The Rise And Fall of Darth Vader

When the shared reservoir of our humanity reaches its newest low point, can looking back aid us? Can remembrance help us manifest the desire to go on? Looking is the first thing I remember. I wouldn’t say I was studying it, but I held it in my hands and turned it over and over and over. I’m sure I held it when I was outside sitting in the cracked back patio, and though there aren’t any pictures, I probably had it at my 5th birthday, all smiles at the Darth Vader cake my mother made for me. I carried it until it was smoothed over, made smaller and smaller as it passed between my hands.

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.