CD Charts
Welcome to The CD Charts, here you will find all the latest and top selling Music cds available to buy online. You can search and locate the best selling Music cd's and have them delivered to the door. We have a large selection of Music all with reviews.
Back to Home Page > Go back a page
Music : The Best of Studio One Collection
Rating: 
- superb music, fantastic value for money
American reggae label Heartbeat have been licensing Studio One material for 20 years or more now and since the death of Studio One's founder Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 2004 have been more active in this area than they had been for a while, issuing both new collections and revamped/remastered versions of old ones. The contents of this box set (actually 4 CDs in a cardboard box, with 3 of them available separately, rather than a proper box set) fall into the latter category, with the first 3 CDs representing revised and expanded versions of compilations that first came out in the 1980s. The fourth disc contains extended mixes of some of the tracks on the first three, previously only available on the double lp versions of these albums; while these are very good, especially the 10 minute cut of Carlton & The Shoes' Love Me Forever, if you've already got the revamped CD versions they're hardly essential.
The vast majority of all three albums is absolutely top quality Studio One and essential to any serious fan of vintage reggae; the revised (a few tunes that didn't fit well have been omitted) and expanded (18 tracks instead of 12) selections improve considerably on the 1980s versions of these compilations, as does the sound quality. The contents range from rocksteady c.1967 through to late 1970s roots, but with a strong bias towards the late 1960s and very early 1970s. The first 2 cds feature fine selections of mostly vocal tunes, the third an absolutely scorching selection of instrumentals, some very familiar such as Real Rock, others quite obscure such as the excellent Moon Ride, which I had not previously seen on a compilation.
The box is an absolute gift for anyone looking to find out what all the fuss is about Studio One who has £16 to spare; existing fans may find they already have most of this, but for this money (you could pay far more for an original 45 of just one of these tunes) it may be worth it for the improved sound quality and a few previously unheard gems.
- superb music, fantastic value for moneyAmerican reggae label Heartbeat have been licensing Studio One material for 20 years or more now and since the death of Studio One's founder Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 2004 have been more active in this area than they had been for a while, issuing both new collections and revamped/remastered versions of old ones. The contents of this box set (actually 4 CDs in a cardboard box, with 3 of them available separately, rather than a proper box set) fall into the latter category, with the first 3 CDs representing revised and expanded versions of compilations that first came out in the 1980s. The fourth disc contains extended mixes of some of the tracks on the first three, previously only available on the double lp versions of these albums; while these are very good, especially the 10 minute cut of Carlton & The Shoes' Love Me Forever, if you've already got the revamped CD versions they're hardly essential.
The vast majority of all three albums is absolutely top quality Studio One and essential to any serious fan of vintage reggae; the revised (a few tunes that didn't fit well have been omitted) and expanded (18 tracks instead of 12) selections improve considerably on the 1980s versions of these compilations, as does the sound quality. The contents range from rocksteady c.1967 through to late 1970s roots, but with a strong bias towards the late 1960s and very early 1970s. The first 2 cds feature fine selections of mostly vocal tunes, the third an absolutely scorching selection of instrumentals, some very familiar such as Real Rock, others quite obscure such as the excellent Moon Ride, which I had not previously seen on a compilation.
The box is an absolute gift for anyone looking to find out what all the fuss is about Studio One who has £16 to spare; existing fans may find they already have most of this, but for this money (you could pay far more for an original 45 of just one of these tunes) it may be worth it for the improved sound quality and a few previously unheard gems.