Search - Various Artists :: Uptown Top Ranking: Joe Gibbs Prod 1970-78

"WOW, SURPRISED TO KNOW WE ARE ON YOUR CD"

07/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WE CAN ONLY REVIEW ONE SONG ON THIS CD, NAMELY "UPTOWN TOP RANKING". THIS SONG TOPPED THE BRITISH CHARTS AND IS IN THE "GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD HIT SONGS", THE ARTISTES ARE THE LEGENDARY FIRST LADIES OF DJ/RAP MUSIC IN THE WORLD, "ALTHEA & DONNA". WE SINCERELY HOPE THAT THIS COMPILATION IS IN HONOR AND RESPECT OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED ACHIEVEMENTS (JUST TO MENTION A FEW) AND NOT THE USUAL ROAD TO EXPLOITATION WHICH IS PREVALENT IN THE REGGAE MUSIC INDUSTRY. "ALTHEA AND DONNA" NEEDS TO BE APPLAUDED FOR THE DOORS THAT THEY HAVE OPENED FOR OTHERS IN "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUSIC"."

Pound for pound, the best single-disc reggae compilation

Chet L. Young | 06/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the ragged-but-right, early reggae sounds of Nicky Thomas and Peter Tosh, through the reverent roots sound of Junior Byles, to the smooth pop-reggae of Althea & Donna, this excellent compilation of Joe Gibbs-produced tracks has just about everything you could want on one compact disc. There's not a bad song in the bunch, but my personal favorites are "Maga Dog"(Tosh), "Don't Be Prejudice"(Max Romeo), "I've Got a Feeling"(Heptones), "African Queen"(Augustus Pablo), "Heart and Soul"(a really beautiful song by Byles), "A Win Them"(Leo Graham), "Uptown Top Ranking"(Althea & Donna), and version two of "Money in My Pocket"(Dennis Brown).

When you spin this disc, you won't have to worry about using the "skip" function on your CD player--it's great from start to finish. If you're buying reggae compilations as primers, another fantastic one to get is Lee "Scratch" Perry's "The Ultimate Collection" on the Hip-O label. It also features tracks by Romeo, the Heptones, Pablo, and Byles--as well as the Wailers, the Congos, George Faith, Junior Murvin, and Scratch himself."