The Beat "Wha'ppen?" (1981)

original cover

Wha'ppen?
release date: June 1981
format: vinyl (BEAT 3) / cd (1999 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Bob Sargeant
label: Go Feet Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Doors of Your Heart" (4 / 5) - 2. "All Out to Get You" - 3. "Monkey Murders" - 4. "I Am Your Flag" - - B) 2. "Walk Away" (4 / 5) (live)

2nd studio album by The Beat is like the debut produced by Bob Sargeant and originally released on the band's own label, Go Feet. The sextet remains intact, but it's quite evident that the style has altered since I Just Can’t Stop It from 1980. The tempo has slowed down and it's much more an experimentation with a huge fusion of styles.
Instead of the more original ska revival and 2-tone there's clearly more focus on reggae and calypso with steel band and dub.
The album was released to mixed reviews but still sold quite well reaching #3 on the national albums chart list and NME ranked the album #4 on its 'Albums of the Year' end list.
The album contains some very fine compositions, but the overall impression is a release with many loose ends - some fillers, and perhaps also what appears as an incoherent release, partly because of the strong debut with its tight original sound and sheer energy, but also because of an indistinct direction and blend of too many styles. That said, Wha'ppen? may not equal the strong debut but it's really no near a mediocre album - it simply contains too many fine compositions..
The '99 remaster has a different track listing and comes with several bonus tracks. [ allmusic.com, Records Mirror, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

1999 cover

"This Is England" (OST) (2007)

This Is England (soundtrack)
release date: 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 7. Al Barry & The Cimarons "Morning Sun" (3,5 / 5) - 9. Toots & The Maytals "Louie Louie" - 10. Toots & The Maytals "Pressure Drop" (4 / 5) - 12. The Specials "Do the Dog" (3,5 / 5) - 15. The Upsetters "Return of Django" (3,5 / 5) - 20. Percy Sledge "The Dark End of the Street"

Original Soundtrack compilation album made for the fine full length British feature film "This Is England" (2006) directed by Shane Meadows. The movie is an interesting and disturbing portrait of working class England in the early 1980s, and the soundtrack is likewise interesting but also very varied. Best tracks are the reggae and ska tracks by Toots & The Maytalls (three tracks), Al Barry & The Cimarons, The Specials, and The Upsetters.
[ film trailer ]

Toots & The Maytals "Sweet and Dandy: The Best of Toots & The Maytals" (2002)

Sweet and Dandy: The Best of Toots & The Maytals" (compilation)
release date: 2002
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Trojan Records - nationality: Jamaica

A 24 track compilation album by Toots & The Maytals. It contains many of the band's best tracks but I don't find it a sufficient attempt. I mean, this band has released dozens of singles and albums that were only available in Jamaica. What is needed is an album that seeks out to collect the best of what they released, from being The Maytals, and in doing so pays the appropriate respect to the different styles and genres they went through, and I think this one misses out on that - 'cause fact is, Toots & The Maytals were not 'just' among the most important contributors in shaping reggae as a genre but also a prominent artist of ska, soul and rocksteady.
The album is slightly better than Island Jamaica's 2-disc album Time Tough - The Anthology from 1996, which contains almost twice as many tracks, but unfortunately put too strong focus on compositions from the 1970s that are not crucial.
Perhaps a better best of album to get hold of could be either Sanctuary Records 2002 2-disc album 54-46 Was My Number: Anthology 1964 to 2000, or the 2-disc album Pressure Drop: The Definitive Collection released on Trojan in 2008.

Toots & The Maytals "Time Tough - The Anthology" (1996)

Time Tough - The Anthology (compilation)
release date: 1996
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Island Jamaica - nationality: Jamaica

2 -disc best of compilation album by Toots & The Maytals. The album consists of a total of 41 tracks (23 on disc 1, and 18 on disc 2) put in chronological order. A few tracks are unreleased recordings but the majority of the songs here are written by Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert, which is a nice thing about the selection of songs. Disc 1 is clearly the most interesting of the two parts, and my biggest complaint is that there simply aren't enough compositions from the early period, which again explains the lower quality of the second disc. Focus seems to narrow in on the true reggae roots instead of the greatness of rocksteady and ska.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros "Global A Go-Go" (2001)

Global a Go-Go
release date: Jul. 24, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Scott Shields, Martin Slattery, Joe Strummer, Richard Flack
label: HellCat Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Johnny Appleseed" - 2. "Cool'n'out" - 3. "Global A Go-Go" - 4. "Bhindi Bhagee" - 6. "Mega Bottle Ride" - 9. "Bummed Out City"

