Slightly thicker sleeve

Along with Sleng Teng and Tempo, Stalag is without the doubt the biggest dancehall rhythm of the 80's. Bam Bam especially needs no introduction been sampled countless times on various genres and appearing on films etc.

Bunny continued to release records throughout the seventies that were never less than excellent and, as the new decade got underway, he came forward with one of his best ever releases: the militant clarion call 'Rise And Shine'. Stretched over two momentous sides of a UK twelve inch release, the record was a huge hit, but has been unavailable ever since. Bunny returned to the song on his superb 'Liberation' album at the close of the decade but the original cut has remained one of the most in-demand records on the 'revival' circuit.

Roland Alphonso has covered many songs with his own unique style from his early career. 'How Soon' is simply another beautiful instrumental cover performed by Roland. ‘How Soon Pt.2' is a previously unreleased take to the A-side. Released on Federal label in 1966 and reissued from the original master tape.

King Jammy recorded two outstanding songs on the foundation ‘Heavenless’ rhythm among many others. Although Pad Anthony’s ‘Murderer’ is perhaps the most well known soundclash standard, Tullo T aka Papa Tullo showcased his conscious lyrics with fast-rapping style on the same rhythm.

Bunny Wailer, respectfully called “The Blackheart Man”, produced Johnny Scar’s one-off recording ‘United Africa’. The mystic singer wrote this heavy roots song and sang with his unique chant like a voice of the roots reggae icon, Burning Spear. And the song appeared as 12”on the Solomonic Production imprint in 1986.

Merritone label endorsed the Hopeton Lewis as one of their star singers and here he left two of his last recordings for the Merritone label. Supposedly, both songs remain unreleased until this time and A-side features Hopeton’s dark gloomy vocal. On the B-side, ‘Move Along With Me’ is a solo version of duet ‘Right Track’ with Phyllis Dillon, which were recorded for Duke Reid. According to the master tape, the song was titled ‘Move Along With Me’ instead of ‘Right Track’.

This funky reggae classic go way beyond the boundary of reggae music and reaching to every music lover out there. Beginning with the killer drum break, the Aretha Franklin cover is built to move everyone’s body! Backed with slick instrumentals produced by Lloyd Charmers, it’s about time this 7” gets reissued.

Leslie Butler's Jazz approach, which can be heard in the beginning, obviously secures elegance of 'Let Me Come On Home'. Hopeton Lewis also sings sufferer's song on the flipside. Both side are taken straight from the original master tape for this reissue.

‘Talking Love’ is a classic hit recording and known as one of the songs that represents Merritone label. Originally released in 1967 and features a Jamaican Soul on the B-side from the master tape.

It is well-known that Wayne Smith, who was deeply associated with Jammys in production of 'Sleng Teng' rhythm, was an essential individual to embrace the Digital Revolution for Reggae / Jamaican musical history. Its tough baseline that symbolized Jammys' real sound work and young Wayne Smith's high key voice, both elements perfectly fused together to create another killer tune.

'Love Light Of Mine'by Horace Andy and 'Ready For Your Loving' by Frankie Paul were both on their King Jammy produced album 'Haul And Jack Up' and 'Sara' repeatedly. Both songs were recorded on its original rhythm 'Chuck Turner - We Rule The Dancehall'. Those two veteran artists showcase their long time calm vocal skills on this bouncy dancehall rhythm to make those recordings quite tough.

Tonto Irie left some impressive titles within Jammys catalogue. 'General A General' was recorded on 'African Beat' rhythm, which was versioned many times with regardless of musical generations. This newly build digital rhythm kept its original form and Tonto Irie showcased his old school lyrical flow in a Raggamuffin way.

'Love Punanny Bad' rhythm is might be less hard-driven than 'Duck' or 'Punanny'rhythm; however, Steelie & Clive has reconstructed the rhythm perfectly in Raggaamuffin way. This 'Love Me Stylee' is another popular song by Robert Lee.

Robert Lee has proven that he has much ability to bring cool soundsystem tunes with his popular song ‘Come Now’. This time, he did it again with ‘Dreams’to the same rhythm track‘Run Down The World’ by Nitty Gritty.

Josey Wales ‘s ‘Water Come A Mi Eye’ on another Jammy’s popular rhythm ‘Love Punaany Bad’ starts with a flight attendant (Josey himself) welcoming boarding people to New York. He drops his tears as he experiences hard times in New York. Although Admiral Bailey is well known for his massive hit ‘Punanny’ at the Jammys and lyrical content, the deejay bring a rough badman anthem with ‘Me A The Danger’ this time.

Slightly thicker sleeve to accommodate an inner sleeve

Being known as Crown Prince of Reggae, this is Dennis Brown's commemorated first single and it was written and composed by Dennis himself. This is, of course, before he started recording at Studio One and is one of his best heartwarming songs. Crystalites' killer keyboard instrumental is featured on B-side and has been admired to listeners who have great appreciation for 1969-70’s up-tempo instrumentals.

