets talked a lot as its specialty. Recorded just before they left Studio One, this double A-sided single includes two of the best tunes that lead by Bunny Wailer himself. It’s even possible to hear in this excellent music that the time has come to ripen for the band to see the vision of starting up their own Wail ‘N’ Soul ’M’ label. Both sides are identical to its original release.

Another classic killer ska from the short-lived Soul Brothers. As of the original on the other side comes a sweet female lovers vocal from a night before the Rocksteady era. Succeeding the authentic ska from the legendary Skatalites then evolving it to the sound of Rocksteady, a fluid session band of Studio One, the Soul Brothers bring another classic instrumental ska tune. Like you can almost smell the perfume of Rocksteady era at its best, here comes a cool and cute lovers tune from Kingston on the other side. When the Soul Brothers were active after the Skatalites, they have certainly lost the thrill of solo performances, though this might have been the Skatalites were just too great.. Recorded from the master tape itself, this take contains slightly different solo compare to the original single.

Both sides are extremely rare unreleased takes of ska instrumentals by Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook and the Soul Brothers. Sca-Balena is a famous cover in which you can enjoy the brilliance of Roland Alphonso, and a completely new latin take of “Two For One” originally played by Tommy McCook. It is really hard to expect what will come out of the warehouse of well-established label like Studio One, although Sir Coxsone knew exactly where everything was being placed. We’re sorry that the “Bridge View” is a misprint instead of “Two For One” Both have been recorded from the original master-tapes.

‘Freedom Sounds’ is the glorious introduction to the iconic Ska LP “Ska Authentic from Studio One”, and also known as the opening theme for the band’s live performances. What’s more exciting is the early take unearthed for the very first time! Although it nearly got released with the 64-65’ masterpiece ‘From Russia With Love’, then eventually got cancelled due to the release of “Ska Authentic” LP. Compare to the ordinary recording that we’re familiar with, the unreleased take comes rougher but that is also brilliant and it will sound miraculously to all the Ska fans. There have been occasions that the band played this version at number of gigs, though it depends on who was leading the performance.

Recorded at the height of the phenomenal carrier as the number one Ska band, these are never-released alternative takes of the ultimate instrumental Ska tune ‘Rain Or Shine’ by Skatalites and with respect, it should be called a product of miracle. Both are taken from the master tape. Recorded on the same session as ‘Last Call’ that Don Drummond was in charge, here we have two alternative takes of a seriously killer instrumental Ska which was featured as the introduction of the iconic Ska album “Ska Authentic Volume 2” Like ‘Freedom Sounds’ and other recordings made in the same period, the excavation and releasing of these tunes are much more important for Dub Store Records than the significance of the historic discovery of Pyramid! This is one extremely important and precious piece to complete the puzzle of the mystery of the late genius, Don Drummond and the magnificent tune for deep diggers of Reggae music. What a great Skatalites! What makes even cooler about this tune is that if you listen carefully for both sides, you will realize that each player is not playing a score at all; they all are improvising. It proves that they are undoubtedly the best Jamaican band of all time.

The Skatalites’ killer shot interpretation of the world’s famous electric guitar inst, and the fully carnival-mode Ska played by a luxurious bunch of musicians. Originally played by the American electric guitar band, this is the proof of how Jamaicans won’t miss no trends. Guaranteed killer up-tempo Ska! Identical to the originals on flip by Jack Sparrow later known as Leonard Dillon of the Ethiopians, this praiseworthy piece features the Wailers on the backing vocal.

The Celestials trademarked imminent sound can be heard in this elegiac killer Ska instrumental!! The bang on titled ‘Golden Horns’ representing the music itself. If they were ever based in Kingston, they may have had more opportunities for recordings which might have changed the history of Ska music. Such a great band indeed. Although it’s still quite a tune, it may sound a little monotonous on the flip side, showing Thelwell’s personal affection for Carlos Malcolm’s band.

An ultimate super killer Ska instrumental by an extremely unprolific band, brilliantly recorded in stereo. Although this newly signed band recorded exclusively for Federal releasing an LP, they play a little commercial uptown sound, however the Skatalites admitted their inferiority to this band’s performances. The interestingly arranged “Old McDonald” on the flip features the guitarist Ernest Ranglin. Very rarely recorded in stereo for the time in Jamaica, only could have been done by the notorious Federal which clearly was known for its up-to-date setups.