5 comments about Trojan Box Set: Soulful Reggae.

1. First off, let me say that the Trojan box sets are the greatest thing since gin met tonic. That said, I was very disappointed with this particular offering. The songs don't translate well (mostly), the singing was bad (sometimes mediocre), and, after reading the track list a few times, I realized that most of the original versions weren't that great to begin with. "Rock The Boat"? "Kung Fu Fighting"? "T.S.O.P"? W.T.F.?
   Q: So why buy this set anyway? A: Because you need to get your hands on ALL reggae, good and bad. You'll have to look long and hard for these songs individually, so why not shell out the $25 or so and get 'em all neatly packaged w/ liner notes. If you're on a budget (like most of us), get something else, like the Instrumentals set or one of the Ska volumes.



2. If you can play most of these soul standards, imagine throwing in the reggae rhythm section. This box is great. James Brown's "make it funky" becomes "make it reggae"! "Aint no sunshine" and the marvin gaye tune are excellent. This is also nonstop fun. I bought this before a long drive and had to figure out what each tune was in the first couple of measures. Soul and groove are definitely here. If you dont dig it you must be bloodless! Quality of guitarists in Jamaica must be a little weak though!



3. If you love these 70's tunes, you are gonna love this box. I have about 9 or 10 of these boxes and this is one that I probably listen to the most because it's soooo fun. The songs are pretty close to the originals without an overwhelming reggae influence, but it makes them almost better than the originals.



4. If you love these 70's tunes, you are gonna love this box. I have about 9 or 10 of these boxes and this is one that I probably listen to the most because it's soooo fun. The songs are pretty close to the originals without an overwhelming reggae influence, but it makes them almost better than the originals.



5. After having the market flooded with nearly four thousand box sets, how is one to choose?

   I went with this one thinking it was going to be nice and funky interpretations of American soul songs, but instead am left with three cds of bland covers. It's like listening to a Jamaican wedding band. The tracks are just straight covers with a little skanky upbeat thrown in for the "foreign spice".

   The only cd worth listening to is the second one, devoted to 'funk'. This is actually pretty enjoyable. Disc one (motown) and disc three (love songs) are so boring I couldn't keep my finger off the fast forward button on my remote control.

   If you're into funky interpretations of American soul or soulful reggae, stick to the SoulJazz label's 100% comps or the Studio One Soul collections. Much more worth your money, even if you are only getting one cd for the one cd price.

No comments about Trojan Box Set: Producers Series.

3 comments about One Love (At Studio One).

1. This is an excellent collection of pristine early recordings by Bob Marley and the Wailers (then consisting of Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) from 1963-67 or so.
   
   Technically, the sound in crude by modenr standards, but for me, that's part of the primal appeal of this. The music is raw and the singing occasionally leaves something to be desired, but this is extremely soulful music with some poetically profound lyrics considering that our heroes were in their late teens and early twenties at the time. The Curtis Mayfield influence is evident, but Bob in particular was well on his way to finding his winning formula of folk sayings, local proverbs, Black history, and anthems of liberation and positivie thinking.
   
   We start things off with a lovely accapella version of "This Train," which leads us into the terrific trio's first Jamaican hit, "Simmer Down," an enjoyable anit-violence record. The rare tape of Bob and his future wife Rita doing "Wages of Love" has a really pleasant mid-60s malt shop and drive-in feel to it, unlike most of their work.
   
   "I'm Gonna Put it On" (which has the title of this review in one of the lyrics) is one of those songs that you can dance a storm or sit down and listen to its loveliness (it is said that Bob and Rita played this repeatedly at their 1966 wedding). Later remakes were no comparison. The Bobless "Let Him Go" in which they plead for the release of a youthful criminal, was considered a revolutionary call to arms at the time (and Bob, who was then in the USA, warned Bunny and Peter of the possibility of being shot for such songs). It's quite surprising since it sounds relatively innocent today.
   
   Our heroes do a wonderful remake of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" with really nice opening all of their own grafted to the proceedings. "Freedom Time" may sound familiar to Bob fans as some of the lyrics would appear in Bob's later (and better known) antiracist tune "Crazy Baldhead."
   
   Overall, technophiles may not dig, but Marley fans will consider this a revelation.



2. I agree that this is not the most consistent CD but it has great hidden treasures. First, right now I am listening to Rude Boy which is excellent. What is surprising is that Bob blends in with the others, and they are singing as a trio.
   
   I really like their cover of "and I love her." Now I am listening to "I'm still waiting" which features an interesting lead by Bob and some almost doo wop backgrounds by the others.
   
