Reggae / Oldies / Ska Recommendations February 2016

Review: You have to admire the depth and variety of DJ Muro's record collection. The renowned crate digger's sprawling discography contains hundreds of mix CDs in a multitude of styles, from hip-hop, disco, boogie and obscure funk, to slow jams, Balearica and soundtrack instrumentals. Here, he delivers the third installment in his Super Funky Reggae Breaks series, once again digging deep to present a killer collection of largely obscure material. As usual, there's no track list - that would spoil the fun, after all - with the 28 tracks touching on ska, roots, dub, rocksteady, reggae-disco and, of course, "super funky reggae". It is, of course, a hugely entertaining romp from one of Japanese dance music's most versatile DJs.

Review: "If ever there was a Sound that has taken the Island by storm, then it is Rock Steady". Thus began the liner notes for Sounds...Rock Steady, the 1967 debut album from Jamaican combo Lynn Taitt & The Jets. In the years since, the album's reputation as an instrumental rock steady classic has only grown, with original vinyl copies of the set going for surprisingly high prices online. Here it gets a deserved reissue. It's lost none of its' quirky charm, with dancefloor-ready instrumentals being joined by curious slow jams (an organ-heavy cover of Prokofiev's "Theme From Romeo & Juliet") and eccentric cover versions. These include a surprisingly good rendition of Sandie Shaw fave "Puppet On A String", and a horn-heavy rendition of early Bob Marley number "Nice Time".