Where should I begin a Reggae journey?

[ForeverAutumn]

Reggae is a genre that I have always enjoyed but never really focused on. After spending some time listening to the Bedouin Soundclash CD and hearing constant Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in Jamaica, I've decided that I need more reggae in my life.

So, where should I start? Is it best to start with the Reggae Gods...Marley and Tosh? If so, what CDs are the best? Is there something more recent that I should begin with and then work my way up to the classics? Is there a good, recommended K-Tel Reggae collection?

As a start, I'd like to pick up maybe three or four good disks.

[-Jar-]

Reggae is a genre that I have always enjoyed but never really focused on. After spending some time listening to the Bedouin Soundclash CD and hearing constant Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in Jamaica, I've decided that I need more reggae in my life.

So, where should I start? Is it best to start with the Reggae Gods...Marley and Tosh? If so, what CDs are the best? Is there something more recent that I should begin with and then work my way up to the classics? Is there a good, recommended K-Tel Reggae collection?

As a start, I'd like to pick up maybe three or four good disks.

Well, you could start with the Reggae mixes I was supposed to send you a year ago but never did. I'm such a loser. Actually I had a pretty bad year with the computer and not having much time at all. I think I still owe a couple people around here my 2005 Reggae mix. Ugh. I'm sorry to you all. I do have them made.

Anyway, I still have your address (I think) so I'll send those off this week. They're mostly the Kings of Reggae.. folks like Gregory Isaacs, Yellowman, Dennis Brown, Eek-a-Mouse, Horace Andy, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, UB40, Steel Pulse..

-jar

[dean_martin]

Is there a good, recommended K-Tel Reggae collection?



I picked up a collection called Jammin' on my honeymoon in the Bahamas 8 years ago this month. It's still one of my favorite cds in the spring and summer. It's great music for outdoor activities and if I owned a Tiki bar on the beach it's the first disc I would play on opening day.

[Stone]

Personally, I would start with Bob Marley/Wailers. But if you want a compilation type CD, go with either (or both) The Harder They Come Soundtrack or the Rockers soundtrack. Both are excellent.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf800/f839/f83935t4lmw.jpghttp://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf500/f555/f55592intu6.jpg

[Glen B]

Other reggae artists not mentioned were Burning Spear and Big Youth.

Burning Spear: http://www.towerrecords.com/Music/Default.aspx?search_in=Artist&oft=burning%20spear&artist_free=burning%20spear&

Big Youth: http://www.towerrecords.com/Music/Default.aspx?search_in=Artist&oft=big%20youth&urlid=bfbda35d0a32067217&artist_free=big%20youth&

[Mike]

Hey FA I could send you my Bob Marley compilation culled from his remasters along with those Joe Henry and Arctic Monkeys you wanted a few weeks back. Sorry I didn't get round to posting before but did I mention we've just moved and I suppose it was a bit ambitious of me to think I could dig all my CD's out and be up and running before now...doh.

Anyway normal service resumed this weekend so expect them within a week or so.

ps Take Jar up on his offer of his reggae comps they are pretty good.

Cheers
Mike

[tentoze]

Get nobody to send ya a copy of his <forget the name of it> reggae/dub comp---it's gooooog.

[Dusty Chalk]

Jamaica? Someone had to say it.

For Bob Marley -- the Legend boxset is all you'll ever need, short of getting his entire catalog.

Not as familiar with Tosh.

I tend to like Sly & Robbie -- stuff like Silent Assassin and Language Barrier -- but they're not "staple" reggae, a little off the beaten path. I'm not aware of which greatest hits compilation, otherwise I would recommend one.

At least give 'em a listen.

I know we've gone through this before, but I can't find it now -- isn't there a Yellowman soundtrack? The name of the movie might be something else, but I remember liking it a lot. I think Sly & Robbie were all over it.

[ForeverAutumn]

Well, you could start with the Reggae mixes I was supposed to send you a year ago but never did. I'm such a loser. Actually I had a pretty bad year with the computer and not having much time at all. I think I still owe a couple people around here my 2005 Reggae mix. Ugh. I'm sorry to you all. I do have them made.

Anyway, I still have your address (I think) so I'll send those off this week. They're mostly the Kings of Reggae.. folks like Gregory Isaacs, Yellowman, Dennis Brown, Eek-a-Mouse, Horace Andy, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, UB40, Steel Pulse..

-jar

I told my husband that someone had promised me a reggae comp that I never received, and I couldn't remember who promised it. Thanks for owning up to it. :)

About 20+ years ago my other brother came home from Jamaica with a Yellowman tape (pre-cd years) that I really enjoyed. I'm looking forward to receiving your comp.