   I could go on and on but really you should buy this CD for a totally different sound with some interesting covers of older Soul hits.



3. Bob, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer (and Rita and Marcia, too). Backed by the Skatalites on many cuts. Early Wailers, when they were all together. The early Wailers have a deep, transcendently great catalog of music, and this is just a taste (even stronger material remains in the vaults). This particular set's value lies in its heights, not in its coconsistency. There are some absolute gems, e.g., "This Train," Simmer Down," "I'm Gonna Put It On," "Jailhouse," and early versions of songs such as "Bend Down Low." Other material, including alternate takes, good but not as strong. If you're not familiar with the pre-Island, pre Scratch Perry- era Wailers, this is a good place to start.

2 comments about Trojan Box Set: Rare Groove.

1. yes, this is one of the better ones. when i heard SOME HAVING A BAWL, i was like YES INDEED, SIR!!!! i was surprised at how much i liked the dj/version stuff, the instrumentals, and the original tracks that the versions came from. along with the ROCKSTEADY joint and the MOD, i would recommend this to anyone who likes that golden age of reggae.



2. Right, I'll be honest, the first cd has only one good tune, Owen Grays 'Reggae Dance'.But it's a damn fine tune at that.The 2nd cd is a corker, Bongo Herman has two classic tunes on this disc.'Chairman Of The Board',(with Bingy Bunny and Les) is an amazing version of 'The Liquidator', and 'African Breakfast' is a beautiful rolling instumental.Also worth noting is Audrey Rollins' 'Repatriation'.The rhythm you may recognise from I.Roys classic 'Musical Drum Sound'-the nyahbingi drumming is missing but it is a damn fine tune never-the-less.Cd 3 features the mighty I.Roy himself, with 'High Jacking', his heavy heavy version of Horace Andys 'Skylarking'. Bongo Herman appears with Bingy Bunny again.-'Ration' is their classic cut to Dennis Browns 'Money In My Pocket'and is guaranteed to get you steppers steppin'.The set closes with a Keith Hudson produced Big Youth tune, 'Can You Keep A Secret', this is my favourite dub tune of all time,complete with mean moody harmonica, and worth the money itself. Other highlights are K.C. Whites 'Anywhere But Nowhere', the beautiful voice from 'No No No', delivering another fine, self-penned tune and Delroy Wilsons extremely rare 'Trying To Wreck Up My Life'.BUY THIS!, you will not be disappointed.

5 comments about The Best of Bob Marley.

1. While this 3-disc set contains some of Marley's harder to find songs, The sound quality on these cd's are horrible and if i'm not mistaking, Some songs on here have been shortened! While i could care less if Marley's family sees any cash from this release or not, I would at least have appreciated some better sound on this cd! I love just about every song on this cd, But being that they sound so shoddy, It is almost impossible to listen to these songs! Madacy should be ashamed of themselves for this travesty of a collection they've released. If you're looking for an affordable way to venture into some of Bob Marley's music, Look elsewhere. And plus, This set could've actually been a double disc set instead of a 3 disc set being that all 3 of these discs only clock in at about 30 something minutes a piece. And also dissapointing is the fact that there's no real liner notes and there is no real information about any of these songs or where they came from. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this collection.



2. Just as the title says the Best. A must have for the many Marley fans!



3. wow i bought this thinking i was getting 3 cds full of bob marleys greatest songs but its full of songs i never heard of..maybe i knew one or two songs at most but other than that it was a waste of money..i'm buying either legend or the VERY best of bob marley next time



4. I can not listen to the music on Amazon - called and told to use Mozilla or Firefox - still can't hear any music.
   The software goes through the motions, have checked volume on EVERYTHING and still no sound comes out with Media Player or Real Player.



5. I don't know how people can put down this Marley cd. It's, by far, one of the best collections of The Wailers early music you can find. Sure, the sound quality could be better, but how are you going to pass up an acoustic version of Kaya. This version may be on other cd's but I haven't heard it. It's alot better than the original, bad sound quality or not. Other notable tracks, not mentioned above, are 400 Years, Soul Almighty, and Hammer. WOW! Maybe it is an ILLEGAL bootleg. I don't know. But what I do know is that the 4 songs I mentioned above are not on The Complete Bob Marley & the Wailers 1967-1972 Parts 1,2, or 3. I don't think Bob, Pete, or Bunny's families are suffering too much. So if you aren't super anal about sound quality and you can live with yourself after buying this alleged bootleg music, this is essential Marley music. A great way to blow your troubles away without blowing all your cash. Get This album.