2nd studio album by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros and Strummer's 4th full solo album. The album continues from Rock Art and the X-Ray Style (1999) but with a more world music and rock & roll attitude about it that makes it sound more like a modern roots rock release. My first verdict was one of luke-warm feelings but it's actually much better than that. It's varied, complex and hard-rocking in it's own original way using elements from a huge melting pot of styles and genres, but without losing direction. Roger Daltrey of The Who feature on vocals on track #3 and Strummer wrote all lyrics except for track #11.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Maui Wowie "Kugleskør / Sort - Hvid" (1982) (single)

'own scan'

Kugleskør / Sort - Hvid, 7'' single
release date: 1982
format: vinyl (Gens 1007)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Karsten Sommer and Maui Wowie
label: Genlyd - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Kugleskør" - - B) "Sort - Hvid"

Single release by Danish reggae-band Maui Wowie is the band's first and only single. The album back cover reads: "side A: Kugleskør - side B: Sort - Hvid." But on the record, the side featuring "Kugleskør" is labelled "A.side. 1007-1" whilst the other side reads: "1.side. 1007-A" - both indicating a 'side one'. This is further complicated on the matrix etched code, which reads "GENS 1007-Ӂ" [stressed-out letter] and "GENS 1007-A" respectively... Basically, implying they just wanted to release a single with two songs. The band consists of 9 [!] members all credited on the back cover, which depicts a blurred image of nine persons. Although, Maui Wowie didn't release that many albums and singles, they were a quite familiar band in the early '80s, and together with another Danish 'roots reggae'-band, Tredie Tilstand, they represented 'reggae' as inspired by Marley and British UB40, and its original sound.
The band released its first and only album Maui Wowie in '83 without any of these two tracks, and they played at the largest festivals (Roskilde and Midtfyn) in '83 and '84. An inspirational journey to Africa in '84 had them change their style to 'afro-funk', and without releasing any further new material the band split in '88.

[ collectors' item ]

Bob Marley and The Wailers "Legend - The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers" (1984)

Legend - The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers (compilation)
release date: 1984
format: vinyl (gatefold)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Island Records - nationality: Jamaica

Compilation album by Bob Marley and The Wailers, and one of the better ones. The album contains 14 tracks.

UB40 "UB44" (1982)

UB44
release date: Sep. 13, 1982
format: vinyl (LP DEP 3) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: UB40 and Ray "Pablo" Falconer
label: DEP International - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "So Here I Am" - 2. "I Won't Close My Eyes" - 4. "Love Is All Is Alright" - 5. "The Piper Calls the Tune" - - B) 3. "Folitician"

3rd studio album by UB40 and the bands second studio album on DEP sees the band move into a more mainstream-sounding style. Credited band members on the album are: James Brown on drums, syncussion [synthesised percussion / electronic drum pads] and vocals, Ali Campbell on vocals & guitar, Robin Campbell on guitar & vocals, Earl Falconer on bass, Norman Hassan on percussion & trombone, Brian Travers on saxophones, Michael Virtue on keyboards and Astro on toasting, trumpet and vocals.
UB44 still bonds to roots reggae and dub but some tracks are composed with an ear for harmony vocals and more traditional pop compositions. That said, it's really much of a transitional album. The successor, Labour of Love (1984) and the predecessor, Present Arms (1981) may not have much in common, but UB44 is the album that sort of glues them nicely together.
The first UK pressings of the album were issued with a hologram-cover.

Stiff Little Fingers "Go for It" (1981)

Go for It
release date: Apr. 17, 1981
format: vinyl (CHR 1339) / cd (2004 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Doug Bennett
label: Chrysalis Records - Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae" (5 / 5) (live) - 2. "Just Fade Away" - 3. "Go for It" - 4. "The Only One" - 5. "Hits and Misses" - - B) 1. "Kicking Up a Racket" (4 / 5) - 2. "Safe as Houses" (4 / 5) - 3. "Gate 49" (4 / 5) - 4. "Silver Lining" - *11. "Mr. Fire Coal Man" - *12. "Doesn't Make It All Right" (Bonus track) - *13. "Back to Front" (Bonus track)
*Bonus track on 2004 cd reissue

