Various Artists - Merritone Rock Steady 2: This Music Got Soul 1966-1967 [CD]

Dub Store Records

£19.80

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: DSRCD012
Barcode: 4571179531214
Release Date: 29 Mar 2024
Genre: Rock Steady

01: This Music Got Soul - Hopeton Lewis
02: Let Me Come on Home - Hopeton Lewis
03: Walk on By - The Zodiacs
04: We Gonna Make It - Termites
05: Fountain Bliss - The Dynamites
06: Rock a Shacka - Hopeton Lewis
07: Don't Cry - Hopeton Lewis
08: House Upon the Hill - The Royals
09: Real Gone Sweet - The Tartans
10: Rolling Rolling - The Tartans
11: I Don't Want Trouble - Hopeton Lewis
12: Lester Sterling Special - Lester Sterling
13: If You Did Love Me (Take 1) - The Dynamites
14: Don't Take That Train - The Tartans
15: Batman (Early Take Version) - Lynn Taitt & The Jets
16: Oh Tell Me Darling (Take 1) - Hopeton Lewis
17: I'm Ready - The Tartans
18: Take Me Back - Henry Buckley
19: Sounds of Silence - Roland Alphonso
20: Batman (Rehearsal Version) - Lynn Taitt & The Jets
21: Merritone False Starts (Pt. 2) - The Federal All Stars

The birth of rock steady portrayed in a consummate collection from the vaults of Federal Records

Most of them drawn directly from Ken Khouri's master tapes this miscellany of cool rock steady includes marvellous music from the originator of the genre, the one and only Lynn Taitt, alongside an array of Jamaica's greatest singers and vocal harmony group

American rhythm & blues fervour, boosted by a multitude of sound systems playing 78rpm records on increasingly larger sets, gripped Jamaica from the late forties onwards but, towards the end of the decade, the American audience began to move towards a somewhat softer sound. The driving rhythm & blues discs became increasingly hard to find and the more progressive Jamaican sound system operators, realising that they now needed to make their own music, turned to Kingston's jazz and big band musicians to record one off custom cut　discs. These were not initially intended for commercial release but designed solely for sound system play on acetate or 'dub plates' as they would later be termed. These 'specials' soon began to eclipse the popularity of American rhythm & blues and the demand for their locally produced music proved so great that the sound system operators began to release their music commercially on vinyl and became record producers. Clement　Coxsone' Dodd, Duke Reid 'The Trojan' and Prince Buster, who operated his Voice Of The People Sound System, were among the first to establish themselves in this new role and the nascent Jamaican recording industry now went into overdrive.

In 1954 Ken Khouri had numbered among the first far sighted entrepreneurs to produce mento records with local　musicians (mento is Jamaica's original indigenous music) before progressing to opening Jamaica's first record　manufacturing plant. Three years later he moved his operation to Foreshore Road (later renamed Marcus　Garvey Drive) where, with the assistance of the inestimable Graeme Goodall, he updated and upgraded his recording studio. The importance of this enterprising move was critical to the development of Jamaican music and its influence both profound and far reaching.

"It was Ken Khouri's Federal Recording Studio, the womb that gave birth to the talented writers, artists and musicians that gave Jamaica its musical identity." Prince Buster

Federal Records was not only the place for the sound system men to record their music but it was also where they had their records manufactured and, consequently, the company enjoyed a near total monopoly on recording and record pressing in Kingston. In 1963 Ken Khouri sold his one track board to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, who established Studio One, and Ken imported the first stereo equipment to Jamaica and Federal began making stereo records. The following year WIRL (West Indies Records Limited) opened but the competition served to drive the company on to higher heights. Ken Khouri continued to work on his own productions and, in 1966, the seven inch release of Hopeton Lewis' 'Take It Easy', recorded under the guidance of Trinidadian guitarist Lynn Taitt, ushered in the rock steady era.

These two essential albums showcase a stunning selection of well known hits, and not so well known rarities, from the vast Federal catalogue. All tracks have been transferred direct from the master tapes and assembled with the invaluable assistance of Ken Khouri's son, Paul Khouri, who generously gave Dub Store unlimited access to the Federal tape vaults. The extensive liner notes feature extracts from extensive interviews with Paul Khouri whose knowledgeable recollections of working on Marcus Garvey Drive, not only as a producer but as an engineer and musician, are illuminating and educational. Both sets present an insight into the birth and growth of Federal Records and the Jamaican recording industry and are essential to an understanding of the real roots of reggae music.