[Davey]

Ya mon, and don't forget the Red Stripe Beer, rum and jerk seasoning. Hey, sounds like you're gonna be all set up with some jammin' tunes. Lots of cool comps floating in the ganga-rich air around here, as others have pointed out, but one of my favorite purchased collections is the Island 40th Anniversary Volume 5 - 1972-1995 - Reggae Roots that I play all the time. Even with a head full of da ganga, you can likely discern from the title that it's a big series, but I only have this one. I'll paste the info from Amazon below, but you can't really go wrong with any collection that features a lot of these artists, and I'm sure DubJar's does.

I also nabbed the Bob Marley Songs of Freedom 4-CD box a couple years or so ago on the cheap for just over $20 and it's an outstanding collection. Even condensed it into a single disc collection and sent it to a few people. That one gets a lot of play at my house because I made it heavy on his ska period in the 60s, some of which was new to me. More info at my comp site. If I hadn't just sent you a few things the other day ... :sleep:

1. Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff
2. Funky Kingston - The Maytals
3. Roast Fish & Cornbread - Lee Perry
4. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin
5. Exodus [Single Version] - Bob Marley
6. War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo
7. Tenement Yard - Inner Circle
8. Ku Klux Klan - Steel Pulse
9. Cocaine in My Brain - Dillinger
10. Don't Turn Around - Aswad
11. Now That We Found Love - Third World
12. Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus & Pliers
13. King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo
14. Champion - Buju Banton
15. Sinsemilla - Black Uhuru
16. It's Me Again Jah - Luciano
17. Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear
18. Night Nurse - Gregory Isaacs

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Volume 5 in the 40 Years of Island Records series contains 18 tracks, most of which have appeared on various previous compilations. This should not be a deterrent, however, as this is about as solid a collection of reggae as you could wish to have. Each one of the cuts is regarded as a classic, and it is a testament to the impeccable talent spotting of Chris Blackwell and his crew that one label has such a powerful roster. Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Lee Perry, Toots and the Maytals, Third World, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru, Augustus Pablo, Gregory Isaacs, and more recent artists like Buju Banton and Luciano are just some of those represented, all with killer tracks, not album fillers. If ever there were a perfect reggae primer, this would fit the bill, as it also covers many stylistic variations. Although a single CD cannot hope to be comprehensive, this is a highly recommended one-stop buy for the cream of the crop. --Derek Rath

[ForeverAutumn]

That Songs Of Freedom set is $70 at Amazon.ca. So, it looks like Legend is my more likely order at only $15.00.

And how come no one has mentioned Matisyahu, the Hasidic Jew who preaches the word of his religion through reggae tunes? If you're in the San Francisco area, don't miss his performance at PurimPalooza. :lol: http://www.hasidicreggae.com/

[Davey]

That Songs Of Freedom set is $70 at Amazon.ca.
Ya mon, that's pretty steep. Always a bunch of them on ebay for cheap, and many of the used sites. Mine was used but nearly perfect. Don't remember which place I got it from now. Hey, this is funny, check out this old thread of yours and read my first post ;)

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=4440

[tentoze]

And how come no one has mentioned Matisyahu, the Hasidic Jew who preaches the word of his religion through reggae tunes? If you're in the San Francisco area, don't miss his performance at PurimPalooza. :lol: http://www.hasidicreggae.com/

Think I'll pass no comment on that. Instead, just suggest MY favorite reggae album ever- Bunny Wailer's Blackheart Man.

[Dusty Chalk]

So, it looks like Legend is my more likely order at only $15.00.That sounds like the single disk version.

[nobody]

I love reggae. Would be happy to send you a comp if you want it...just PM me your address.

And, yeah, you should get some Bob Marley. He's pretty much the Elvis of reggae. But, please don't stop there. One of my big pet peeves is that so many people just take marley as the total pacjkage for reggae. He's great, but there's plenty more where that came from. Legend is the classic Marley overview with all his hits. Exodus is also a great album with some familiar songs.

And, yup, you want some Peter Tosh. I really like Dread or Alive, but there's also Legalize It and Equal Rights, which are classics of his.

Another HUGE name you may want to check out is Lee "Scratch" Perry, either as a producer or with the Upsetters. The Upsetters LP Super Ape is a great introduction to a heavier dub sound. And, for a good collection of his most popular tunes, A compilation called the Ultimate Collection pretty much is.

