Comments on: What are the all-time great reggae albums?

Question: What are the all-time great reggae albums?

agropyron — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:08:19 -0800

What are the all-time great reggae albums? I just watched The Harder They Come, and put the soundtrack in my Amazon shopping cart. I already have Bob Marley - Rebel Music. What else should I look into?

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:22:49 -0800

The Congos - "Heart of the Congos"
Augustus Pablo - "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown"
Trojan has released a number of affordable 3-CD sets: Rocksteady (for example), Ska, Dub, all kinds. These are great ways to learn about the music.
Also, I cannot recommend strongly enough the "100%/200%/300%/400%/500%/600% Dynamite" series on Soul Jazz (one of the greatest current record labels), which are just absolutely fucking flawless.
The Wailers - "Burnin'", "Kaya," "Rastaman Vibration"
Peter Tosh - "Legalize It"
The Upsetters - "Super Ape"

.. more to come ...

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:27:31 -0800

You also need stuff by Desmond Dekker, The Skatalites, King Tubby, Jackie Mittoo (a personal favorite), and Lee "Scratch" Perry, who has had his work anthologized more times than I can count. Lotsa crappy Lee Perry out there, but stick to the compilations on Trojan and you'll do well.

Reggae does have its great albums, of course, but it's a genre much more concerned with singles than with full-length LPs. So for many of these artists, such as The Skatalites, King Tubby, and Desmond Dekker, greatest-hits or compilation albums are often your best bet. Seriously, the Trojan and Soul Jazz comps are absolutely excellent places to start.

By: nomis

nomis — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:32:36 -0800

The Prime of Horace Andy is a great selection.

Also I suggest that Kaya and Uprising are the best Bob Marley albums to start with.

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:33:09 -0800

Should put this above: Soul Jazz page with everything you need: tons of glorious reissues from Studio One, the most important reggae label.
(I do not work for Soul Jazz, honest. I just think they're doing fantastic work with these reissues.)

By: Laugh_track

Laugh_track — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:44:56 -0800

There was a compilation released a little while ago called "Rough Guide to Dub" that's pretty sweet.

By: scody

scody — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:49:20 -0800

Some really good suggestions above (especially Desmond Dekker). Also check out Toots and the Maytals -- great stuff!

By: .kobayashi.

.kobayashi. — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:50:08 -0800

I just want to say that Dr. Wu's answer -- particularly the Trojan sets and the Soul Jazz comps -- is really right on. For the longest time, I though I couldn't stand reggae. Turns out I just wasn't much of a Bob Marley fan, and that's all I heard in college. There's great stuff out there.

By: hortense

hortense — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 22:22:03 -0800

"East of the River Nile " Augustus Pablo .
Jeff Sarge's Reggae Schoolroom at wfmu posts mp3s for a few weeks after each show. really great stuff .

By: DelusionsofGrandeur

DelusionsofGrandeur — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:57:20 -0800

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture.

By: adamvasco

adamvasco — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:00:23 -0800

Toots + the Maytals
Burning Spear - Live in Paris

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:10:55 -0800

a long time ago I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this in a used records shop:

Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey/Garvey's Ghost

if you can find it, GET IT! the first half of the disc is the "Marcus Garvey" album and the second half is a dub remix of the first. the whole thing is so amazingly powerful that it will amaze even the unamazable.

By: derbs

derbs — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 02:16:26 -0800

Dr Alimantado: Best dressed chicken in town

one of the best

By: samh23

samh23 — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 02:16:41 -0800

In addition to the above, you really should check out Armageddon Time, by Willie Williams. Indispensable.

By: peacay

peacay — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 03:00:31 -0800

For just the best of sampling from Marley, Legend is a wonderful cross-section. I otherwise 3rd Toots & Maytals.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 03:54:16 -0800

Both soundtracks to The Hard They Come and Rockers.

By: Jack Karaoke

Jack Karaoke — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 04:19:10 -0800

I consider the early Bob Marley studio 1 recordings classic, though they don't share his legacy sound. They have a special ska/spiritual blend, and show a connection to popular rock n roll music of the time, IMHO.

