Studio
One Selector (MOJO 02/05 - 2005)Johnny Osbourne - We Need Love
Jackie Mittoo - Get Up And Get It
Ernest Ranglin - Surfin'
Dub specialist - Bionic Dub
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Simmer Down
The Gaylads - Africa
Lone Ranger - The Answer
Jackie Mittoo And The Soul Brothers - Train To Skaville
Lloyd And Devon - Push Push
The Eternals - Queen Of The Minstrels
Delroy Wilson - I Want Justice
Lloyd Williams - Reggae Feet
Michigan And Smiley - Nice Up The Dance
The Skatalites - Coconut Rock
Sugar Minott - Hang On Natty
Initially a jazz fan, then a sound system operator, Mr Dodd started to record home-grown Jamaican talent in 1954, releasing the results on different labels, all of which he owned. Nine years later he launched Studio One and began developing a one-stop shop for the island's musicians. A studio, a publishing house and a label, Studio One's output was also later sold through Dodd's Muzik City shops. Dodd's then-unique approach to career development also allowed a vast array of talent to congregate in and around his Brentford Road HQ. To describe the label's roster as a veritable 'who's who' of Jamaican music is no exaggeration as the 15 tracks gathered here go some way to proving.
This collection - which has been expertly compiled by Stuart Baker at Soul Jazz Records, Studio One's UK home, for your delectation - is a testament to Mr Dodd's life, work and discerning taste. It also chronicles Studio One's evolution from it's R&B roots through to ska and rock steady, onto '70s reggae and the later dub and dancehall scenes. We advise you to dig in and, if you want more, Mojo is happy to recommend the Studio One/Soul Jazz albums from which these 15 tracks are culled as starting points on a journey onto one of the most intriguing and vast catalogues in the history of modern music.
Phil Alexander
Editor-In-Chief
London, England
January 2005
Given away free with Mojo magazine, March 2005