Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend (1984)

Bob Marley and the Wailers (also known as The Wailing Wailers, Bob Marley & the Wailers, and The Wailers) were a Jamaican reggae band led by Bob Marley. It developed from the ska vocal group, The Teenagers, created by Peter Tosh, Marley, and Bunny Wailer in 1963. By late 1963 singers Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith had joined on. By the early 1970s, Marley and Bunny Wailer had learned to play some instruments, and brothers Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass) and Carlton Barrett (drums), had joined the band. After Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh left the band in 1974, Marley began touring with new band members as Bob Marley and the Wailers. His new backing band included the Barrett brothers, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl “Wya” Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin “Seeco” Patterson on percussion. The “I Threes”, consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley’s wife, Rita, provided backing vocals.

Legend is a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released in May 1984 by Island Records. It is a greatest hits collection of singles in its original vinyl format and is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with over 12 million sold in the US, over 3.3 million in the UK (where it is the seventeenth best-selling album[1]) and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally. In 2003, the album was ranked number 46 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revised list,[5] but dropping to number 48 in the 2020 revised list.

As of 14 December 2021, Legend has spent a total of 708 nonconsecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart—the second longest run in history. Also, as of 14 December 2021, it has spent 1,007 weeks in the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart—the third longest run in the chart’s history.

The album contains all ten of Bob Marley’s Top 40 hit singles in the UK up to the time,[10] plus three songs from the original Wailers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston in “Stir It Up,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” and “Get Up, Stand Up,” along with the closing song from the album Uprising, “Redemption Song.” Of the original tracks, only four date from prior to the Exodus album.[citation needed]

The cassette tape release of the album featured two extra songs, “Punky Reggae Party,” the B-side to the “Jamming” single, and “Easy Skanking” from the Kaya album. A second generation compact disc remastered by Barry Diament appeared in 1990 on the Tuff Gong label. Although the disc includes the same 14 songs, the tracks are in their original album lengths rather than the edited versions for single release.

On 12 February 2002, the expanded 14-track edition with songs at album lengths were remastered for compact disc with a bonus disc consisting of 1984-vintage remixes for extended dance club singles and dub versions. In 2004, the Legend double-disc deluxe edition was reissued with the music DVD of the same name in the sound + vision deluxe edition. In 2010, Legend was made available as downloadable content for Rock Band. However, it was released without “Get Up, Stand Up”, which was later included on Rock Band 3. In June 2012, a high fidelity audiophile version of the album was released on HDtracks in 96 kHz/24bit and 192 kHz/24bit resolutions.

Legend has peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, making it Marley’s highest-charting album in the US. It also holds the distinction of being the second longest-charting album in the history of Billboard magazine. Combining its chart life on the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Catalog Albums charts, Legend has had a chart run of 2165 nonconsecutive weeks, surpassed only by Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon at 2166 nonconsecutive weeks. As of the Billboard issue dated 18 December 2021, the album has charted on the Billboard 200 for 708 nonconsecutive weeks. As of December 2017, Legend has sold 12.3 million copies in the US since 1991 when SoundScan started tracking album sales, making it the ninth best-selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era. The RIAA has certified Legend for selling 15 million copies, a total that includes purchases before 1991.

In the United Kingdom, Legend has been certified 13× Platinum, and is the 16th best-selling album in that country of all time,with sales of over 3,380,000 as of July 2016.

As of April 2012, the album has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

Despite its generally positive reception, Legend has been criticized for being a deliberately inoffensive selection of Marley’s less political music, shorn of any radicalism that might damage sales. In 2014 in the Phoenix New Times, David Accomazzo wrote “Dave Robinson, who constructed the tracklist for Legend, [said that] the tracklist for Legend deliberately was designed to appeal to white audiences. Island Records had viewed Marley as a political revolutionary, and Robinson saw this perspective as damaging to Marley’s bottom line. So he constructed a greatest-hits album that showed just one face of the Marley prism, the side he deemed most sellable to the suburbs. […] If you’re looking for mass-market appeal to secular-progressive America, you don’t include songs that invoke collective guilt over the slave trade, nor do you address the inconvenient truth that the bucolic Jamaican lifestyle of reggae, sandy beaches, and marijuana embraced by millions of college freshmen, exists only because of the brutal slave trade. […] the songs on Legend offer just a brief glimpse into his music. The definitive album of the most important reggae singer of all time is a hodgepodge collection of love songs, feel-good sentiment, and mere hints of the fiery activist whose politics drew bullets in the ’70s.” Vivien Goldman wrote in 2015, “when he does get played on the radio now, it’s the mellow songs, not the angry songs, that get heard – the ones that have been compiled on albums such as Legend. (wikipedia)

