I never gave much thought as to why reggae seemed to suck so much around the late 1980s; I just stopped caring, I guess.

I NEVER GAVE MUCH thought as to why reggae seemed to suck so much around the late 1980s; I just stopped caring, I guess. But thinking back, it's when reggae went all dub and then dancehall, basically becoming religious disco where it was alright to smoke herb. What I needed was a slap on the back, and this month I got it in the form of a bunch of reissued stuff from Studio One, one of the most important studios in Jamaica. There was a ton of stuff including some old John Holt, Bob Marley (1964-66), and Full Up, a Studio One comp. The stuff that rose to the top, however, were the Delroy Wilson Best of CD, the Ska Bonanza CD, and Downbeat the Ruler, a collection of instrumentals. So does Delroy Wilson live up to his mention in a Clash song? Yep. It's great bluesy, old style reggae (I guess some would call it roots, but that's corny and applies to so much crappy stuff as well). Anyway, it'll suit you if you're in the mood ...