Up-tempo early Reggae made in 1969 on the A-side and a cover version of Smokey Robinson’s soul classic on the B-side. These classic songs give spectacular feelings that the dawn of the new era of Reggae music comes just around the corner.

It is an obvious fact that Dreadlocks culture was the trend of the time when this tune was released, but how could we ever imagine Derrick Harriott wearing Dreadlocks? He was wearing Afro instead and showed how he could easily cover Persuaders’ Soul hit. The flip side features another cover of a US Soul track that was transformed to a sweet Lover’s Rock by Harriott’s relative, young Kim Harriott. Apparently Harriott’s surroundings at this time were all wearing Afro even if it was the Dreadlocks era.

A perfect, yet low-keyed, Studio One Rocksteady double A-sided masterpiece!! Recorded in 1967 while Clement Dodd and Soul Vendors were on tour in the UK. The former Jamaican popular singer Owen Gray, who had already been living there then, voiced these unique pieces. It sounds very different from the ones recorded at Brentford Road, although both tunes certainly have the “Coxsone Sound” – A masterpiece that is refined, and maximize the talent of this one-time star. Only ‘The Raver’ was recorded from the original master-tape.

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.

Freshly dug out uptempo Ska beats by Toots Hibbert and Don Drummond - apparently never been released before!

Recorded in 1965 when Ska was at its peak, those are the typical Maytals uptempo beats with an unmissable Don D’s solo part on both. Taken directly from the great Daddy Ken Khouri’s master-tape which belongs to the Federal Studio. It’s quite a combination to pull both the Maytals and the Skatalites together, although what’s more remarkable is the fact they have been unreleased for the whole time

Marvellous binghi rock steady masterpiece by Count Ossie led Johnny & The Attractions. An unreleased alternative instrumentalal cut on flip.

One of the most rare double A-sided singles recorded under direction of Ernest Ranglin, who was the musical director of Federal Recording Studio at the time. While this jazzy instrumental features superbsolos by trumpet and alto saxophone, Ernie leads this minor track from beginning to end and showcases his mighty guitar playing. On the flipside, remarkable solos by trumpet and alto saxophone are again featured on the bright mid-tempo track. The original 7inch format is almost impossible to find. These recordings are simply elegant Ska Instrumentals.

Joe Higgs was a mentor for many young artists and taught them how to sing as well as about the recording industry. Many followed and learned his lessens and passed it on to coming generations. ‘You Hurt My Soul’ is one of his early recordings with his distinctive singing style. Side B is Merritone cut to the classic reggae instrumental ‘Bad Treatment’. The recordings were released in 1968 and reissued from the original master tape.

Some people perhaps recognize the Untouchables for their Early Reggae works for Lee Perry. This is another crucial rare record to be reissued among Merritone catalogue. Originally released in 1967.

'This Music Got Soul' is one of the earliest works by Mr. Rocksteady aka Hopeton Lewis. Interestingly, some would even say 'This Music Got Soul' is his debut single. When the song was released in 1966, it seems that the musical term "Rocksteady" did not exist but this classic clearly proves a new wave of Rocksteady was coming very near. The artist also sings 'Rock Steady' to highly praise the new genre. Reissued from the original master tape.

The Renegades consisted of Winston 'Pipe' Matthews, Lloyd 'Bread' McDonald and George 'Buddy' Haye and later became a group called the Wailing Souls. ‘Knocking On My Door’ is one of their earliest Rocksteady works and it was originally released in 1966. It is also one of the rarest records hardly ever found. The record features previously unreleased Ska vocal recording ' Pick Youreself Up' by Hopeton Lewis from the original master tape.

This reissue features a cool vocal Ska song from 1964 and Jamaican Soul song by boy and girl duo recorded in 1962. Amount of releases was not so remarkable for Derrick Harriott in the Ska era, which could be said as a blank period of his career but despite of the fact, this is simply an authentic and cool minor code dance anthem. The flip side features an excellent Soul duet that was an unusual set at the time. This hot dance number was played in early days of sound systems.

'Slippery' is a beautifully arranged minor-chorded sax cut to Harriott production's classic rhythm, "Tonight." B-side is a piano instrumental version to the flip side.

Enos Maleod's narration made Isaac Hayes' Soul/Funk masterpiece a particularly mystical one. Academy-Winning "Theme From Shaft" was the symbolic song of the Black Power movement, and it has been transformed to one of the best Funky Reggae tunes of all time thanks to absolutely amazing arrangements from Derrick Harriott.

Another cover version of an Isaac Hayes' classic. I Roy is blasting an heavy-weight toasting over the Chosen Few's vocals on the A-side "Tougher Than Tough". A straight cover version by Chosen Few appears on the B-side.

The main DJ of Harriott's production, Scotty, skillfully handles Keith & Tex' Rocksteady classic 'Stop That Train'. This is one of the most popular piece of music in Harriott's production. The flip side is available for the first time on vinyl that features Scotty's DJ cut to Derrick Harriott's moving ‘Do I Worry' track.

