Reggae Nights

In 1990 and 1991, Eric Clapton performed 42 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London; 18 shows in 1990 and 24 in 1991. During the run of these shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. 24 Nights: Rock features 18 songs, has a running time of 2 hours 15 minutes and is available on 3 LPs or a 2 CDs. The CD format also includes a DVD of the full show. The rock show line-up varied from 4, 9 or 13 band members, and the musicians included Nathan East, Ray Cooper, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone. The 4-piece in 1991 featured Phil Collins on drums. Highlights of the songs performed include White Room, Layla, Pretending, Running On Faith, Old Love, and Lay Down Sally. The set also features excellent cover versions: a restrained reggae rhythm version of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, a blues-rock twist on the Bob Marley anthem “I Shot The Sheriff”, and the great J.J. Cale song “Cocaine”. The concert ends with the Cream classic “Sunshine Of Your Love”.

Goombay Dance Band is a German band created in 1979 by Oliver Bendt, named after a small bay on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Their music has a distinctive sound (somewhat similar to Boney M), which is a mixture of soca, calypso and western pop. The group enjoyed greatest commercial success at the beginning of the 1980s, spawning such number 1 hits as "Sun of Jamaica", "Seven Tears" and "Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again". Goombay Dance Band built up a fan base across Europe and proved very popular in South Africa too, where "Sun of Jamaica" and "Aloha-Oe" entered the charts…

This whopping 30-CD box set gathers together the best of Trojan's three-disc box set series. Included are the Ska, DJ, Dub, Instrumentals, Jamaican Superstars, Lovers, Producer Series, Rocksteady, Roots, and Tribute to Bob Marley volumes, each of which can be found under Trojan Box Set for their individual reviews. What's lacking here is a booklet with additional notes and information; the bulk seems to demand some extra coverage and care, yet all that's here are the original notes of each volume – only as much text as can fit on the back of the CD sleeves. From a music standpoint, however, this box is excellent; a truly diverse and comprehensive collection. Of the 500 songs, less than ten reappear on another volume, so you get a more-than-satisfying amount of music spanning the history of the Trojan label.