Sly & Robbie are the quintential reggae rythm section and you';d probably want to go for a compilation for them. The comp In Good Company, where they work with a wide array of vocalists is fantastic, or if you just want the rythms, there's a compilation called Sly & Robbie in Dub that's 2 discs and stunningly good.

I'll just list off a few more great albums that I can't recommend highly enough. The Mighty Diamonds, which features Sly & Robbie, along with some of the most beautiful vocals of any reggae album I've heared is excellent. Then there's the Congos: Heart of the Congos, which is much darker. It's produced by Lee Perry and wasn't really popular in its day, but has grown in stature over the years. And, Toots & the Maytals: Funky Kingston is an absolute roots reggae classic and features an amazingly good version of Country Roads. And, the previously mentioned Harder They Come soundtrack, which is mostly Jimmy Cliff tracks, is a classic and fantastic as well. You get tunes like Sitting in Limbo along with a desmond dekkar track for a taste of older ska style music as a bonus. And, reagae was pretty much ruled by Black Uhuru into the 80s. Red is a great album that has a traditional roots sound, but which they make their own.

I could ramble for a while...one of my favorite genres, but that's plenty to keep you busy, along with everything else already mentioned.

Oh yeah...glad you were digging the Yellowman. King Yellowman was his most popular release I think, and Mister Yellowman is great as well. He's moving into Dancehall territory and away from the roots stuff, which is where everything else I mentioned pretty much lies and which is mostly the type of reggae people tend to gravitate towards. There are some good modern Dancehall artists too...although many of them are heavily influenced by hip hop...which was heavily influenced by Jamaican toating in the begging....kinda full circle there I guess. Bounty Killer and Beanie Man are really popular, along with Elephant Man and others.

[BradH]

There's a fantastic boot that has circulated for awhile of the KSAN broadcast from the Sausalito Record Plant - Oct 31, 1973 (although it's usually incorrectly dated as Dec 3). Some of these tracks ended up on Talking Blues but this is the full performance in the original running order with supposedly better sound quality. My copy is of the original soundboard reel so it doesn't have that compressed FM quality. This is stripped down, up close, no bs Marley at its finest. (Not that there was ever any bs Marley). I think this is a great introduction to reaggae, too.

If anyone wants a copy just let me know.

bdkhncck(at)flash.net

Bob Marley & The Wailers
The Record Plant
Sausalito, CA
10/31/73

Set 1
1. Intro
2. Rastaman Chant
3. Bend Down Low
4. Slave Driver
5. You Can't Blame The Youth
6. Stop That Train
7. Burnin' & Lootin'
8. Kinky Reggae
9. Get Up Stand Up
10. Lively Up Yourself
11. Walk The Proud Land
12. Outtro

[ForeverAutumn]

I love reggae. Would be happy to send you a comp if you want it...just PM me your address.


Wow. Thanks for all that great info! I tried to PM my addy to you, but your mailbox is full. Can you delete something?

Thanks.

[ForeverAutumn]

That sounds like the single disk version.

You're right, it was. I didn't see a box set on Amazon (remember, I look at Amazon.ca). I may just have to venture to the big CD stores downtown for some of this stuff. How many disks is the box set?

[Dusty Chalk]

You're right, it was. I didn't see a box set on Amazon (remember, I look at Amazon.ca). I may just have to venture to the big CD stores downtown for some of this stuff. How many disks is the box set?I have a four-disk set...actually, it might not be called Legend, now that I think about it. I don't have my boxsets handy, but Songs of Freedom looks right.

And nobody -- thanks for the info and the advice. I willpursue beyond Marley -- I am the classic example of one of those people you're talking about.

[dean_martin]

Legend was my first reggae album (cassette). It's a Bob Marley greatist hits type of collection. I think there was a vol. 2 that came out later.

Anyhow, I tried a Peter Tosh greatist hits collection but it was too spotty - I think I'm going to get Legalize It and Equal Rights on vinyl for $10 a pop.

Bob Marley - I have the Speakers Corner issue of Natty Dread on vinyl which sounds very good. This is an album that I can listen to from start to finish. There really is no filler on this album as far as I'm concerned. Other Marley albums that are mentioned favorably are Rastaman Vibration and Catch a Fire. There's a version of Catch a Fire that comes with an extra outside cover that looks like a Zippo lighter. My brother has a sealed MoFi vinyl copy of Exodus. (I would like very much to hear it, but he won't open it. I would probably have to buy it from him to hear it. He doesn't even own a record player!)

The Harder They Come soundtrack has been mentioned in earlier reggae threads so I guess it's time to put it on the wishlist.

(Thx for bringing up this topic, FA.)