Ska Vinyl 116 Items

Legendary 80's Los Angeles 80's Ska/mod band release their first new single in 35+ years - a collectible picture disc 45 designed by Chema Skandal. A wonderful summery ska take on the Blue Swede / B.J. Thomas oldies hit with a dubbed out version on the flip. Limited edition 750 copies.

Italian Jamaican rhythm & blues trio release first holiday 45 on colored vinyl. Lead by the charismatic MR T BONE, THE UPPERTONES have taken the world by storm with their distinct pre-ska vibe. LOUIS PRIMIA'S classic never sounded better, flip "RUDOLF THE RED NOSED REINDEER" in mento style!

The Versatiles were an exciting Jamaican reggae group, formed in 1967 by Junior Byles, also a firefighter at that time, Ben 'Louis' Davis and Dudley Earl.
Lee "Scratch" Perry, then working as chief engineer at Joe Gibbs' studio, was scouting for talent for Gibbs' new Amalgamated label, and spotted the group while they were auditioning for the 1967 Festival Song Contest with "The Time Has Come".
Perry signed the group to the label, but left Gibbs soon after. Three superb titles ("Just Can't Win," "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" were recorded under the supervision of Lee Perry.
When Scratch left, Gibbs employed another up-and-coming engineer/producer by the name of Winston Holness, aka Niney the Observer, to take control of his sessions. Niney produced a few Versatiles songs for Gibbs' Amalgamated label (titles such as "Push It In" and "Lu Lu Belle") which were riddled with sexually suggestive lyrics, tame though they are by today's standard.
The Versatiles stayed with Gibbs for two years, before moving to work with Perry, and then to Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. They also recorded for other producers such as Laurel Aitken.
The group split up in 1970, when Byles left the group for a successful solo career. Byles still working as a firefighter, continued to record for Perry up to the mid ‘70s…
During their short career, The Versatiles recorded about 30 tracks for a variety of Jamaican & British record labels. Most of these songs are top uptempo early Reggae tracks with Rocskteady vocals; to spice things up, quite a few are on the risqué side such as the hit PUSH IT IN. Never a dull moment with the Versatiles.

Originally released in 1987, this album is considered by many to be the birth of modern "third wave" ska in the USA. Remastered audio with "new" artwork that includes illustrations by legendary comic book artist BOB FINGERMAN.

Cool Ska Inst. Cover Of Spanish Flea backed with a funky vocal cut.

A premium series of limited edition Japanese pressed 7"s - featuring unreleased and impossibly hard to find gems from the Duke Reid archives.

Here is the much anticipated volume 3 of the HOT Sauce compilation LPs dedicated to the Trojan related UK labels between 1965 and 1975. HOT Sauce Volume 3 features outstanding original Rocksteady, Boss Reggae and early Reggae (“Reggay”) tracks including rare songs, overlooked gems, hidden treasures and a couple of hits. The record labels showcased on this third volume are Amalgamated, Duke, Gayfeet, Grape, Harry J, Rio, Randy’s, Treasure Isle, Upsetter and Trojan. The tracks here have been selected according to their musical interest firstly, their rarity, and their complementarity. These tracks are all outstanding tracks, “killer tracks”, there is no “filler” whatsoever. Particular attention has been paid to the way the songs are sequenced (or “mixed”) so that the album builds up nicely and gradually, generally starting with the Rocksteady songs on the A side and the 70s songs on the B side. HOT Sauce is a musical journey across early Jamaican Reggae - highlighting its diverse musical genres and outstanding artists – as it was once published by the U.K. record labels during this golden decade… Since the early 70s “Tighten Up” series, no compilations have really explored these labels in depth on vinyl.

Death Is Not The End together all three LP volumes of the critically acclaimed If I Had a Pair of Wings LP compilation series for a bundled edition.
"...all of the music on this compilation is the result of the forward-thinking artists and producers that realised the worth of local Jamaican artistry during a time when the island's leading political figures had not yet managed to throw off the colonial yolk. These are sounds with a certain innocence and the optimistic promise of better to come, with the influence of American pop ballads and doo-wop looming large, yet already pointing to the innovations of the future. Listen keenly and take in the sounds of the Jamaican music industry at its very beginnings, its singers and players drawing from the popular styles of the island's larger neighbour and already changing those styles into something their own." - David Katz
Lauren Laverne's comp of the week on BBC Radio 6 Music w/c 11th Jan.
Guardian feature: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/12/a-thousand-teardrops-how-doo-wop-kickstarted-jamaica-pop-revolution-reggae-rocksteady