By: realcountrymusic

realcountrymusic — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 04:36:28 -0800

Steel Pulse - Earth Crisis

By: adampsyche

adampsyche — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 05:24:41 -0800

Anything by toots and the maytals.

By: yeahyeahyeahwhoo

yeahyeahyeahwhoo — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 06:24:50 -0800

two words: BIG YOUTH, Natty Universal dread is an awesome compilation of his stuff. i cant believe no one has mentioned him yet.

By: Otis

Otis — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 07:05:04 -0800

"Tougher Than Tough: The Story Of Jamaican Music" is a great box set with tracks covering the range from Rocksteady to Dancehall. Highly recommended.

Two of my favorite artists are Prince Buster and The Techniques.

By: kimota

kimota — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 08:28:49 -0800

Culture's "Two Sevens Clash" inspired a very influential punk band's name. Allmusic.com's entry for the album waxes effusive.

Your local library might hold The Story of Jamaican Music, as, on preview, I see Otis mentioned. This is a pretty good primer in the evolution of ska/rock steady/reggae/dub/dancehall, etc. Beyond its scope, of course, is the impact Jamaican music had on rock and roll, which perhaps someone may want to address. (For one thing, late 70s/early 80s England saw a lot of covers of 60s ska tunes as part of the Two-Tone label's rise to prominence. This 2nd generation of ska includes the Specials, the English Beat, the Selector, the Bodysnatchers, and others.)

There are other highlights from Trojan. Their Reggae Sisters set has a lot of reggae covers of American hits and other tunes (Phyllis Dillon's version of "Perfidia" is my favorite of that much covered tune). And their X-rated set has some, um, interesting items, such as "Birth Control."

Keep in mind, though, that Jamaican music has almost always been about singles rather than albums and that some artists have released self-covers of their biggest songs multiple times throughout their careers. Some singles you might want to check out: Harry J All-Stars' "Liquidator," the Maytals' "Pressure Drop," and "Monkey Spanner" and "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins.

The iTunes Music Store carries a lot of this stuff if you're interested in checking out 30 second samples. Only one song by Prince Buster, though, dammit!

By: realcountrymusic

realcountrymusic — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 04:42:34 -0800

One more vote for Trojan's Reggae Sisters box.

By: destro

destro — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:26:40 -0800

The Trojan Boxed sets + Story of Jamaican Music + Best of Delroy Wilson

By: punilux

punilux — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 10:11:16 -0800

Bunny Wailer, for goodness' sake! Pick any of 'em, but start with Blackheart Man.

By: black8

black8 — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 23:41:58 -0800

It depends on what era and style of reggae yr lookin' for. There's 40 years of music to pick from!
At first, I started out with ska (actually two-tone) and made a determined effort to avoid Bob Marley (though I bought some of his records later) I dislike dancehall and I tend to dig ska, "rockers" era and dub the most.
Here are some of my favorites:

Steel Pulse - True Democracy
Various Artists - Rockers Soundtrack
Various Artists - The Harder They Come Soundtrack
Bob Marley - Exodus
Bob Marley - Kaya
Peter Tosh - Legalize It
Gregory Isaacs - The Best of Gregory Isaacs, Vol. 1-2
Desmond Dekker - Rockin' Steady: The Best of Desmond Dekker
Black Uhuru - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
King Tubby and Augustus Pablo - Inna Fire House
U-Roy - You Ace From Space
Burning Spear - Creation Rebel
Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
The Upsetters - Return of Django
The Upsetters - Super Ape
The Melodians - Rivers of Babylon: The Best of the Melodians 1967-1973
The Congos - Heart of the Congos
The Abyssinians - Satta Massangana
Twilight Circus Dub Sound System - Horsie
Various Artists - Towering Dub Inferno

Pretty much anything by Dennis Brown!

By: agropyron

agropyron — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:43:18 -0800

Since we can now post followups months later, why not? My top-rated list currently includes:
Augustus Pablo
Burning Spear
Desmond Dekker
Jackie Mittoo
Jimmy Cliff
Lee 'Scratch' Perry & the Upsetters
Peter Tosh
Steel Pulse
Toots & The Maytals
and various singles, especially Liquidator, Skinhead Moonstomp, and Double Barrel.

Thanks for the excellent recommendations everyone!