Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Rough And Tough - Stranger Cole
2. Latin Goes Ska - The Skatalites
3. Penny Reel - Eric Morris
4. Strolling In - Tommy McCook/The Skatalites
5. Carry Go Bring Home - Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
6. Yard Broom - Roland Alphonso
7. Really Now - The Dreamlets
8. Corner Stone - Don Drummond
9. Rukumbine - Stenley Duffus
10. Rude Boy - The Duke Reid Group
11. Open The Door - Clive & Naomi
12. Musical Communion - Baba Brooks
13. Corner Stone - Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
14. Duck Soup - Drumbago All Stars
15. Next Door Neighbour - Owen & Leon Silvera
16. Lucky Seven - The Skatalites
17. When I Call Your Name - Stranger/Patsy
18. Inez - Tommy McCook/Lester Sterling
19. Night Food - Duke Reid/Baba Brooks/Drumbago
20. Eastern Standard Time - Don Drummond

Disc 2:

1. Twelve Minutes To Go - The Skatalites
2. Housewife's Choice - Derrick/Patsy
3. Silver Dollar - Tommy McCook & His Skatalites
4. Here I Stand - Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
5. Burning Touch - Don Drummond
6. Samson - Eric Morris/Baba Brooks
7. Feeling Fine - Roland Alphonso
8. Dearest - Dottie/Bunny/Don Drummond
9. River Bank - Baba Brooks (PT. 1)
10. We're Rolling (Under The Tree Of Life) - Stranger Cole
11. River Bank - Baba Brooks (pt 2)
12. You Are Mine - Clive/Naomi
13. Duke's Cookies - The Duke Reid Group
14. Botheration - Justin Hinds/The Dominoes
15. Magic - Tommy McCook/The Skatalites
16. Hog In Cocoa - Stranger/Patsy
17. Sandy Gully - Roland Alphonso
18. Foul Play - Dottie/Bunny
19. Dan De Lion - Don Drummond
20. Woman A Come - Margarita
21. Twelve Minutes to Go - The Skatalites
22. Housewife's Choice - Derrick, Patsy Duffus
23. Silver Dollar - Tommy McCook, The Skatalites
24. Here I Stand - Justin Hinds & Dominoes
25. Burning Torch - Don Drummond
26. Samson - Baba Brooks, Eric "Monty" Morris
27. Feeling Fine - Roland Alphonso
28. Dearest - Don Drummond
29. River Bank, Pt. 1 - Baba Brooks
30. We're Rolling (Under the Tree of Life) - Stranger Cole,
31. River Bank, Pt. 2 - Baba Brooks
32. You Are Mine - Clive & Naomi,
33. Duke's Cookies - Duke Reid's Group
34. Botheration - Justin Hinds
35. Magic - Tommy McCook, The Skatalites
36. Hog in Cocoa
37. Sandy Gully - Roland Alphonso
38. Foul Play
39. Dan de Lion - Don Drummond
40. Woman Come - Margarita

Disc 3:

1. Higher The Monkey Climbs, The - Justin Hinds/The Dominoes
2. Street Corner - The Skatalites
3. Run Joe - Stranger Cole/The Techniques/Baba Brooks
4. James Bond - Roland Alphonso
5. Sun Rises, The - Dottie/Bunny
6. Apanga - Don Drummond
7. What A Man Doeth - Eric Morris/The Duke Reid Group
8. Clock, The - Baba Brooks
9. Bangarang - Lester Sterling/Stranger Cole
10. Musical Store Room - Tommy McCook
11. Hey, Hey Baby - Stranger/Patsy
12. Dr. Decker - Baba Brooks/Don Drummond
13. Over The River - Justin Hinds/The Dominoes
14. What Makes Honey - The Duke Reid Group
15. Prisoner Of Alcatraz - The Pyramids
16. You Can Depend On Me - Roland Alphonso
17. John James - Toots & The Maytals
18. Luke Lane Shuffle - Rico Rodriguez All Stars
19. Oh Carolina - Byron Lee/The Dragonaires
20. Independence Anniversary Ska - The Skatalites
21. Higher the Monkey Climbs - Justin Hinds
22. Street Corner - The Skatalites
23. Run Joe - Baba Brooks, Stranger Cole, , The Techniques
24. James Bond - Roland Alphonso
25. Sun Rises
26. Apanga - Don Drummond
27. What a Man Doeth - Duke Reid's Group, Eric "Monty" Morris
28. Clock - Baba Brooks
29. Bangarang - Stranger Cole, Lester Sterling,
30. Musical Store Room - Tommy McCook
31. Hey, Hey Baby
32. Dr. Decker - Baba Brooks, Don Drummond
33. Over the River - Justin Hinds
34. What Makes Honey - Duke Reid's Group
35. Prisoner from Alcatraz - Pyramids
36. You Can Depend On Me - Roland Alphonso
37. John James - Toots & the Maytals
38. Luke Lane Shuffle - Rico Rodriguez All Stars
39. Oh Carolina - Dragonaires, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
40. Independent Anniversary Ska - The Skatalites

Disc 4:

