This disc is a nice roots compilation supposedly from the 1981-85 time period and featuring such roots greats as : Barrington Levy, Ras Michael, Wailing Souls, Mighty Diamonds, and more. With 16 tracks on this one, you get a nice 2-4 track sample of each artist and the selections for this "variety pack" are solid representations of the artists' sounds and styles. My favorite tracks are #5 (Chanting - Jr. Reid) and #9 (Them A Fret- Wailing Souls). There is a great Jr. Reid combo album with Don Carlos that also features "Chanting" called
Firehouse Clash giving you more from these two artists' early eighties collection. The RAS Portrait series is a standard these days for finding an inexpensive compilation for most of your reggae favorites. The prices are affordable and sometimes downright cheap, but the music is usually top notch. Beware, selections on these compilations will sometimes sound familiar because they appear on several other albums ( ex.
this disc and Firehouse Clash ) so make sure to find the ones you really want. This is a great starting point to find more classic reggae that might fit with your style.