Personnel:
Al Anderson (guitar)
Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass, percussion)
Carlton Barrett (drums)
Tyrone Downie (keyboards, percussion, background vocals)
Bernard “Touter” Harvey (keyboards)
Donald Kinsey (guitar)
Earl “Wire” Lindo (keyboards)
Bob Marley (guitar, vocals, percussion)
Junior Marvin (guitar)
Earl “Chinna” Smith (guitar, percussion)
Peter Tosh (guitar, vocals, keyboards)
Bunny Wailer (percussion, vocals)
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percussion:
Alvin “Seeco” Patterson – Carlton Barrett – Earl “Wire” Lindo – Joe Higgs
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background vocals:
Earl “Wire” Lindo – Judy Mowatt – Junior Marvin – Marcia Griffiths – Rita Marley

Tracklist:
01. Is This Love (Marley) (Kaya;1978) 3.52
02. No Woman, No Cry (Marley/Ford) (Live!; 1975) 7.07
03. Could You Be Loved (Marley) (Uprising;1980) 3.55
04. Three Little Birds (Marley) (Exodus;1977) 3.00
05. Buffalo Soldier (7″ Edit) (Marley/Williams) (Confrontation;1983) 4.17
06. Get Up, Stand Up (Marley/Tosh) (Burnin’;1973) 3.17
07. Stir It Up (Edit) (Marley) (Catch A Fire; 1973) 5.33
08. One Love/People Get Ready (Marley/Mayfield) (Exodus;1977) 2.51
09. I Shot The Sheriff (Edit) (Marley) (Burnin’; 1973) 4.43
10. Waiting In Vain (Marley) (Exodus;1977) 4.15
11. Redemption Song (Marley) (Uprising;1980) 3.49
12. Satisfy My Soul (Marley) (Kaya;1978) 4.31
13. Exodus  (Marley) (Exodus;1977) 7.35
14. Jamming (7″ Edit) (Marley) (Exodus;1977) 3.31

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More from Bob Marley:

Alpha Blondy – Elohim (1999)

Alpha Blondy (born Seydou Koné; 1 January 1953 in Dimbokro, Ivory Coast) is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in his native language of Dioula, French and in English, though he occasionally uses other languages, for example, Arabic or Hebrew.

Elohim is his 1999 reggae album.

Six years old when it finally reached America, Elohim isn’t the great lost Alpha Blondy album as much as it is an exciting collection of tunes with a crummy cover and so-so production. The original Elohim cover displayed Blondy as a righteous, cross-carrying warrior, but ignore the post-concert, shoved-in-the-corner singer here and you’re in for an excellent — sometimes chilling — set of conscious lyrics with breezy music. Breezy to a fault, actually, since Blondy’s Solar System band seems flattened by the thin production most of the time. Compare the version of “Black Samourai” on the live Paris Bercy album to the one included here for proof, or consider how the wicked lyric “We take no prisoners/And we eat the wounded” sits on mannered, sterile beats. The tougher Merci from 2002 displayed that Blondy would grow as an executive producer, but Elohim is filled with prime Blondy songs, ones good enough to forgive the musical stiffness. “The Devil’s Tail” is up there with his best, “Take No Prisoner” is tougher than tough, and “Black Samourai” became the man’s anthem. To Shanachie’s credit, Elohim is 80 percent in French and the label does an excellent job of translating the lyrics for the booklet. Elohim is hardly the first reggae album to be brought down a peg by cheap, sterile production, but it makes you pine harder than usual for what could have been. (by David Jeffries)

