This Is Reggae Music [Import]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 14, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Import
• Label: Trojan
• ASIN: B000926SLY
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,040 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Iron Bar

2. Fat Man

3. Rough and Tough

4. Music Is My Occupation

5. My Boy Lollipop

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Do the Reggay

2. It Miek

3. Engine 54

4. The Beatitude (Blessed Are the Meek)

5. Cuss Cuss

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. You Can Get It if You Really Want

2. Montego Bay

3. Come into My Life

4. Pop a Top

5. Blood and Fire

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Better Must Come

2. Know Far I

3. A Place Called Africa

4. Trenchtown Rock

5. One Love, One Heart

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Compilation..., November 23, 2004

By 

Dejan Kovacevic (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Is Reggae Music: Golden Era 1960-1975 (Audio CD)

That is - if this is your first serious foray into reggae or your first reggae box set...

I hate to denigrate Trojan, one of the most important original reggae labels, but it changed hands between numerous independent and major record companies so many times by now that its identity is meaningless, it is just a vast catalogue of tracks from reggae's crucial period, early sixties to late seventies, and its current owner - giant BMG, with its Sanctuary imprint - is just milking it.

I mean, it is great that they revived and expanded most of Trojan's original albums as well as the original compilations - like the "Tighten Up" series - but they flooded the market with SO MANY variously themed compilations as well as mini (3CD) box sets that it renders "This Is Reggae Music" totally obsolete. (Cross-referencing is great, but how many times can you include "007" and "Preassure Drop" and "Blood and Fire" and "Marcus Garvey" and "Rivers of Babylon" and... Even the cover photo has been incredibly abused over time... Major lack of imagination. Or is it simply... Greed..?)

Even if you're not that serious about reggae, but own a few compilations covering the mentioned period(s) it is most likely you'd already have 80% of the tracks on this box set. Obscurities and rarities included here are simply not worth it, even for those obsessive-compulsive collectors, myself included.

However, the music deserves nothing less than five stars so, if you ARE one of those rare birds just starting on with reggae, by all means - snatch it!! And look for excellent Island/Mango Records box set titled "Tougher Than Tough - The Story Of Jamaican Music" which is a more comprehensive look at the genre, both in selection and presentation.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the perfect christmas gift, November 29, 2004

By 

mallard "calvin" (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Reggae Music: Golden Era 1960-1975 (Audio CD)

"This Is Reggae Music: Golden Era 1960-1975"

Sure, Bob Marley is on board. But if you don't know Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker or Toots & the Maytals, to name just a few of the other greats herein, you don't know reggae.

Total tracks: 90 (all previously released).

Nice touch: Ska and other styles of Jamaican music get their due, too.

The perfect gift for: Marley mavens who want the bigger picture.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very listenable for casual reggae fans, January 13, 2005

By 

G. L. Jones "luke" (Portland,OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Is Reggae Music: Golden Era 1960-1975 (Audio CD)

As a person who doesn't even own that one Bob Marley album that everyone seems to have (Legend?), I was surprised to get this as a Christmas present. I must say it was one of the best gifts I got, since it introduced me to this whole world in a very palatable way.

There are some songs that I had heard before, but mostly this is an introduction for me. As an intro, it's great, because there is some that is easy to get along with, some that challenges a little and a few things that just fall flat. One thing is for sure - if you like Elvis Costello (which I do), you will love this box set, since he lifted so many of his riffs from these songs.

This is the kind of compilation that serves as a good jumping off point for exploring different artists within a genre. In particular, check out Tony Tribe's "Red, Red Wine" (it makes me want to beat the snot out of UB40 for doing such a lame cover), "S90 Skank", and "Bongo Man" as well as the classics such as "Pressure Drop", "Trenchtown Rock", "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Brand New Second Hand". If you don't like any of these songs, you won't like the album.