Sly

Arena Records presents Reggae Sunshine - 40 reggae hits including songs from Sly & Robbie, Eddy Grant, Bob Marley and many others.

The liner notes that accompany this collection note that '70s soul music has never really gotten its due. One could argue that point for days, but hubris aside, there's no denying that Can You Dig It pays serious homage to the golden years of American soul. The new box set contains 6 CDs and 136 cuts, 65 of which hit the No. 1 spot on the R&B and/or pop charts. As you'd expect with a project that mines such a rich era (the CDs are compiled chronologically), it represents a who's who of stars. Among the notables: Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Staple Singers, James Brown, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee, Freda Payne, and Jean Knight. Lesser lights also get to shine, i.e., El Chicano, who deliver the salsafied hippie anthem "Tell Her She's Lovely." But let's be honest–the selling point is the hits, and from the uplifting "Ooh Child" to the sassy "Want Ads," if you grew up in the '70s (hands up), then these tracks are beloved. Sure, the hard-core fan will probably wish for more obscurities, and the exclusion of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and George Clinton is troublesome, but anyone wanting an at-home jukebox loaded with classic R&B will certainly dig this.

On a session-to-session basis, in slightly varying combinations, drummer Sly Dunbar, percussionist Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, bassist Robbie Shakespeare, keyboardist Wally Badarou, guitarists Barry Reynolds and Mikey Chung, and engineer Alex Sadkin made up the in-house team at Island founder Chris Blackwell's Compass Point, a studio located just outside Nassau in the Bahamas. As Blackwell recalls in David Katz's excellent liner notes to this set, titled Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986.

Rhino's expansive six-CD box set of 1970s soul called Can You Dig It?, this wonderfully sequenced collection stands as an impressive survey of the genre in its own right, running the gamut from Al Green and Marvin Gaye to the Chi-Lites, Sly Stone, the Staple Singers, and Earth, Wind & Fire and beyond with nary a slack track in sight. It may technically be a sampler, but in being so it doesn't have the luxury of pausing for breath or historical reflection, which means this compilation, sampler or not, delivers bang for the buck from end to end.

Various Artists - The Trojan Dub Collection (2009) {2CD Set, Trojan–Sanctuary 1799241 rec 1973-1983} (Item 4of7)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 574 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 314 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 93 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973-83, 2009 Trojan Records / Sanctuary Records / Universal Music | 1799241
Dub / Reggae

2009 two CD set. Pioneered by the legendary King Tubby in the early 1970s, Dub has proved one of the most enduring and most influential styles to emanate from Jamaica's golden shores. This set highlights some of the best in Dub sounds from the '70s and early '80s, created by many of it's esteemed practitioners. Featuring the likes of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Niney The Observer, King Tubby and Prince Jammy, this is a fantastic introduction to a much-loved musical phenomenon.