Personnel:
Wayne Armond (guitar)
Alpha Blondy (vocals)
Jacques Bolognesi (trombone)
Christopher Burch (keyboards)
Alain Hatot (saxophone)
Christophe Hebert Assistant
Clive “Azul” Hunt (bass)
Samuel Kone (drums)
Guy N’Sangue (bass)
Mao Otayeck (guitar)
Rohan Romain (programming)
Guy Sangue (bass)
Philipp Slominski (trumpet)
Abou Watt (percussion)
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background vocals:
Sarr Julia – Julia Fenere Sarr – Marylou Seba – Lydie “Oliza” Zamata

Tracklist:
01. Black Samouri (Blondy) 4.39
02. Haridjinan (Blondy) 4.25
03. Les Voleurs de la République (Blondy) 4.22
04. Dictature (Blondy) 4.18
05. La Queue du Diable (Blondy) 4.52
06. Journalistes en danger (Démocrature) (Blondy) 4.13
07. When I Need You (Blondy) 3.48
08. Djeneba (Blondy) 4.37
09. Sabotage (Dekker) 4.01
10. Take No Prisoner (Cannibalistic) (Blondy) 4.43
11. Lune de miel (Honeymoon) (Blondy) 3.55
12. Waïkiki Rock (Blondy) 4.35
13. Petini Go Gaou (Blondy) 5.05
14. Mônin (Blondy) 4.13

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Bob Marley And The Wailers – Exodus (1977)

Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae recording band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released 3 June 1977 through Island Records. With the other original members leaving the group, Marley recruited a new backing band. Their first major success was Rastaman Vibration (1976). On 3 December 1976, an assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life in which his chest was grazed and his arm was struck, but he survived. Following the assassination attempt Marley left Jamaica and was exiled to London where Exodus was recorded.[2]Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae recording band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released 3 June 1977 through Island Records. With the other original members leaving the group, Marley recruited a new backing band. Their first major success was Rastaman Vibration (1976). On 3 December 1976, an assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life in which his chest was grazed and his arm was struck, but he survived. Following the assassination attempt Marley left Jamaica and was exiled to London where Exodus was recorded.

Exodus is a reggae album, incorporating elements of blues, soul, British rock and funk. The album’s production has been characterized as laid-back with pulsating bass beats and an emphasis on piano, trumpet and guitar. Unlike previous albums from the Wailers, Exodus thematically moves away from cryptic story-telling; instead it revolves around themes of change, religious politics, and sex. The album is split into two halves: the first half revolves around religious politics while the second half is focused on themes of sex and keeping faith.

The album was a success both critically and commercially; it received gold certifications in the US, UK and Canada, and was the album that propelled Marley to international stardom. In 2017 Exodus was remastered and re-released for its 40th anniversary. Exodus has more tracks on Marley’s greatest hits album, Legend—the highest selling reggae album of all time—than any of his other records.

In 1974, the Wailers disbanded with each of the three main members pursuing solo careers. Despite the break-up, Marley continued recording as “Bob Marley & The Wailers”. His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston “Family Man” Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Al Anderson and Junior Marvin on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl “Wya” Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin “Seeco” Patterson on percussion. The “I Threes”, consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley’s wife, Rita, provided backing vocals. In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, “No Woman, No Cry”, from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the United States, Rastaman Vibration (1976), which became the 48th best-selling album on the Billboard Soul Charts in 1978.

In December 1976, Jamaica was going through elections, generating substantial political discourse. In his campaign, Prime Minister Michael Manley used the campaign slogan “We know where we’re going.” In response Marley wrote “Exodus”, which is the title track of the album. The song became a No. 1 hit in Jamaica as well as the United Kingdom and Germany.

Cam described the album’s musical style as being “different,” noting that Marley’s style of reggae was not what was prominent in Jamaica during the time, and that the album’s music sounds unlike any reggae that came before its release.[6] Emeritus continued to describe the album’s sound as being rooted in the blues and soul, with elements of British Rock with a reggae “façade thrown on top” however Emeritus praised this saying “if Exodus was straight reggae, it probably wouldn’t be as good as it is.”
Exodus contains elements of pulsating bass beats, pianos and funk along with a “liquid-y bass,” drumming and guitars with the inclusion of trumpets in the title track. Unlike previous albums Exodus lyrical content moves away from cryptic story-telling and instead is clearer and more straight forward, the lyrics touch upon themes of change, religious politics and sex. Vocally, Marley provides a minimalist approach, trying not to reach his falsettos.

