Editorial Reviews

Founded in 1963, Clement Dodd's Studio One was Jamaica's first black-owned recording facility, and it is virtually impossible to imagine modern Jamaican music without it. The venerable Studio One rhythms form the very foundation of every musical style that has swept through the island since, and seemingly every Jamaican musician has worked there, and most, like Bob Marley, began their careers at Studio One, making the studio a musical gateway of profound importance. This four-disc Best of Studio One Collection box set provides ample evidence of Studio One's impressive recording lineage, combining the previously released single CDs The Best of Studio One, The Best of Studio One, Vol 2: Full Up and Downbeat the Ruler (a disc of vintage Studio One instrumentals) with a bonus disc, Rebel Disco Mixes, of extended versions of some of the featured tracks. There is so much to marvel at here, including gems like the Abyssinians' earnest and gorgeous "Declaration of Rights," the Heptones' durable "Party Time," an extended mix of the Wailing Souls' "Row Fisherman Row," the Cables' beautiful "What Kind of World," Willie Williams' dub-inflected "Armagideon Time," Jackie Mittoo's "Freak Out," and extended mixes of the Cables' "Baby Why" and Tommy McCook's jazzy "Rebel Disco," making this a full immersion into Dodd's expansive archives. Everything here is essential in one way or another, so whether one picks up these volumes individually or all at once in this box set, fans of Jamaican music simply have to have this stuff. Modern Jamaican music begins with Studio One. It's that simple. Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

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