Producer: Duke Reid.

Compilation producer: Chris Wilson.

Principally recorded at Treasure Isle. Kingston, Jamaica. Includes liner by

Chris Wilson.

Digitally remastered by Toby Mountain (Northeastern Digital, Southborough, Massachusetts).

Personnel: Lyn Taitt, Hux Brown, Ranny "Bop" Williams (guitar); Danny Simpson, Herman Marquis, Karl Bryan, Lennox Brown, Tommy McCook (saxophone); Johnny Moore Band, Baba Brooks, Bobby Ellis (trumpet); Vin Gordon (trombone); Gladstone Anderson, Aubrey Adams (piano); Neville Hinds, Winston Wright (organ); Hugh Malcolm, Arkland "Drumbago" Parks, Winston Grennan, Esmond Jarrett (drums).

Liner Note Author: Chris Wilson.

Recording information: Dynamic Studio, Kingston, Jamaica; Treasure Isle Studio, Kingston, Jamaica.

The rocksteady era was a magical time in the history of reggae music. The jazzy, galloping ska backbeat was ceding place to a slower, more elastic groove, and singing styles were mellowing out as well; the vinegary trio harmonies of groups like the Wailers and the Ethiopians gradually gave way to the smoother, more soul-influenced sounds of the Techniques and the Melodians. The music of this period was, paradoxically, both more spiritual and more sensual than the music that came before, without the ganja-infused mysticism that would come to dominate the music later on. This collection, yet another in a long and fruitful string of collaborations between the American Heartbeat label and Duke Reid's Treasure Isle, brings together 18 gems from the period, including classic tracks by John Holt ("I See Your Face"), Justin Hinds ("Time Pass By"), and Phyllis Dillon ("Take My Heart"), as well as a couple of less noteworthy efforts (such as the Sensations' mediocre "Baby Love"). Overall, this is an excellent overview of a sometimes-neglected chapter in reggae history. ~ Rick Anderson

The Wire (2/02, p.65) - "...A well judged mix of familiar and rare tunes..."