3rd studio album by Stiff Little Fingers originally released on Chrysalis is the bands last album with producer Doug Bennett, who produced all their previous albums. The first two albums document the simple and raw energy of punk rock with the second album as a more complex and well-produced release, this then shows the band on the border to punk rock. "Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae" is a fantastic song. It's a cover-version of a track originally written and performed by Bunny Wailer (original song titled "Roots, Raddics", from the album Dubd'sco Vol. 1, 1978) but in SLF's completely altered version it comes alive in a new form. Many punk rock bands were highly influenced by reggae, because both genres were for and about the people, the working class, and the lyrical subjects were often the same, however, most punk rock artists incorporating reggae in their music, played rocksteady, ska revival or reggae - this version is a perfect clone of two very different outputs, rarely heard this energetic. The second track, "Just Fade Away" shows SLF in a new shape mixing many styles: pop / rock, new wave and with some punk rock. "The title track is an instrumental, which quickly became the band's theme song - a song that would be played just before the start of any concert. "The Only One" is another fine example of a blend of punk rock and reggae, which comes through on several tracks on this album. "Gate 49" is a different mix using more traditional 1950s American rock & roll.
The cd version includes the great "Mr. Fire Coal Man" another reggae cover of Wailing Souls as well as a fine cover of "Doesn't make It All Right" by The Specials, (also album version on Nobody's Heroes) and it ends with a more than 25 mins. interview with Jake Burns.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Bob Marley "Greatest Hits of Bob Marley" (1980)

Greatest Hits of Bob Marley (compilation)
release date: 1980
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Lee Perry
label: Babylon - nationality: Jamaica

Compilation album by Bob Marley with twelve tracks.

UB40 "The Singles Album" (1980)

The Singles Album (compilation)
release date: 1980
format: vinyl (GRADSLP 3)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Bob Lamb, UB40, Ray "Pablo" Falconer
label: Graduate Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Food for Thought" - 2. "King" - 3. "My Way of Thinking" - 4. "I Think Its Going to Rain Today" - 5. "Dream a Lie" - - B) 1. "Tyler" - 2. "Adella" - 3. "Little by Little" - 4. "The Earth Dies Screaming" (12" Version)

1st compilation album by UB40 released in the same year as the band's debut album, which may seem a bit strange, but fact is, the band released four singles in 1980 - the first single with "Tyler" as A-side had two tracks on the B-side ("Adella" and "Food for Thought") and the other three singles consisted of two tracks each, which makes a total of nine tracks, and that's exactly the number of tracks on this album. Also, the band released these singles on Graduate Records, while signing for DEP International in late 1980, which perhaps better explains the purpose of this issue.
Six of the tracks are actually found on the strong debut album, which was a double vinyl release containing 13 tracks.
The album is a fine collection displaying the band's initial take on roots reggae in combination of dub reggae completely without the band's later taste for melodic pop.

Black Uhuru "Red" (1981)

Red
release date: May 25, 1981
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar
label: Island Records - nationality: Jamaica

Studio album by Jamaican reggae band Black Uhuru. The album is the second with a line-up consisting of Michael Rose, Sandra 'Puma' Jones and Derek 'Duckie' Simpson, and it's also the second consecutive album to have the producer-duo Sly & Robbie in the producer seats.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Toots & The Maytals "Funky Kingston" (1973)

Funky Kingston
release date: 1973
format: cd (1991 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Warwick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Dave Bloxham
label: Island Records - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Sit Right Down" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Pomp and Pride" (4 / 5) - 3. "Louie Louie" (4 / 5) - 4. "I Can't Believe" - 5. "Redemption Song" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Daddy's Home" (4 / 5) - 7. "Funky Kingston" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "It Was Written Down" (3,5 / 5)

7th studio album by Toots & The Maytals org. released on Dragon (Records) and the first to be released internationally. It's quite evident that the album had been in the hands of more talented producers, as the sound is clearly bettering the predecessor Slatyam Stoot (1972). The album comes in two major different versions: the original Jamaican and similar European issues, and a 1975 issue released for the American market with a completely different track set [found here].
Many of the tracks had been issued on previous albums. "Pomp and Pride", "Louie Louie", "Redemption Song" and "It Was Written Down" were all on the '72 album in other versions. "Daddy's Home" is also found on the previous album and on the debut The Sensational Maytals (1965) as "Daddy", but here that song has been given its original name and the song has doubled its running time and become a reggae composition instead of the former rocksteady version(s), which built on the original 1961 doo-wop single by Shep and the Limelites (written by James Sheppard. The song has been covered by a vast number of artists).
[ allmusic.com, Sputnikmusic 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

The Clash "Sandinista!" (1980)

