"YOUNG, GIFTED & BLACK"

Young, Gifted And Black acts as an excellent primer for a new generation of reggae enthusiasts. With their vigorous reissue programme, Trojan Records appear to be inspired by the recent success of the Blood And Fire label, although their own specialist field is ska and rocksteady rather than deep dub. The endorsements in the sleeve booklet come from Don Letts and UB40's Robin Campbell, with the latter highlighting this set's populist accessibility. There's a wide range to be covered in this handsome package, so any selection is bound to end up with some degree of subjectivity. Even so, it's hard to go wrong with two discs and 50 tracks, spanning the best part of two decades. Selections like "Oh Carolina" (The Folkes Brothers) and "Guns Of Navarone" (The Skatalites) sound like long-lost audio relics, the very beginnings of ska. Prince Buster clicks and puffs through "Al Capone", providing the impetus for Madness and The Specials. If some tunes weren't hits the first time around, they had their day as covers by the likes of Blondie, The Clash and UB40. The metamorphosis into rocksteady happened quickly and, early on disc 2, Bob Marley's sudden entrance illustrates how shocking reggae's slowed-down minimalism must have sounded in the early 1970s. Much of the second disc is dominated by a lighter pop-reggae, at its worst with "Side Show" (Barry Biggs), and its best with "Uptown Top Ranking" (Althea & Donna). We also get to hear the banned naughties of "Wet Dream" and "Big Seven" (Max Romeo and Judge Dread), never allowed in the playgrounds of the 1970s. --Martin Longley, BBC Music

Along with the two-CD expanded edition of the soundtrack of The Harder They Come, this compilation -- also two CDs, and with a whopping 50 tracks -- is the best anthology of early reggae music. (In fact eight cuts appear on both compilations, though the duplication certainly isn't excessive.) Some more roots-oriented reggae fans might argue that the selection on Young, Gifted and Black is too obvious and too geared toward songs that crossed over into the pop charts. But for most general listeners, whether avowed reggae fans and otherwise, this is simply a great collection of many of the 1960s and 1970s reggae recordings that were both among the best and most popular the style had to offer. Spanning 1960-1978, it includes some of the genre's biggest hits: Millie Small's "My Bob Lollipop," Desmond Dekker's "Israelites," Johnny Nash's "Hold Me Tight," Jimmy Cliff's "Wonderful World, Beautiful People," and Dave & Ansel Collins' "Double Barrel." There are also a number of tracks that were big pop hits in the U.K., though not in the U.S.: Bob & Marcia's cover of "Young, Gifted and Black," Max Romeo's controversial "Wet Dream," Greyhound's "Black and White" (the same song made into an American smash by Three Dog Night), Judge Dread's "Big Seven," and Susan Cadogan's delectable "Hurt So Good." And there are tunes that will be familiar to rock fans through covers, even if these specific versions aren't: Dandy Livingstone's "Rudy, a Message to You," Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby," the Paragons' "The Tide Is High," and Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves," for instance. That still leaves room for look-ins at other major reggae performers (Bob Marley & the Wailers, the Maytals); good reggae covers of American pop and soul hits; and enough fine, relatively little-traveled tracks to ensure that everyone will hear something new and good they haven't come across before, unless they're already a seasoned reggae collector. (by Richie Unterberger, Allmusic)

trax CD 1:
1. Oh Carolina - The Folkes Brothers 2. Madness - Prince Buster 3. My Boy Lollipop - Millie 4. Guns Of Navarone - The Skatalites 5. I'm In The Mood For Ska - Lord Tanamo 6. Al Capone - Prince Buster & The All Stars 7. 007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker 8. Rudy, A Message To You - Dandy Livingstone 9. The Tide Is High - The Paragons 10. Train To Skaville - The Ethiopians 11. Hold Me Tight - Johnny Nash 12. Angel Of The Morning - Joya Landis 13. Wet Dream - Max Romeo 14. Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces 15. Return Of DJango - The Upsetters 16. Red Red Wine - Tony Tribe 17. Wonderful World, Beautiful People - Jimmy Cliff 18. Long Shot Kick De Bucket - The Pioneers 19. Liquidator - The Harry J. Allstars 20. Monkey Man - Toots & The Maytals 21. Elizabethan Reggae - Boris Gardiner 22. Many Rivers To Cross - Jimmy Cliff 23. Rivers Of Babylon - The Melodians 24. Kingston Town - Lord Creator 25. Young, Gifted & Black - Bob & Marcia
trax CD 2:
1. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Desmond Dekker 2. Love Of The Common People - Nicky Thomas 3. Black Pearl - Horace Faith 4. Montego Bay - Freddie Notes & The Rudies 5. Sun Is Shining - Bob Marley & The Wailers 6. Johnny Too Bad - The Slickers 7. Double Barrel - Dave & Ansel Collins 8. Rain - Bruce Ruffin 9. Let Your Yeah Be Yeah - The Pioneers 10. Black And White - The Pioneers 11. Cherry Oh Baby - Eric Donaldson 12. Monkey Spanner - Dave & Ansel Collins 13. Suzanne Beware Of The Devil - Dandy Livingstone 14. Big Seven - Judge Dread 15. Everything I Own - Ken Boothe 16. Help Me Make It Through The Night - John Holt 17. Ire Feelings (Skanga) - Rupie Edwards 18. Hurt So Good - Susan Cadogan 19. Midnight Rider - Paul Davidson 20. Fatty Bum Bum - Carl Malcolm 21. Dat Pluto - Shervington 22. Side Show - Barry Biggs 23. Uptown Top Ranking - Donna & Althea 24. Money In My Pocket - Dennis Brown 25. Police And Thieves - Junior Murvin
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