This compilation features twenty songs from the first musical chapter of Island records. Beginning with the label's founding in Jamaica in 1959-an exciting time in Jamaican music, when old and new styles were converging and mutating in new sounds-this set highlights exceptional material released during Island's first five years in operation.
The album serves as quite possibly the best and most accessible ska compilation available. It progresses chronologically from Laurel Aitken's 1959 hit "Boogie in my Bones" through the formative years of early ska, through Millie Small's 1964 smash "My Boy Lollipop." Along the way, it covers its bases with cuts from undeniably the world's greatest trombonist, Skatalite Don Drummond, as well as early tracks from Toots Hibbert, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley.
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