Sandinista!
release date: Dec. 12, 1980
format: vinyl 3 lp (CBS 66363) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,74]
producer: Mickey Dread, The Clash
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "The Magnificent Seven" (4 / 5) - 3. "Junco Partner" - 4. "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" - 5. "The Leader" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Rebel Waltz" - 3. "The Crooked Beat" - 4. "Somebody Got Murdered" (4 / 5) - 5. "One More Time" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "One More Dub" - - C) 1. "Lighting Strikes (Not Once But Twice)" - 2. "Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)" (4 / 5) - 3. "Corner Soul" (4 / 5) - 4. "Let's Go Crazy" (4,5 / 5) - - D) 1. "Police on My Back" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "The Equaliser" - 4. "The Call Up" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Washington Bullets" - - E) 1. "Lose This Skin" - 2. "Charlie Don't Surf" (4 / 5) - 4. "Junkie Slip" - 5. "Kingston Advice" - - F) 1. "Version City" - 3. "Silicone on Sapphire" - 4. "Version Pardner"
[ full album playlist ]

4th studio album by The Clash is a triple vinyl album introducing the band's perhaps most radical work of art. If London Calling is acclaimed for its daring huge blend of styles, then this should simply be the best album of all times, if ever that was enough to make great music. With this, The Clash has composed music in punk rock, rockabilly, jazz rock, reggae, dub, post-punk, rock & roll, experimental rock and several tracks with no familiar style to label it with. It was tremendously daring to release an album of this sort - at this point of time. My initial feelings towards the album undoubtedly were shaped by disappointment and delusion. "Where were the great punk songs? What was wrong with punk rock?", I thought. I had only just discovered punk rock - loved it, and then this! From one of my absolute favourite bands! For the first 5 years, I felt they could have released a great regular album using 10-15 tracks from this abundance of... 36 [!]. But it's an album, I have only come to like and enjoy more and more over the years. Today, I'm close to handing it 4 / 5 stars, and then, back in '81, I would probably have handed it 2 / 5 - maybe 2,5 'cause it is The Clash after all. Yes, they could have scraped everything away, all the experiments with styles and genres and released a hell of an album, but this is so... much fun. I think, in the future this could be on par with the works of Mozart, Stravinsky or other major classical composers' work 'cause it's really unlike anything else, and not just that. There are so many layers here that once you find into the substance / the essence, it will keep you entertained for years and perhaps decades. Critics have also been divided on this - and they still are. I think, the album fits perfectly on any best of lists comprising the most valuable, most important albums of all time. Because 'best' is such a defining label. How about the importance of an album instead of just 'best'? This would be nominated for exactly such a prize.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

"Radio-Active - 20 Electric Hits" (1980)

Radio-Active - 20 Electric Hits (compilation)
release date: 1980
format: vinyl (RTL 2049)
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: Ronco - nationality: England, UK

Compilation album of various artists released on British low-budget label, Ronco.
The album is a bit of a strange collection - some great tracks but mixed with songs of too different artists, e.g. Gillan, Genesis, Black Sabbath together with Robert Palmer, Ottowan, Kelly Marie, UB40 and XTC, OMD and Gary Numan... The common denominator being the UK and with some bonds to the establisment of an electronic / synth style, I guess.

The Clash "Black Market Clash" (1980)

Black Market Clash (compilation)
release date: Nov. 1980
format: vinyl (12EXP-304) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,07]
producer: Mickey Foote; The Clash; Mickey Dread
label: Epic Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Capital Radio One" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Prisoner" (4 / 5) - 3. "Pressure Drop" (5 / 5) (alt. version) - 4. "Cheat" (4 / 5) - 5. "City of the Dead" (5 / 5) - 6. "Time Is Tight" (3 / 5) - - B) 1. "Bankrobber / Robber Dub" (4 / 5) - 2. "Armagideon Time" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Justice Tonight / Kick It Over" (4 / 5)