The album’s track listing is split over two halves, the first half features songs of religious politics and opens with Natural Mystic which is a slow tempo “fade up” song, followed by “So Much Things To Say” which was described by the BBC as being “exuberant” and features a reggae-scat. The following two songs Guiltiness and The Heathen explore darker territory, before ending on the album’s title track. The second half of the album features songs revolving around sex and keeping faith.
“Jamming”, “Waiting in Vain”, “One Love/People Get Ready”, and “Three Little Birds” were all major international hits. Exodus peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and at number 15 on the Black Albums chart, as well as remaining in the UK charts for 56 consecutive weeks, where it peaked at number 8.

In 1999, Time magazine named Exodus the best album of the 20th century. In 2001, the TV network VH1 named it the 26th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 169 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. (by wikipedia)

After the success of 1974’s Natty Dread and 1976’s Rastaman Vibration, Bob Marley was not only the most successful reggae musician in the world, he was one of the most powerful men in Jamaica. Powerful enough, in fact, that he was shot by gunmen who broke into his home in December 1976, days before he was to play a massive free concert intended to ease tensions days before a contentious election for Jamaican Prime Minister. In the wake of the assassination attempt, Marley and his band left Jamaica and settled in London for two years, where he recorded 1977’s Exodus. Thematically, Exodus represented a subtle but significant shift for Marley; while he continued to speak out against political corruption and for freedom and equality for Third World people, his lyrics dealt less with specifics and more with generalities and the need for peace and love (though “So Much Things to Say,” “Guiltiness,” and “The Heathen” demonstrate the bullets had taken only so much sting out of Marley’s lyrics).

And while songs like “Exodus” and “One Love/People Get Ready” were anthemic, they also had less to say than the more pointed material from Marley’s earlier albums. However, if Marley had become more wary in his point of view (and not without good cause), his skill as a songwriter was as strong as ever, and Exodus boasted more than a few classics, including the title song, “Three Little Birds,” “Waiting in Vain,” and “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” tunes that defined Marley’s gift for sounding laid-back and incisive at once. His gifts as a vocalist were near their peak on these sessions, bringing a broad range of emotional color to his performances, and this lineup of the Wailers — anchored by bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, drummer Carlton Barrett, and guitarist Julian “Junior” Murvin — is superb, effortlessly in the pocket throughout. Exodus was recorded at a time when Bob Marley was learning about the unexpected costs of international stardom, but it hadn’t yet sapped his creative strengths, and this is one of the finest albums in his stellar catalog. (by Mark Deming)

Personnel:
Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass, guitar, percussion)
Carlton Barrett (drums, percussion)
Tyrone Downie (keyboards, percussion, background vocals)
Bob Marley (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Julian (Junior) Marvin (guitar)
Alvin “Seeco” Patterson (percussion)
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I Threes:
Marcia Griffiths (background vocals)
Rita Marley (background vocals)
Judy Mowatt (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Natural Mystic 3.27
02. So Much Things To Say 3.08
03. Guiltiness 3:19
04. The Heathen 2.32
05. Exodus 7.35
06. Jamming 3.31
07. Waiting in Vain 4.16
08. Turn Your Lights Down Low   3:39
09. Three Little Birds 3.00
10. One Love/People Get Ready  2.51

All songs written by Bob Marley, escept “People Get Ready” written by

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David Lindley – Live At The Bottom Line, New York (1981)

David Lindley (born March 21, 1944) started his career with the psychedelic band Kaleidoscope in 1966 until 1970. Later he worked as a session musician with artists like Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne (performing a vocal on his song “Stay”), Dolly Parton, and David Crosby. His own band, El Rayo-X, released three albums in 1981-83 (the self-titled debut included “Mercury Blues”), and has released 22 albums as a solo act and appeared on 20 albums for other artists, including Browne’s 2010 release Love Is Strange, and Lindley joined Browne on tour in June 2010. His most recent collaboration was with Rickie Lee Jones in 2012.

David Lindley had released his debut solo album, El Rayo-X, in April 1981.

