Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Cool Rasta - The Heptones
2. I Am Man African - Sons of Selassie
3. Rise in the Strength Jah - The Viceroys
4. Rise Jah Jah Children - Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus, Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus
5. I and I Are the Chosen One - New Town Sound Ltd.
6. Brother Noah - The Shadows
7. Jah Jah Bless the Dreadlocks - The Mighty Diamonds
8. Africa Is the Black Man's Home - Sugar Minott
9. None Shall Escape the Judgement - Johnny Clarke
10. History - Carlton Jackson, Carlton Jackson
11. Purify Your Heart - Johnny Osbourne
12. Jah Jah Me No Born Yah - Cornel Campbell, Johnny Campbell
13. Rasta Dreadlocks - Heaven Sisters
14. Burn Babylon - Sylford Walker
15. Psalm 68 - Horace Andy
16. Rejoice Jah Jah Children - The Silvertones
17. Dread Is the Best - Big Youth

Disc 2:

1. Under Heavy Manners - Prince Far I
2. Arise Black Man - Peter Tosh
3. Yim Mas Gan - The Abyssinians
4. Babylon Falling - The Heptones
5. Hail Brother Rasta Hail - The Ethiopians
6. Enter into His Gates With Praise - Johnny Clarke
7. African People - Jay Boys
8. City Too Hot - Lee "Scratch" Perry
9. Africa - Dennis Brown
10. Jah Fire - George Boswell
11. Dread in a Babylon - Big Youth
12. Talk About It - The Mighty Diamonds
13. Free Jah Jah Children - Sugar Minott
14. Black Man's Time - Neville Grant
15. Babylon Wrong - Ashanti Waugh
16. Keep Cool Babylon - Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus, Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus

Disc 3:

1. Babylon a Fall Down - Velvet Shadows
2. Never Gonna Give Up Jah - Sugar Minott
3. Nyah Man - Johnny Osbourne
4. Unity - Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus, Ras Michael, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus
5. Moving on to Zion - Johnny Clarke
6. African Dub - The Silvertones
7. Coming of Jah - Max Romeo
8. Ten Dread Commandments - Mr. Bojangles,
9. Condition Bad a Yard - The Ethiopians
10. Babylon Deh Pon Fire - Truth Fact & Correct
11. Ghetto Living - The Mighty Diamonds
12. Addis Ababa - Delroy Wilson
13. Words - Sangie Davis, , Lee "Scratch" Perry
14. Milk and Honey - Lucy Lizzard
15. Judgement Come - Cornel Campbell
16. Mistry Babylon - The Heptones
17. I Love Marijuana - Linval Thompson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105566 in Music
• Brand: Trojan
• Released on: 1999-04-20
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Box set, Limited Edition, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .29 pounds

Album Description
50 great reggae tracks from the vaults of Trojan Records that focus on the roots of the genre. Includes cuts by Heptones, Prince Far I, Sugar Minott, Horace Andy, Silvertones, Big Youth, Peter Tosh, Abyssinians, Ethiopians, Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson and many others. Comes packaged in a full color CD-sized brilliant box with each disc in a separate slipcase. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews

Roots n'culture see how they grow!
Being a soccer fan good ska, rocksteady and general forms of reggae are vital to my Saturday and this Roots compilation from Trojan pure hits the spot! Roundabout track 5 on the first CD you'll be aching for some herbal relief to enhance your music pleasures even more. By this stage you'll already heard the exceptional "Cool Rasta," "Rise in the Strength Jah," and "Rise Jah Jah Children." Just when you thought it couldn't get any better up pops "History" by Carlton Jackson, my speakers clearly aren't big enough!

The whole mood is one of mellow enlightenment; with the musical arrangements so clear you can almost touch the sandy beaches and clear blue skies of warmer climes. I can't believe some of these tracks are older than me!!!

To be honest I would pay this price for just one CD let alone 3!

Buy this and refuse to get distressed otherwise 'tings will go missing, Jah bless

Strong ROOTS.
Not all Trojan Box Sets are winners. I get the feeling sometimes with some of the Box Set releases that someone is cleaning out the basement at Trojan, dumping whatever they find onto three discs, slapping a vague title on it, and shipping it out. A lot of bad music gets mixed in with the good. The Roots Box Set is a definite exception. Most Reggae fans know that the birth of the "Roots" style (my favorite of the styles under the umbrella of Reggae: ie. Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, Dub, D.J., Dancehall, Ragga, etc.) came about in the very late 60's and flourished in the early 70's with a slower beat and lyrics focusing mostly on religious, political, and cultural concerns of the Jamaican artists/audience of the time. This is a fine collection of very strong material from that period (70's) with hardly any weak tracks. Many of the songs in the set I first heard as Dub versions from other collections and on a couple of the selections you actually get the original version followed up by the Dub version, a nice little bonus. Of course while the Roots era is far too vast a period for any compilation to be considered comprehensive, this is an excellent vehicle to exose yourself to some Roots music and it would make a proper addition to the collections of current Roots fans. Perhaps Trojan should consider a "Roots Part II" like they did with their Dub Box Set releases.

great but...
yes i really like this set, but i have to tell the potential buyers that the tracklisting is a mess: "I Man A African" by the Sons of Selassie isn't on it, although it's supposed to be song 2 on disc 1; and on disc 3 "African Dub"" is just another version (not a dub version) of "Rejoice Jah Jah Children". Then there was one more track that was listed wrongly, can't remember which. Anyway, this set is essential because of the song "History" (the 8-minute discomix, btw); also "Rejoice Jah Jah Children", "Brother Noah" and "African People"... If you don't own these tracks already buy without hesitation.