Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Forward March - Derrick Morgan
2. My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
3. Bank To Bank Pt. 1 - The Baba Brooks Band
4. Count Ossie Special - Count Ossie
5. Broadway Jungle - The Maytals
6. Carry Go Bring Home - Justin Hinds & The Dominos
7. Eastern Standard Time - Don Drummond
8. Hard Man Fe Dead - Prince Buster
9. Confucius - The Skatalites
10. Tide Is High - The Paragons
11. Take It Easy - Hopetown Lewis
12. Baba Boom - The Jamaicans
13. Tougher Than Tough - Derrick Morgan
14. Queen Majesty - The Techniques
15. Long Shot - The Pioneers
16. Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
17. 54-46 Was My Number - Toots & The Maytals
18. Reggae Hit The Town - The Ethiopians
19. My Conversation - The Uniques
20. Rivers Of Babylon - The Melodians
21. Double Barrel - Dave & Ansel Collins
22. Everything I Own - Ken Boothe
23. The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff
24. Stalag 17 - The Techniques All Stars
25. Satta Massagana - The Abyssinians

Disc 2:

1. Trench Town Rock - The Wailers
2. Blood & Fire - Niney
3. Cherry Oh Baby - Eric Donaldson
4. Better Must Come - Delroy Wilson
5. Book Of Rules - The Heptones
6. Westbound Train - Dennis Brown
7. Baby I Love You So - Jacob Miller
8. No. 1 In The World - U Roy
9. King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo
10. All Nations Bow - Big Youth
11. Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear
12. Don't Trouble Trouble - Johnny Clarke
13. War & Friction - I. Roy
14. Ballistic Affair - Leroy Smart
15. War Ina Babylon (single version) - Max Romeo
16. Roots, Rock, Reggae - Bob Marley & The Wailers
17. 1865 (96 degrees In The Shade) - Third World
18. At The Feast - The Congos
19. My Number One - Gregory Isaacs
20. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin
21. Black Roots - Sugar Minott
22. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (12" version) - Black Uhuru

Disc 3:

1. One Love Jam Down - Papa Michigan & General Smiley
2. Entertainment - Triston Palmer
3. Sitting & Watching - Dennis Brown
4. Ganja Smuggling - Eek-A-Mouse
5. Pass The Kouchie - The Mighty Diamonds
6. Night Nurse - Gregory Isaacs
7. Zungguzungguzungguzeng - Yellowman
8. Water Pumping - Johnny Osbourne
9. Pass The Tu-Sheng-Peng - Frankie Paul
10. Here I Come - Barrington Levy
11. Under Me Sleng Teng - Wayne Smith
12. Ring The Alarm - Tenor Saw
13. Tempo - Anthony Red Rose
14. Greetings - Half Pint
15. Boops - Super Cat
16. Punanny - Admiral Bailey
17. Hol' A Fresh - Red Dragon
18. Rumours - Gregory Isaacs
19. Telephone Love - JC Lodge
20. Bandolero - Pinchers
21. Strive - Shinehead

Disc 4:

1. Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus & Pliers
2. Mr. Loverman - Shabba Ranks featuring Chevelle Franklin
3. Flex - Mad Cobra
4. Dancehall Queen (Delano Renaissance Mix) - Beenie Man featuring Chevelle
5. Down In The Ghetto - Bounty Killer
6. Tour - Capleton
7. It's Me Again, Jah - Luciano
8. Untold Stories - Buju Banton
9. Fire Pon Rome - Anthony B.
10. I & I Saw Them Coming - Starkey Banton
11. Rough Inna Town - Cocoa Tea featuring Luciano
12. Armagideon Time - Dr. Israel
13. Warning - Tony Rebel
14. Set Yourself Free - Morgan Heritage
15. Ghetto People Song - Everton Blender
16. Party In Session (Main Mix) - Stone Love featuring Ky-Mani, Beenie Man,
17. What's The Matter With The World - Bushman
18. I Love Jah - Beres Hammond featuring Flourgon
19. Taking Over - Sizzla

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97792 in Music
• Released on: 2001-11-13
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .85 pounds

Amazon.com
Across four discs and 87 songs, The Reggae Box tells the tale of Jamaica's modern social and political history through a well-rounded survey of the island nation's popular music. Disc 1 begins at the height of the independence movement in the 1960s, celebrated here with the exuberant, optimistic ska that blended the tropical sounds of mento and calypso with American R&B. Ska morphed into the smoother rock steady style, as artists began discovering the subtlety of the grooves while further exploring the sweetness of American soul. By disc 2, roots reggae and Rastafarianism moves to the fore. Delroy Wilson's 1971 hit "Better Must Come" displays the slowed-down, slinky rhythms and social messages that would define this period. By 1974, Augustus Pablo's dub enters the picture, an echo-laden psychedelic style. A new sound emerges on disc 3, lighter in both lyrical content and musical depth. Dancehall was geared to locals looking for fun, losing its political and social agenda, adding synthesized sounds, digital trickery, and a "singjay" vocal style that was half-spoken, half-sung. By disc 4, the deejays and sound systems of dancehall are firmly entrenched as reggae's most prominent forces, often reviving "old-school" tunes in a modern style. While some artists returned to social commentary and Rastafarianism, many others sang of the grim realities of sex and violence.

The democratic approach to this set--each disc focuses on a single decade from the '60s through the '90s--gives listeners a broad and inclusive look at the genre's development and the shifts of popular taste. On the other hand, this goal of breadth may come at the expense of quality in some cases, especially if you believe that the '60s and '70s were clearly reggae's heyday. Still, as a comprehensive overview of Jamaican popular music of the last 40 years, complete with detailed song notes, informative essays that put the music in historical context, and attractive artwork and packaging, The Reggae Box has few flaws. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

The Best Reggae Box yet!
An incredible follow-up to last year's equally delicious Funk Box. The fact that there is an entire disc of early ska/rocksteady was good enough for me to buy this. All 4 discs are perfect, non stop party music that everyone will enjoy. The packaging is stunning (you'll see what I mean the second you open it), the essays are very informative and well thought out and the track-by-track annotations tell the whole story. Everyone is on here (and although there is no solo Peter Tosh, he is in the Wailers who have 2 songs on Disc 2). So this is standing next to my Funk Box now (which you should pick up if you haven't already). Beautiful box. #1 X-mas present to all my friends and family this year. This box does indeed acquaint you with the "Routes of Jamaican Music." Buy this yesterday!! Rated A+ (5 STARS IN TOWER'S PULSE MAGAZINE THIS MONTH!). Jah Rastafari! This box has made the I-Man Irie! Peace-Jah Lion!

Amazing!
Despite the fact that some of the biggest names in reggae are missing (Lee "Scratch" Perry, Israel Vibrations, Alton Ellis, etc) this reggae box rules for two reasons:

1 - The song slection is pretty killer
2 - It acts as an excellent introduction to anyone looking to jump into reggae with both feet.

So put aside Beanie Man, sell your Matisyahu and trade in your Sean Paul CDs and pick this puppy up instead.

"this box-set is "Smithsonian" caliber"
This is an awesome 4-CD-Set chock full of rarities going back to the early '60s up to the present...hardbound book featuring the history of "Jamaican Music"...more popular today spreading the genre through words and music gathering new listeners and fans along the way.

Total: four-CD-Set ~ Universal/Hip-O/Island 314-560-929-2 ~ (2001)