1 comments about Gems from Treasure Isle.

1. Three discs. 58,47,49 min. each approximately. Sound is remastered. With all the box sets put out by Trojan,its nice to see something by one of the all-time great producers,Duke Reid. From the beginning of his Treasure Isle label to his massive Trojan sound system,these 54 tracks tell a convincing story of the roots of ska and rocksteady. Many of these titles will be familiar to anyone who has listened to reggae music for a while. Like a lot of reggae music,American soul and r&b had a real influence on Jamaican music. The producers and musicians would listen to American music and put their stamp on it. This music was recorded in the mid to late sixties,a prime time for both ska and the slower rocksteady. A look at the titles included will tell you all you need to know. Both familiar and relatively unknown songs sit side by side. This is the kind of set that doesn't hit you in the face on first listen. Rather it sneaks up on you. As I said,this isn't as well known as other sets and thats to bad,because there is plenty of good music in this collection. Music that "Duke" Reid produced with an iron hand-actually with a pistol in his belt. For people who like a smoother soul-r&b sound to their reggae.

5 comments about Trojan Box Set: Dub.

1. Volume 1 of Trojan's dub sets does not disapoint. One reviewer said that these tracks were nothing special; I disagree. While the sound quality is a little old school, I haven't found one track that I don't like. I've listened to all 3 cd's numerous times, and I still enjoy hearing all of the fine dub melodies. For around 15 bucks, you really cannot beat this deal.



2. Okay set, but just adds up to about 2 full CD's of music, so unless you get a great price it is not a 'super-value'. There is a booklet with a very general essay on dub music, but otherwise there is a serious lack of info on the cuts. Sound quality is just okay -- you can do WAY better for a dub collection if you look elsewhere. Incidentally, many of these tracks were used by Bill Laswell for his Dub Massive Trojan re-mix sets.



3. I have been a ska fan for quite some time now and decided to explore reggae. This is my first reggae cd and I am very impresssed. This collection doesn't let up, every song is just awesome to chill out to. I would say this set is an excellent introduction to Dub reggae and I can't wait to pick up another Trojan Box set.



4. if you love authentic classic dub don't miss this. great value, clean simple package.



5. These are wonderful CDs for those who love Reggae but don't always like the lyric. I played them at my last diner party and many of my friends were interested in buying the same set.

5 comments about Trojan Box Set: Rock Steady.

1. I was only vaguely familiar with Rocksteady as a more modern Ska listener, but after listening to the Trojan Records Ska (vol. 1 & 2) and this compilation, I find this to be my favorite of the 3 compilations. You can hear the beginnings of modern reggae in these songs, and understand where Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff took it/



2. You really can't argue too much with the price on this set, especially if you pick it up used. Buyers should be aware that in this case, "box set" just means a box is involved. There is no extensively-researched and lovingly written booklet, or even the inclusion of discographical details. You just get the dics in cardboard sleeves with artist, song title, and publishing info--nothing more. And the 50 songs on the Rocksteady set would fit onto two discs no problem, but are for reasons of "box set-ness" spread out over three discs. Not much of a reason to hang onto the thing, once the tracks are loaded on one's iPod.
   
   Now, none of this has anything to do with the quality of the grooves, which is high. Enjoy



3. brilliant songs, great sequencing, can't beat the price. BUT BEWARE. when i ordered this new "remaster", i received the original 1998 release instead. the sound is flat and muddy, the mixes uneven. these priceless tracks cry out for remastering.



4. I'm a fan of Rocksteady but this collection did not live up to expectations. I am a proud and pleased owner of some other very fine Trojan Box Sets, namely "Club Reggae" and "Tighten Up" both of which I would recommend over the "Rocksteady" set. Don't get me wrong, there are some great artists on the roster, but the song selections seem plodding and tired. (some people like their Reggae along those lines.) Besides, the "Rocksteady" set is one of the few Trojan Box packages that you can actually listen to snippets of here on Amazon so you're more able to decide for yourself. This is certainly not a bad collection, but if you're planning on acquiring more of the Trojan Box Sets leave "Rocksteady" for later.



5. This 3 cd box set is a wonderful overview of the few years where rocksteady was popular.. All original tracks make you want to jump on a plane and head over to Jamaica... if you are just starting to listen to, or just want a decent collection of rocksteady tunes, this is the one that you want

No comments about Greatest Reggae Album of All Time.

No comments about Jamaica Ska Kore.