Album cover of King Jammy's Selectors Choice, Vol. I. - Contributed

Title: King Jammy's Selector's Choice. Vol.1

Artistes: Various

Label: VP Records

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of four

Just so you know, there are four volumes to this set and each volume has two discs, with an average of 20 tunes each. Combined you are getting 160 tunes, more or less, in four stunning compilations. If there is more to be said for the virtue of the set, I have two words: King Jammy's.

If you don't know what that means, look it up. If you really don't know what that means, you need to own these discs.

It is imperative that any fan of reggae and dancehall music know a little about the history of the genres, where they are coming from and to what they have become.

You will not get much of the present on these discs, but you will certainly get at least a sense of its history.

For the uninitiated, the songs are catalogued according to the rhythms and appear in that order on the disc. There are tunes from as far back as the 70s, and the liner notes, written by Rob Kenner, give brief but interesting titbits on the song, singer or impact of the tune. Lesson one.

Lesson two: how to compile a real, roots, hard-core album. No fluffs. No frills. Wayne Smith opens the collection on the Darkershade Riddim with Ain't No Meaning. Dennis Brown's musical but sparse The Exit closes the presentation on the Tempo Riddim, but there is more from Johnny Osbourne, Nitty Gritty, Half Pint and Cocoa Tea, Hugo Barrington, Tenor Saw, John Wayne, Nicodemus and Shabba from before the 'Ranks' was no longer necessary. The list is too long and the tunes too many.

Plus, why spoil the surprise?

Track listing:

Disc 1

1. Ain't No Meaning - Wayne Smith

2. Draw Mi Mark - Nitty Gritty

3. People Are You Ready - Johnny Osbourne

4. It A Ring - Tonto Irie

5. In Deh - Pad Anthony

6. Hog In A Minty - Nitty Gritty

7. The Exit - Dennis Brown

8. What a La La - Johnny Osbourne

9. Come Along - Wayne Smith

10. False Alarm - Nitty Gritty

11. Good Morning Teacher - Nitty Gritty

12. Stalag Excursion - Dean Fraser

13. Mr. Landlord - Half Pint

14. It's Magic - Dennis Brown

15. Nah Look No Wuk - Cocoa Tea

16. Denise - Pinchers

17. Let Off Supum - Leroy Smart

18. Bad Bwoy Gone a Jail - Super Black

19. It's Over - Hugo Barrington

20. Shame To See - Admiral Tibet

Disc 2

1. Pumpkin Belly - Tenor Saw

2. Call The Police - John Wayne

3. Under Mi Sleng Teng - Wayne Smith

4. Buddy Bye - Johnny Osbourne

5. Original Fat Thing - Echo Minott

6. Eagles Feather - Nicodemus

7. Agony - Pinchers

8. Big Belly Man - Admiral Bailey

9. Synthesizer Voice - Pompidoo

10. Must Love Reggae - Shabba Ranks

11. Don't Pirate It - Risto Benji

12. Me Nuh Response - Major Worries

13. Police Inna England - Peter Metro

14. Girlie Girlie - Tonto Irie

15. Clarks Booty - Little John

16. No Warrior - Junior Delgado

17. Warrior - Johnny Osbourne

18. Advantage - Admiral Tibet

19. Material Girl - Dennis Brown

- Alicia Roache