THE GOLD STANDARD of Jamaican Instrumental Music
Jasper | New England | 05/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is not only a killer disc, but is arguably the greatest "various artist" collection of instrumental Jamaican music available. Ask the connoisseurs, and they will most likely place "Downbeat The Ruler" firmly at the top of the heap (Soul Jazz's "Studio One Scorcher" being the only disc which could threaten to tie). Not only does "Downbeat The Ruler" feature truly phenominal music; the actual sonic quality of the set is nothing short of miraculous. These tunes, recorded from 1967-1971 at Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's famed Studio One, are full of delicious beats, deep tropical grooves, brilliant horn lines, skanking guitar, swirling organ, percolating percussion, and all-around inspired musicianship. The tunes fuse a transcendant mixture of jazz, funk, and soul with the timelessly fresh skanking rhythms of ska, rocksteady, and early reggae. Aside from offering one of the greatest marvels of sound remastering in classic Jamaican music, Heartbeat has also added a whole mess of extra killer tunes to expand this release from the original edition. You will not believe how vibrant, fresh, and colorful these recordings sound...this music is timelessly hip.
Be it a deep, slow-grooving skank or a jumping uptempo hop, every track delivers an undeniable intensity of passion, feeling and GROOVE. Like that joyful intoxication at the beginning of summer, this music will make you want to jump into your car and drive to the beach, have a barbecue, get up and skank, or indulge in some blissful relaxation.
Featuring the absolute creme de la creme of Jamaican musicians, including the great Jackie Mittoo, Vin Gordon, and Tommy McCook, this can't help but be anything other than 100% killer. I cannot stress how very, very highly I recommend this disc. "Downbeat The Ruler" is a classic for the ages. Prepare to be amazed.
File "Downbeat The Ruler" with discs such as:
*Studio One Scorcher Instrumentals (volumes 1&2 - Soul Jazz)
*Alpha Boys' School (Trojan)
*Trojan Instrumentals Box Set (Trojan)
*Jackie Mittoo - Keyboard King At Studio One (Universal Sound)
*Rico - Man From Wareika (Blue Note)"
Funky and FAT
White boy 023 | australia | 08/22/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thankyou whoever put this together, cant believe we can listen to this stuff in Australia. Coxsone Dodd will always be Studio One, and he produced many of the finest tracks....these are ALL his productions and you can feel it in the recording. There are several bands, and i liked all the tracks and LOVED some of them, turned me on to other musicians i had no idea about. thankyou.
If you like this album, check out Jackie Mittoo's the Keyboard King Studio one...the guy is a legend."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1