The Sound Dimension, Mojo Rocksteady Beat
2007 (Re-Release Collection) 

If you’re not yet familiar with the British label, Soul Jazz, I suggest you buy a bong and a record player and make it happen. Nobody digs up funk soul reggae grooves like these chaps; they search deep in the lands of South America and elsewhere for the best lost morsels of ours and past times. You can’t really go wrong with anything spit out by this label, but this might be my favorite release of late. Here they’ve presented you with choice selects from the 1967-1970 recording days of reggae legends The Sound Dimension. Jams likes “Rockfort Rock” and “In Cold Blood” are cornerstones on the foundation level of reggae. This crew was the in-house band at Studio One for the aforementioned time span and these ditties have been re-versioned by masses of Reggae bands. But if you want to dip into the real deal and see where dancehall and Jamaican music got their sticky green roots, take this disc for a spin, preferably on vinyl. –Bill Dvorak