There was an older version in trading circles from an unknown gen and slightly shorter in length. This new posting is a total upgrade, with a known gen and complete. The tape flip was during crowd cheer, which I seamlessly pieced back together. No cuts in this recording. David dedicates ‘Brother John’ to John Lennon [Lennon was shot dead on December 8, 1980]. During the encore, David brings out his friend Jackson Browne. It’s a nice bonus.

Personnel:
Ras Baboo (percussion, background vocals)
Jorge Calderon (bass, vocals)
Bernie Larson (guitar)
David Lindley (guitar, vocals, fiddle, banjo)
Ian Wallace (drums)
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Jackson Browne (vocals on 20. + 21.)

Tracklist:
01. DJ Introduction 1.29
02. Twist & Shout 3:20 (Berns/Medley) 3.20
03. She Took Off My Romeos (Fuller) 5.28
04. Your Old Lady (Glick/Isley/Curtis) 5.34
05. Brother John (Neville) 8.04
06. Don’t Look Back (Robinson/White) 6.22
07. Tuning 3.27
08. The Reel Of The Hanging Man (unknown) 4.23
09. Tuning .43
10. Rag Bag (unknown) 5.12
11. Quarter Of A Man  (Fuller) 5.15
12. Band Introductions 2.51
13. Bye Bye Love  (F. Bryant/B.Bryant) 3.56
14. I’m A Hog For You Baby (Lieber/Stoller ) 3.10
15. Tu-ber-cu-lucas And The Sinus Blues  (Smith) 2.23
16. Rats In The Gramercy (unknown) 2.16
17. Mercury Blues (Douglas/Geddins) 3.57
18. DJ Comments 1.12
19. Pay The Man (Lindley/Pierre) 4.51
20. Doctor My Eyes (Browne) 6.57
21. El Rayo X (Calderón/Lindley) 4.25
22. DJ Outro 2.38

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Johnny Clegg & Savuka – Cruel, Crazy Beautiful World (1989)

When South Africa was still suffering under the apartheid system in the 1980s, Johnny Clegg & Savuka was the last thing apartheid supporters wanted in a pop group. Their lyrics were often vehemently anti-apartheid, and apartheid supporters hated the fact that a half-black, half-white outfit out of South Africa was integrated and proud of it. Released in the U.S. at the end of the 1980s, Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World is among the many rewarding albums the band has recorded. Sting and the Police are a definite influence on Clegg & Savuka, who have absorbed everything from various African pop styles to Western pop, funk, rock, and reggae. The lyrics are consistently substantial and frequently sociopolitical — “Bombs Away” addresses the violence of the apartheid regime, while “Warsaw 1943” reflects on the horrors Eastern Europe experienced at the hands of both communists and fascists during World War II. Clegg and company enjoyed a passionate following at the time, and this fine CD proves that it was well deserved. (by Alex Henderson)

Personnel:
Derek De Beer (drums, percussion, background vocals)
Johnny Clegg (vocals, guitar, concertina, umhuphe mouth bow)
Mandisa Dlanga (vocals)
Keith Hutchinson (keyboards, saxophone, background vocals)
Solly Letwaba (bass, background vocals)
Steve Mavuso (keyboards, background vocals)
Dudu Zulu (percussion, dance)
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Alex Acuña (percussion)
John Baxter (background vocals)
Benn Clatworthy (saxophone)
Tom Regis (keyboards)
Hilton Rosenthal (keyboards, background vocals)
Howard Shear (trumpet)
Bobby Summerfield (keyboards,drum programming, electronic percussion)
Roy Wigan (trumpet)

Tracklist:
01. One (Hu)’ Man One Vote (Clegg/Summerfield) 4.44
02. Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World (Clegg) 4.25
03. Jericho (Clegg) 4.17
04. Dela (I Know Why the Dog Howls at the Moon) (Clegg)
05. Moliva (Clegg)
06. It’s an Illusion (Clegg)
07. Bombs Away (Clegg)
08. Woman Be My Country (Clegg)
09. Rolling Ocean (Clegg/Mavuso)
10. Warsaw 1943 (I Never Betrayed The Revolution) (Clegg)
11. Vezandlebe (Clegg) 4.04

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Alton Ellis – Sings Rock And Soul (1967)

Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008) was a Jamaican vocalist. One of the innovators of rocksteady who was given the informal title “Godfather of Rocksteady”. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

Born Alton Nehemiah Ellis in Trench Town, Kingston, Jamaica. Ellis was raised within a musical family and learned to play the piano at a young age. He attended Ebeneezer and Boys’ Town schools, where he excelled in both music and sport. While at Boys’ Town Ellis performed as a dancer (in a duo) in the first show that a school director called Mr Bailey had organized for Vere Johns who had been invited down to talent scout. He would later compete on Vere Johns’ Opportunity Hour. After winning some competitions, he switched to singing, starting his career in 1959 as part of the duo Alton & Eddy with Eddy Parkins.