Recorded in 1974, this is Junior Murvin's first Roots tune ever. Having always been sought after by collectors, this song is possibly the ultimate classic. This is a completely different take from the one Junior Murvin recorded for Lee Perry in 1977 for the “Police and Thieves” LP distributed by Island. Undoubtedly this is one of Murvin’s best tunes, which should be in every collector’s record box.

Just like Hopeton Lewis, Henry Buckley also was one of the star singers of the Federal Records and this is his relaxed yet consistent, nice Rocksteady piece from 1967. The other side is a cut taken from the monumental Rocksteady album 「Rocksteady Greatest Hits」

The very first Merritone ska classic released under its project the Federal Ska! Featuring a classic Rocksteady tune from no other than Lynn Taitt on the flip. No one else but him should be qualified as the Mr. Rocksteay, Hopeton Lewis presents a rare early Ska! Reminding the good old days in Kingston with slow, nice and easy vibes. On the B-side, Lynn Taitt just proves again how tight and heavy the sound was at the Federal studio back then with this great piece of music.

Originally started as The Renegades onto The Classics, one of the most prominent vocal groups, Wailing Souls have been keeping it authentic since the 60’s. Although they did not record that many at the digital dancehall era this one has been well received since day. Having both roots and dancehall elements is one of the key factors of King Jammy’s sound and this one remains as a masterpiece with the sorrow vocals by Wailing Souls. On the flip an enormously rare Wackad – Cry For The Youth who only released a few tracks from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Previously this can only be heard as a part of the compilation “King Jammy: A Man & His Music vol.1”.

Coupling tracks by two of the most lamented and legendary artists who both recorded great albums for Jammy. For some reason Jammy’s magic makes Dennis Brown’s vocal sounds so much better and this heavy digital remake of the Studio One classic, “Swing Easy” is just another example. It is also known as the same rhythm track for King Everal – Bad Girls. On the B-side, riding on the heavy tensional track, the charismatic vocalist from the 80’s, Nitty Gritty presents a smoky vocal warning all the soundboy out there.

Tonto Irie recorded many songs on popular Jammys' rhythms as one of demanded deejays at that time.
'Life Story' was on side B of 12inch vinyl - "Wayne Smith - Icky All Over" on Greensleeves label. You might notice that this song on 'Sleng Teng' rhythm was specially edited and arranged just only for Tonto Irie's performance.

Robert Lee was also one of demanded singers at Jammys because of his musical characteristic - 'Out of Key' style. Here King Tubby produced 'Tempo' rhythm was rearranged by Jammys and it allowed Robert Lee to perform calmly with his aggressive lyrical expression for creating another killer song.

'Jam Down Posse' by Red Dragon was recorded on Studio One classic rhythm 'Far East', people might find familiar with famous hit song 'Tune In' by Cocoa Tea. King Jammy released two one-way albums on this rhythm and featured many singers/deejays. This song by Red Dragon is from one of those albums and one of the best songs on this rhythm.

In the late 80's, not only Jammys but also many labels tried to score some hits by remake of a foundation rhythm 'Heavenless'. Among Jammys catalogue on this rhythm, 'We Gonna Rock It Tonight (Dub Plate Playing)' by Johnny Osbourne is known as the most popular number. Often hear sound systems playing this dub plates.

'Ram Dance Man' by Leslie Thunder is another song on popular rhythm 'Love Punanny Bad'. One of the most sought after records by dancehall fans. You can never miss her real explosive Raggamuffin style on this cheerful rhythm track.

Although Banana Man is not a famous figure in the business as he was not a prolific artist, his funs still remember his soundsystem anthems and his unique name. ‘Musical Murder’ considerably one of his best works on the King Jammy’s digitally versioned ‘Wicked Can’t Run Awa’ rhythm.

Along with the Sleng Teng and Stalag rhythm, King Tubby produced ‘Tempo’ rhythm is considerably one of the most loved dancehall rhythms ever. This record on Tempo rhythm features a soulful love song ‘Run Come’ by roots singer, Junior Delgado and another aggressive song ‘Can’t Ride Computer’ by King Kong.

While digital dancehall was gaining in popularity since 1985, Pad Anthony released a large number of classical songs with King Jammy. ‘Dangerous System’ is one of his major songs. The artist focuses on systematic oppression as his theme to deliver his warning lyrics to the same rhythm track ‘Like A Dragon’ by Wayne Smith and ‘History’ by Dennis Brown.

More killer ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED mid '80s roots from Jah Life. If you liked our previous release of Flick Wilson's "Ready Fe Dem", you will love these cuts. Jah Life ran some sessions in the mid '80s at Channel 1 studio, with the then-resident Gifted Roots Band. None of the tracks from those sessions were ever released, until now! The aforementioned Flick Wilson tune came from those sessions, as do these. Three great vocal cuts on one very tough rhythm.

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.

Minoli Records outta Tokyo dropping their debut dual 7”s! Raggamuffin features Ranking Joe showcasing his classic stanza making it a floor masher. On the flip seeing Bisco Kid, real life fish dealer in Tsukiji market comically imitating the likes of Junior Demus, Tiger and Frankie Paul!