The Soul Vendors’ horn inst cover of a mellow Latin tune, backed with the authentic Studio One Rocksteady masterpiece. This gorgeous horn inst Rocksteady features a superb arrangement from King Cannon a.k.a. Carl ‘Cannonball’ Bryan and Roland Alphonso. Like the originals on the other side here comes the one that Island was certainly familiar with back then, the Nat King Cole’s excellent vocal cover from the Hamlins.

Studio One’s golden Rocksteady cover; even hipper and cooler than the original by the Impressions. The original has been known for its excellent lyric and melodies, thanks to the composer Curtis Mayfield, however the Minstrells brought this to a total perfection. Even though the Minstrells left us a small number of recordings, the great vocal group had such a high standard for every single one of them. If you’ve listened to the original press of this tune, you will find the intro has been cut, unfortunately that was the same deal for the master-tape itself. The nice rocksteady by the firm but short-lived Hamlins comes on the other side. Both have been recorded from the original master-tapes.

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.

Another smash hit Ska masterpiece by the Blues Busters, the superstar duo who had been dominating the Jamaican pop music industry since the 50’s!! Covering the American hits as their specialty, the popular group had left a number of Jamaican souls, although only a few ska hits. Out of those few, this is undoubtedly another one of the most considerable tunes they had left. An excellent singing melody sparkles on top of the Byron Lee’s iconic softly touched bass line.

Extremely rare rocksteady masterpiece recorded in 1967. Curiously sang in Chinese, this novelty record was originally pressed and spread within the Chinese community in Jamaica. Even though comparing to its entire population this island has exceptionally high rate of musical recordings, this could possibly be the only verified track solely sang in Chinese. One that has always been spoken about due to its oddity and should be succeeded eternally.

The both-sided killer Ska instrumental masterpiece - all Ska collectors have been searching for! The Skatalites playing the theme of James Bond’s “From Russia With Love” is a true Ska instrumental masterpiece, which needs no introduction. Like the original release, it’s gorgeously backed with “Cleopatra” on the B-side. Taken straight from the original master-tape, this is a dream come true single!

‘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.

A pair of all time classics, soulful lovers rocksteady vocals sang by the Mr. Rocksteady a.k.a. Ken Boothe.

Historically renown Dave Brubeck’s Take 5 covered in rocksteady style. It later became one of reggae’s standard repertoire.

The astonishing take of previously unpublished Rocksteady - reveals new facts about Studio One’s Ska and Rocksteady! A few years after the Skatalites recorded the famous “Freedom Sounds”, the band has reconstructed as the Soul Brothers and this is the astonishing, previously unpublished take of them playing the Rocksteady version. By the look of the master-tape, it has never even planned to be released as a single and kept especially for the LP release, which might have meant to be the Soul Brothers version of the Skatalites’ iconic “Ska Authentic” album. This seriously rare recording is a must-check for everyone from the beginners of the Jamaican music to the Ska masters. Though as might be expected, we may never be able to measure the depth of the foundation studio.

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.

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.

A great cover version of a Sam Cook hit with beautiful chorus and a killer instrumental that blended Jamaica’s Caribbean roots and Afro-Cuban essence. Jamaica’s favorite American singer, Sam Cook’s hit was beautifully transformed into a sweet and peaceful vocal Ska when it went through Studio One’s unique filter. The tune was taken straight from the master tape. The flip side features a mixed style of Caribbean-decent music that Soul Brothers could play best at and Jackie Mittoo’s burning keyboard maneuver made this killer instrumental best of the best.

Not only reggae fans have been after the reissue of this lovers roots classic. “Unity, Love and Strength” starts with smooth piano into sweet dramatic vocal piece backed by the Wailers band. Horace Andy’s falsetto is the perfect touch to this masterpiece.

The Jamaican lovers masterpiece by Sharon Forrester and UK lovers classic.

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.

The miraculous take of 'Fidel' which never came out back then! This is one of the most killer yet wonderfully tasteful masterpiece out of all the Don Drummond recordings. You wouldn’t call them fans if they didn’t know about ‘Fidel’, however this particular version has only been released on CD in the 90’s when Sir Coxsone compiled the “In Memory Of Don Drummond”. The monumental piece with the well deserved name, ‘Don D Special’ on the flip.

The most sought after Gay Feet rock steady rarity. Johnny & The Attractions draws a clear line between them and rock steady artists back then – diggin’ deep into the sounds. Seems obvious that they were already doing the style later known as roots reggae.

One of the most wanted Ska titles to date, this is an ultimate killer Ska instrumental for all DJs. An exclusive reissue of the utterly rare and unique title amongst all the Ska instrumentals! Some say the title of this super killer masterpiece was taken from the musician Barry Malcolm’s nickname “Mughead”. Backed with an excellent B-side ‘Free For All’just like the original release. There are no more instructions needed for this great release!

Rough signal records is pleased to announce that the featured artist for the next release in theLegendary Series is Mighty Massa.Mighty Massa is a truly legend producer and pioneer in the Japanese Dub/Soundsystem scene.His releases and dubplates were played by Jah Shaka, Aba Shanti I in the late 90s , there aremany massive tune as UK soundsystem classic.Finally, Mighty Massa and Dub Kazman have collaborated on Rough Signal Records.Those signature sounds of both artists are mixed by Mighty Massa to create one of thewickedest tune ever.As the song title , this is a song that connects the legendary generation to the new generation.

Composed by Mighty Massa & Dub Kazman