Various – Studio One Soul

Bought this is part of a large collection only to find it was missing Disc 1 (Sides A/B) if anyone happens to have just that one. Thanks.

Some gems out here, at least for me who is no expert in the genre. So music is actually quite good.

Sound quality is otoh not that good, but I guess such a release is hard to pull off given the quality of the recordings of this genre for that era. At least it sounds punchy, but I do get some grainy-ness on the high end and some overall lack of detail

Lovely pressing, clean and clear - think you maybe need to check your set up Rastaz. A shame, but highly typical for studio one, that Ken Boothe's stunning cover of Set Me Free drops out for 10 seconds around the 5.30 mark - believe this is the same on the original 12" but don't have a spare £350 to check. Hopefully studio one remaster and reissue it in the future.

This comp is worth the price of ission for ken Boothe's set me free alone.

I don't know if it's just my copy, but I have tried three different needles and the sound is still bad. So, I am going to say that this is a bad pressing. The sound is distorted. If you buy a copy, please can you do a review so other people can know what they are buying.

Some of the best music Jamaica ever produced. I personally love the Rock Steady era and Coxanne Dodd Studio One had the best artists signed (or at least paid out for a one time fee), in Jamaica during that era. The Heptones, Alton Ellis, Jackie Mittoo Ken Boothe, Willie Williams and Leroy Sibbles; were all top of the charts in Jamaica in the late 60’s. This is a first rate compilation!!!
The sound… also first rate. I love Jamaican mixes, the bass is heavy, the hi hats are crisp, the vocals are front and centre. Vocal harmonies of this era are incredible. The competition of groups like The Wailers, The Heptones, The Maytals, The Melodians, The Paragons, all made for an incredible musical force come from Jamaica at that time. American Bands like The Impressions, The Flamingos and the The Drifters made a huge impression on the Rock Steady era. The double Album does a great job of capturing the precious time in Jamaican music.
Yellow vinyl…. Whatever. The music is first rate, the recordings are great the vinyl is pretty clean. I crank this kind of music so I’m not as fussy about the details. The music is great, the mix is great and the recordings were all top notch.
Buy it, buy it buy it.

Absolutely flawless pressing, decent low end with no muddiness and such a lovely colour on the record, the translucenct yellow.

Would thoroughly recommend.

Sitting in line at 4:45 this morning, I reviewed the list again, and couldn’t believe I’d overlooked this release. Beautiful. Sounds great. Track one down.