various artists - Solid Gold, Coxsone Style

I found myself a fine little find today, amidst a post office/Starbucks run. This here is a 1992 expanded CD release of a 1971 Studio One compilation, all featuring tracks produced by Coxsone Dodd. For $2, I got myself a healthy dose of John Holt and Jackie Mittoo, of Alton Ellis and the Freedom Singers. Hell, I even got extended mixes of songs by Dennis Brown and Delroy Wilson, and didn't even have to pay extra for the privledge.

This is, by far, my favorite era of reggae. Whether it's releases on Trojan that were recorded with the export market in mind, or the antecedent to lover's rock, or just monster sounds from the island, there's just SO many qualities tracks and singles, leading to banging comps like this one. It's unfortunate that there's a ton of Heartbeat releases that have gone out of print; as I've gotten older, I'm really drawn to their reissues, even with the shitty replacement artwork. It makes a body want to work out a licensing deal or three...really restore and reissue some of Sir Clement's deep cuts.

Discogs

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