Brand New 2017 Recut - finally available on Vinyl for the First time. 2LP+Mp3 in full Original Coverart. The legendary movie soundstrack based out of Kingston, Jamaica in April 2008, telling the story of the original vocalists and musicians involved. The sixteenth release on the Moll-Selekta label shares its title with a wonderful film, a heartwarming homage to the golden age of rocksteady. It documents the recordings being made for this very album at the Tuff Gong studios, Kingston, Jamaica in April 2008, telling the story of the original vocalists and musicians involved. Excerpts from an all star reunion concert staged in Kingston and older archive material complete the picture. Never before in the history of Jamaica, which already occupies a unique place on the world map of song, its sound embraced by western popular music, has such an illustrious collection of singers and players been assembled. The album showcases 15 rocksteady classics in sparkling, deeply inspired new versions, recorded in the studio which also played host to album sessions of a certain Bob Marley. Under the musical direction of Ernest Ranglin, a guitarist of considerable renown not only on the reggae circuit, but also on the jazz scene, mixed by legendary engineer Errol Brown - in Duke Reid’s employ at the Treasure Isle studio in the sixties - and freshly arranged by Lynn Taitt.

Small tear in cover.

Studio One Freedom Sounds is the new collection from Soul Jazz/ Studio One focussing on the intense period in the second half of the 1960s when Studio One’s vast and unbeatable output of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae made it literally one of the hottest musical empires in the world.
During this highly successful period, Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd released hundreds and hundreds of superlative singles seemingly on an almost daily basis, in the process making huge stars out of Jamaican singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, The Wailers, Slim Smith, Jackie Opel and many more.
Powered by the finest in-house musicians working in Jamaica, whether it was The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo’s Soul Brothers, The Sounds Dimension or The Soul Vendors, Studio One functioned as hit factory on the scale of Motown in the USA, shaping and defining reggae music for decades to come.
Singlehandedly Studio One’s founder Clement Dodd was able to create the most successful vertically-integrated record company that Jamaica had ever known with pressing plant, printers, studio, shops, and sound systems all running at once, with over 50 employees and hundreds of artists working with Studio One during this time.
Studio One Freedom Sounds tells the story of Studio One in the 1960s with a stunning set of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae killer tunes as well as informative sleevenotes and track-by-track info by Noel Hawks. The album is released as heavyweight double vinyl (+ free download code), deluxe CD and digital album.

A blistering collection of ska tunes from Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd's legendary Studio One Records, Jamaica's foundation label of reggae music. Featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska - The Skatalites, The Wailers, Lee Perry - alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure Ska Fever !

This album here is a lightning roller coaster musical journey through the music of Studio One, the most important record company in the history of Jamaican reggae music. Ska and Rock Steady feature from the greatest names in reggae: The Skatalites, The Maytals, Marcia Griffiths and The Heptones alongside vocal and roots styles from Horace Andy, Willie Williams and Wailing Souls; DJ and dancehall styles from Michigan and Smiley, Prince Jazzbo and Lone Ranger; plus some wicked instrumental and dub. It's all here! 100% essential foundation style.

Catbite, WE ARE THE Union, Kill Lincoln & More Combine FOR A Modern DAY “dance Craze” Showcasing THE Current State OF SKA 2xLP Gatefold With 11x17 Poster on Doublemint Green Vinyl Recorded live across the 24 dates of the 2023 Bad Time Records tour, “this IS NEW Tone” captures the energy and diversity of the modern ska punk scene through 24 brilliant tracks from some of the genres best and brightest bands. With Catbite, We Are The Union, and Kill Lincoln highlighted as the tour headliners, you get a taste for what makes each of these bands so special live... the songs have a unique energy, you can feel the crowd responding, and it’s easy to imagine being packed into a club somewhere across the country sweating it out to your new favorite bands. Joined by fellow label mates BAD Operation, J. Navarro & The Traitors (Jay of The Suicide Machines), JER, Omnigone, Eichlers, The Pomps, Joystick, and Thirsty Guys, each of the bands contributes their unique brand of ska and punk to this jam packed celebration of one of the best live genres in music. With the help of engineer / mixer Rick Johnson (Mustard Plug, Jeff Rosenstock), the album captures the raw experience of being at the club while also maintaining a high audio fidelity in order to truly document these bands properly. The record also accompanies a live concert film / documentary of the same name which will premiere in Spring 2024. If you’re looking for evidence that ska is still alive and thriving, look no further than “this IS NEW Tone”.

Tel Aviv's world famous roots reggae & rocksteady band's latest album now on yellow vinyl! Darlings of BBC presenters DON Letts and David Rodigan, the band is once again set to hit the European reggae circuit in 2024. Ten tracks of lovers rock vibes with gorgeous three part harmonies.