1. Blackberry Brandy - Roland Alphonso
2. Guns Of Navarone - Blue River & The Maroons
3. Occupation - Don Drummond
4. Jordan River - Justin Hinds/Baba Brooks/Drumbago
5. Green Island - The Skatalites
6. Monkey Man - Toots & The Maytals
7. Cotton Tree - Tommy McCook
8. Everything Crash - The Ethiopians
9. Twilight Zone - Baba Brooks
10. Oh Mama - Nora Dean
11. Joker - The Duke Reid Group
12. Jesse James Rides Again - The Pyramids
13. Tide Is High, The - John Holt
14. Ska Is The Limit, The - Laurel Aitken
15. 54-46 That's My Number - Toots & The Maytals
16. Bridge View Shuffle - Rico Rodriguez' All Stars
17. Somebody's Baby - Pat Kelly
18. Shotgun - The Pyramids
19. Thoroughfare - Don Drummond
20. 007 - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
21. Blackberry Brandy - Roland Alphonso
22. Guns of Navarone - The Maroons, Blue Rivers & The Maroons
23. Occupation - Don Drummond
24. Jordan River - Baba Brooks, Drumbago, Justin Hinds
25. Green Island - The Skatalites
26. Monkey Man - Toots & the Maytals
27. Cotton Tree - Tommy McCook
28. Everything Crash - The Ethiopians
29. Twilight Zone - Baba Brooks
30. Oh Mama - Nora Dean
31. Joker - Duke Reid's Group
32. Jesse James Rides Again - Pyramids
33. Tide Is High - John Holt
34. Ska Is the Limit - Laurel Aitken
35. 54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals
36. Rico Rodriguez All Stars
37. Somebody's Baby - Pat Kelly
38. Shotgun - Pyramids
39. Thoroughfare - Don Drummond
40. 007 (Shanty Town) - Aces, Desmond Dekker

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #170665 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-14
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Import, Box set

Customer Reviews

Avoid! Don't be fooled by the cheap price
I unfortunately own this one (not much longer) and have analyzed it carefully. There are several reasons for why you shouldn't buy this, even though the price is very low.

1. They are not all ska tracks. 5 of them are Rock Steady, 4 are Early Reggae, 3 are UK Reggae (by the Pyramids) and 5 sounds very modern, from the 80's or newer. This could have been acceptable if they were sequenced in an intelligent manner. They are not.

2. The mastering is poor. I have several of these songs on better compilations and by comparison these sounds harsh, like they have tried to increase the treble too much.

3. Many songs are not so great. Half of the songs are instrumentals, mostly by the Skatalities under other names (like Tommy McCoook, Roland Alphonso or Don Drummond). These songs are not the best of The Skatalites, more like the worst of. A few exceptions of course, classics like Silver Dollar, Eastern Standard Time are included. But if you like The Skatalites there are compilations with better songs and better sound quality. 'Foundation Ska' on Heartbeat and 'Guns of Navarone: The Best of' on Trojan comes highly recommended.

4. Proper seems to be a shady record label with a business concept that means they are trying to circumvent the copyright laws. They claim they have "licenced" these tracks from Enzo Hamilton, and he's often accused of being a notorious bootlegger of reggae music.

5. There would be room for all the songs on only 3CD's.

A good place to start your ska collection would instead be this: Rough & Tough - The Story of Ska (2CD's, Trojan). Good songs, good sound, and it's rather inexpensive too!

An absolute steal
If you want to hear an incredible amount of first-rate Jamaican ska at an incredibly reasonable price, this is the set for you.

This collection is grounded in a lot of first-rate work by the Skatalites, including a lots of songs listed under Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, and other individual members of the band. There's also an excellent sampling of early Toots and the Maytals as well, including the classics "Monkey Man" and "54-46 Was My Number", and John Holt's original version of "The Tide Is High", which was later a big hit for Blondie, of course) is also here. In addition, there are literally dozens of outstanding songs from bands I'd simply never heard of, including Blue Rivers & the Maroons doing the ska classic "Guns of Navarone" and Nora Dean doing "Oh Mama."

There's only one song by Desmond Dekker, one by Laurel Aitken, and none by Prince Buster, so this is by no means the last word in Jamaican Ska. However, there are CDs in print from each of these artists. A lot of the songs on this collection, you simply can't find anywhere else.

As box sets go, the packaging is pretty ordinary--just jewel cases in a box with liner notes. As far as I can tell, this is the only sacrifice you make buying this set. There is an excellent essay filling the 20-plus page liner notes, but unfortunately, no details on the recording, though this could well be because this information simply doesn't exist. Still, it would have been nice to know who played on what recordings, since the lineups seem to vary so much. The sound quality is very good in most cases, though none of this music was recorded under pristine conditions, so don't expect audiophile recordings. A few songs seem to show the limitations of the source material.

Though the price on this set is terrific, this would still be a first-rate collection at twice the price. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Jamaican ska, whether it's your first CD in the genre, or you have a substantial collection.

Despite some flaws, its still a five.
I picked this comp. up about a year ago for ten bucks at a Half-Priced Books (who doesn't love that place?) The 2 star reviewer here cites that a few of these songs are from the late 70s/ early 80s; he's right. But don't let that annoyance blind you to the fact that there's enough great tracks to have you listening for hours on end. Not only that, but it avoids bombarding you with overly popular names (Desmond Dekker's got one song, Toots has two or three(?), the Skatalites are unavoidable though, considering their being the backup band for just about everyone). While there's a bit of genre mixing too (rocksteady, ska, reggae, etc) most people don't know the difference and these artists all dabbled in a bit of all... so who cares?

I know that its a good collection worth paying twice the price I did. Its great to hear sounds from a time when there was still a lot of rollicking R&B piano and upright bass in ska. Duke Reid's tracks are my favourite, particularly "Duke's Cookies."