Various

Studio One House Of Joy

STUDIO ONE. 7-INCH Attractive 7-inch box with 15 rare Studio One killers. Jamaica’s Studio One gave birth to The Wailers, Lee Perry and countless other reggae legends. Part of a concerted reissue campaign initiated by the Dodd family, House Of Joy is a limited edition box set that collects 15 hard-to-find singles of the ’60s and ’70s, with a poster, a 45 adapter and other memorabilia, all housed in a replica sound system speaker box, as referenced by the title. Along with greatly-loved hits such as The Wailers’ Simmer Down, The Heptones’ Baby and Larry Marshall’s Nanny Goat, there are super-obscure nuggets such as the Jiving Juniors’ harmonic ballad Andrea, The Kingstonians’ perturbing early reggae scorcher Mother Miserable, and Lloyd Jones’s dreadlocks-praising Red In A Babylon. The range of styles reminds us that Studio One was a crucial site of reggae’s evolution, while the vinyl pressing is second-to-none. David Katz