Many people who don't like reggae complain it all sounds the same. Well, in one sense, that's very true, because reggae borrows/steals from itself and others blatantly. A bass run in one song becomes a lead line in another, a popular rhythm gets endlessley recycled, and copyright is ignored. I've heard dubs based on Beatles songs, whole melodies appropriated without proper credit -- it's part of the outlaw nature of reggae. And yet, from a little island comes an echo of Motown, the Philadelphia International sound, the Hi Records sound of Memphis, Stax-Volt -- it's like hearing '60s soul radio bounced back with an Island spin. A great point-of-entry is "The Trojan Story" Volumes 1 & 2. The CDs haven't been remastered (heck, some sound like field recordings) but the lo-fi is part of the charm. As the cover says: "ska, rock-steady and early reggae music". Volume 2 reflects the more politically conscious state of reggae as it matured, but Volume 1 is naive, goofy and irresistable. And you gotta love the double-entendre cover image (it's a speaker grille, but...)
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