Back catalogue: Reggae

Review: Desmond Dekker recorded some of his best known songs together with his backing group the Aces. Their single '007 (Shanty Town)' made him Jamaican music's first outernational superstar, reaching the 14th place in the UK charts. The Leslie Kong-produced Double Dekker was first issued in 1973 and consists of the best material Desmond recorded during his early years. In 1969 he scored a number-one hit with the legendary song Israelites. You'll hear how the Ska music from the mid-60s developed to the Rocksteady sound. This was 'Ska' or 'Blue Beat' - (or its new name for the slower tempo rocksteady) - and the lyrics come from the Calypso-Mento method of telling about current events in music. He was really at his prime from 1969 to 1971 and recorded classics such as 'It Mek' (1969) and 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' (1970), which you'll both find on this record. Even before Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff Jamaica already had their own international superstar, Desmond Dekker was his name.

Review: Shanty Town was the debut album by the legends in the making of the reggae world that are Desmond Dekker and his Aces aka Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard. It of course induces the title track which was the first to make them stars on the international stage and even managed to hit the heady heights of #14 on the UK charts. It's an album that shows how ska from the mid-60s had an influence on the rocksteady sound and as well as the 'Spanky Town' classic you'll hear gems like 'Israelites' from 1968 and 'It Miek' from 1969.