Customer Reviews

This Is Reggae Music

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

Roots, rock, reggae. The 4-CD set ENDS with Burning Spear's Marcus Garvey. I worried about sound quality with vintage cuts, but the sound is as good as U.S. rock singles from the same periods. And the tunes! Great music, Bob and Peter and Winston and Sly and Robbie had teachers. Hear them.

the great thing about this Box Set also is that there was more to Reggae Music than Bob Marley.don't get me wrong Bob Marley was a Musical Genius&Means a Great deal to Music Period,but there were other greats who made Reggae Soulful,Political,uplifitng&to the point.this Box set highlights&showcases the Music&Artists who spoke out on various topics&themes that touched lives all over the world.you can hear the Influence of Reggae on so many artists to this day&Beyond into the future.

I play this collection often when I'm having people over to the pool, it creates a nice mental and musical environment. I really enjoy the song Vietnam by Jimmy Cliff, such a sad story but told to such happy music. Also it had a few surprises, songs that I knew but had no idea they were from artists in this style. One of them that surprised me was My Boy Lollipop by Millie, it's a great upbeat song but reminds me of a doo wop song or something of that sort from the 50s, it's so fun!

Give it a listen, lots of Gems in here.

Next to Tougher than Tough, this is one of the best reggae box sets out there. I hope they come out with a second volume of 1976-1980, that would be sweet!

After Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and maybe 3 or 4 others who have managed to get on the radio, most folks I come across aren't aware of the myriad of performers in this field, or how long it has actually been around. They get this look of surprise when one points out that "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash was a reggae song. This is a truely wonderful collection in a nice package. There is not a bad song in the set. It knoked me out.

I did not enjoy this collection as much as I thought I would. Many of the songs might be important for "historical value" but were lousy music. I did get some new names/groups from this collection but overall, not worth the price in my opinion.