The Vibrators Impact All Stars
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The Train To Skaville single was very much “the little train that could”. The disc managed to post a top 40 placing in the UK under some of the most unpromising of circumstances. Cut in 1967 with backing from Lynn Taitt And The Jets, it was originally issued in Britain on the tiny Rio label owned by one William Rickard, really just an off-shoot of his record shop which catered for Jamaican recordings. With little radio support, the key to its success was the popularity it gained on the dance club scene. This momentum pushed it onwards and into the charts.The taste that the Mods had got for Jamaican music through the Ska boom had remained as that fashion receded and this enduring interest led to the talented duo of Leonard Dillon and Stephen Taylor’s sole hit. Though another British chart placing eluded them, Train To Skaville set them up for a long run of success back in Jamaica with many well respected recordings. A knock on effect of the single’s triumph was they were one of the few artists afforded the opportunity of cutting a long playing record so early on in their careers, the Engine 54 LP that we have here.

Among the most important full-length album works from one of reggae’s greatest singers, Mr. Isaacs shows the great Gregory Isaacs in the prime of his career in 1976. Better known for his love songs, Isaacs was equally adept at cultural themes. The tracks “Set The Captives Free” and “Slave Master” are among the most popular in his catalog, the latter immortalized on film in the movie Rockers. The track “Storm” became an early dancehall favorite, its rhythm track reimagined no fewer than 75 times over the last 40 years. Isaacs love of rocksteady shines in his cover of the Silvertones’ “Smile,” and his soulful side comes through on a cover of The Temptations’ “Get Ready.” The breadth of material on Mr. Isaacs is the hallmark of a reggae classic.