Ellis and Parkins recorded for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, initially in the R&B style, having a hit in 1960 with “Muriel” (from Dodd’s first commercially-oriented recording session at Federal studios), a song Ellis had written whilst working as a labourer on a building site. This initial success was followed by the release of “My Heaven” which like “Muriel” was a slow R&B ballad with the instrumental triplets and vocal harmonizing common to the ballads of that period. Further releases in the R&B style followed: “Lullabye Angel”, “I Know It All”, “I’m Never Gonna Cry” and “Yours”. The duo also recorded R&B tracks for Vincent Chin’s Randy’s label including “Let Me Dream”. The duo split after Parkins won a major talent contest and moved to the United States.[10] Ellis remained in Kingston, working as a printer and after losing his job, he restarted his music career, initially forming a new duo with John Holt. When Holt joined The Paragons, Ellis formed a new group, The Flames. Ellis continued to work for Dodd and also recorded for his arch-rival, Duke Reid on his Treasure Isle label. At the start of his career Ellis recorded with his younger sister Hortense; early tracks with Hortense like “Don’t Gamble With Love” (1965) were still in the R&B style.

By the mid-1960s, ska was moving on and the beat was slowing down to rocksteady and becoming associated with the violent rude boy subculture in Jamaican dancehalls. Many artists made records referring to the rude boys, including Ellis, although his records were consistently anti-rudie, including “Don’t Trouble People”, “Dance Crasher”, and “Cry Tough”. Releasing records under the name Alton Ellis and The Flames (the varying line-up of which included his brother Leslie Ellis, David “Baby G” Gordon and Winston Jarrett); the group had hits with “Girl I’ve Got a Date” and “Cry Tough”. The release of “Rock Steady” (1967) backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, the first song to refer to the name of the new genre, heralded the new direction Jamaican popular music was taking. Ellis continued to have hits for Treasure Isle; working with artists such as Lloyd Charmers, Phyllis Dillon and The Heptones. His Mr Soul of Jamaica album (with Tommy McCook and the Supersonics) is regarded as one of the definitive rocksteady albums.

Ellis toured the United Kingdom in the 1967 with Ken Boothe and Studio One session band the Soul Vendors and on his return to Jamaica he worked with Dodd, recording the tracks that would be released as his debut album Alton Ellis Sings Rock & Soul.(by wikipedia)

This is a realy strong album: A perfect mix between Soul, Rock, R&B plus Reggae !!! And you´ll nice versions of classics like “Massachusetts” and “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” …

Personnel:
Alton Ellis (vocals)
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The Soul Vendors:
Roland Alphonso (saxophone
Lloyd Brevett (bass)
Ken Boothe (vocals)
Jackie Mittoo (organ)
Johnny Morris (trumpet)
Ernest Ranglin (guitar)
Errol Walters (bass
Hector Williams (drums)

Alton Ellis & The Soul Vendors

Tracklist:
01. I’m Just A Guy (Ellis/Dodd) 3.06
02. Let Him Try (Ellis) 2.28
03. Ain’t That Loving You (Ellis) 2.54
04. So Much Love (Goffin/King) 3.07
05. Whiter Shade Of Pale (Brooker/Reid) 3.07
06  Massachusetts (B.Gibb/M.Gibb) 3.00
07. Get Ready (Ellis) 3.10
08. I’m Still In Love With You (Ellis/Dodd) 3.25
09. Never Love Again (Ellis/Dodd) 3.33
10. Mad Mad Mad (Ellis/Dodd) 4.09
11. Baby Now That I Found You (Ellis) 3.34
12. Why (Ellis) 2.48

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