Compilation album by The Clash only for the North American market issued by Epic Records (sub-label of CBS Records). Most of the tracks had been issued as B-sides to single releases for the UK and European market only. The decision to release it only one month before the band's third studio album, the triple lp Sandinista!, may seem a bit strange, but that release was postponed until Jan. 1981 on the American continent, and Black Market Clash wasn't released in Europe until 1991. I found the 12'' vinyl at my local record store (the first US issues were 10'' vinyl), as an import item back in 1983 or '84. At first, I thought of it as a non-official release, as no-one really new of it. Back then, The Clash was huge, although Sandinista! was a bit of a peculiar experience / development in sound. I remember that I was quite fond of this one, and primarily saw it as an album that linked the epic London Calling (1979) and Sandinista! rather nicely.
Over the years, I have come to appreciate it even more. In the early '80s, I had some difficulty in getting along with reggae and many punk rock and ska revival artists' honouring and trying out the genre. A lot of punk and new wave artists had to do some reggae track sooner or later, and often with little success. But The Clash didn't just try it, they combined, mixed, and altered the original Jamaican style into a new blend. Actually, many of the new ska revival bands played a British version that was close to rocksteady and Jamaican ska, but The Clash was more reggae-minded in a more experimental way using dub in nearly all their reggae inspired tracks. "Pressure Drop" is originally by Toots & The Maytals but The Clash completely changed the track into a more energetic punk rock AND reggae song, which is amazing. The original song IS really great, and it's only a mystery how Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert never was hailed as much as Bob Marley. Joe Strummer's vocal is characteristically crisp as ever, and the harmonic Strummer / Jones backing vocals are just top-notch together with tight but also reggae styled guitar, bass and drums. Half of the tracks are in the reggae dub category, and the other half is punk rock as in 'Best The Clash way possible'. The album was reissued as "Super Black Market Clash" (1993) with 21 tracks but that issue seems way to uneven, and some of the best tracks from the original release are strangely omitted.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Toots & The Maytals "Slatyam Stoot" (1972)

Slatyam Stoot
release date: 1972
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Warrick Lyn
label: Dynamic Sounds - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Louie Louie" - 2. "Pomp & Pride" - 3. "Daddy" (4 / 5) - 4. "If You Act This Way" - 5. "Pressure Drop" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Redemption Song" (4 / 5) - 7. "Come Reggae" (4 / 5) - 8. "The Same Thing" - 9. "Collie Baby" - 10. "It Was Written Down"

6th studio album by Toots & The Maytals nearly only features compositions written by Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert. The first song is a cover written by Richard Berry. "Pomp & Pride" may be referred to as rocksteady but it fits nicely in the new emerging genre of reggae.
"Daddy" had first been released in '65 on The Sensational Maytals and is here rearranged into a roots reggae version, and "Pressure Drop" was issued in '69 on the album Sweet and Dandy, and is here slightly less tight. Track #7 "Come Reggae", an uptempo soul, rocksteady and reggae composition by Toots Hibbert is another song with the word "reggae" in the title - the first known song with the word was the 'Toots' Hibbert track "Do the Reggay" from 1968, thus giving name to the new genre. The last three tracks on the album are actually the most reggae-styled tracks on the entire album, although I don't find them bettering the first seven.
The album is yet another great release by Toots & The Maytals, and as such highly recommended.

Bob Marley and The Wailers "Kaya" (Mar. 1978)

Bob Marley

Kaya (Mar. 1978)

[album rate: 3 / 5]

"Is This Love"
.  .  .
.  .
. 

The Clash "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" (1978) (single)

"Black" cover

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais, 7'' single
release date: Jun. 17, 1978
format: vinyl (CBS 6384)
[single rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: The Clash
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" (4,5 / 5) - - B) "The Prisoner" (4 / 5)

Single release by The Clash. A great single with two tracks that are not on either the debut album nor the '78 studio album. The A-side track however appears on the US version of the debut album, which wasn't released until 1979 (with a very different track list but almost identical cover) after their actual second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978). The B-side track also appears on the compilation ep Black Market Clash (1980). Both tracks show how reggae was a major source of inspiration for The Clash and songwriter Joe Strummer.

       

"Yellow"    
alt cover     

"Green"
alt cover 

"Blue"
alt cover 

Toots & The Maytals "Sweet and Dandy" (1969)

Sweet and Dandy
release date: 1969
format: digital (1998 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Leslie Kong
label: Jet Set Records - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Monkey Man" (5 / 5) - 2. "Pressure Drop" (5 / 5) - 3. "I Shall Be Free" - 4. "Bla Bla Bla" (4 / 5) - 5. "Just Tell Me" - 6. "We Shall Overcome" - 7. "Sweet & Dandy" - 8. "Scare Him" - 9. "Alidina" (4 / 5) - 10. "I Need Your Love" - 11. "54-46 That's My Number" (4 / 5) - 12. "Oh Yeah"

3rd studio album by The Maytals - the first as Toots & The Maytals, and the first to feature material almost entirely written by vocalist Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert. The album was originally released on Beverley's Records founded and owned by [legendary] Chinese Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, and in 1998 reissued on cd by Jet Set Records.
This album is one of the absolute best ever studio releases of rocksteady and Jamaican ska. "Monkey Man" was a favourite cover song by The Specials and later Amy Winehouse, "Pressure Drop" has been covered by many including Robert Palmer and my personal favourite: The punk reggae version by The Clash. That song is together with the title track "Sweet & Dandy" and "I Need Your Love" music that forecast the genre of reggae.