The Dirty Lowdown

Friday, May 3, 2013

Book Review: “Decadence” by Eric Jerome Dickey

A couple time per decade, someone publishes an adult novel that becomes the talk of the book lovers world. In 2011, E.L. James published 50 Shades Of Grey, then quickly capitalized on the success by churning out two more books to make it a trilogy.

As successful as these ‘erotic books” turned out to be, they also picked up as much criticism from readers and authors as being badly written. A lot of this criticism was without a doubt jealousy for the success this relatively unknown author received. But, in truth, a lot of this criticism was justified. The characters themselves were beyond belief. They not only asked (begged?) the reader to suspend belief, but were amateurish and one dimensional. The plot is full of holes, and even the sex was over the top…and not in any good way. As one reviewer put it, the entire story seemed drawn from a couple of teenaged girls naughty dreams.

Naturally, readers and authors alike wondered how well they could write this type of story – erotica - if they applied even a modicum of true craft to the subject. A natural to tackle this challenge is New York Times Best Selling author, Eric Jerome Dickey. Dickey is no stranger to writing hot, steamy sex scenes into his novels, but he is also a master craftsman, possessing, as if part of his DNA, an ability to craft a novel in practically any genre. Early in his career he was labeled the king of the relationship novel. Later on attempts were made to tag him as a master of “urban” fiction (whatever that is). He has written successfully in the Noir field (Tempted by Trouble ), Romantic Thriller (Chasing Destiny ), Thrillers (Gideon Series ) and a whole host of other genres.

For what should be the hands down erotic novel of the year, in Decadence and it’s ebook only prequel, The Education of Nia Simone Bijou (E-INITIAL) Dickey has revived the main characters from 2008s Pleasure. Decadence takes place four years after the events of Pleasure. Nia is now a successful author who presents a staid persona to her adoring public, but behind the scenes she is expanding on her quest for sensual pleasure. Nia, a self described book worm, had her sexual awakening in college with her first love, Chris Eidos Alleyne, but when Chris dumped Nia for Nia’s roommate and best friend Nia was heartbroken and embarked on a number of sexual affairs. Now determined to learn more about life, about herself and about her humanness and to broaden and discover her own limits she joins an exclusive adult club, Decadence.

Nia is a flawed character, as most humans are. She is sexually hungry for a former lover, Prada, but Prada wants her exclusively an Nia is not ready for an exclusive relationship. She is also drawn in a more romantic way to a man she had a one night stand with, Bret. Bret and Nia have become very good friends but have not repeated that night of sexual bliss and exploration. And Nia feels that Bret is not an ideal mate. He is divorced, and has custody of his two children and besides Bret is a soldier and wouldn’t fit in to Nia’s upper crust world.

Eric Jerome Dickey “Decadence”

Perhaps more than all of that, Nia is also in search of her muse and her literary identity. She has become a successful writer since she left college but most of that financial success has come as a screenwriter in Hollywood, and Nia is not sure she wishes to live in that plastic world with its manufactured celebrity.

What Dickey brings to the erotic novel is the same artistry he brings to his novels in other genre; his characters are full blooded people, they pop from the pages as real as your neighbor, your lover, your fantasies. He also builds a story that is complete in everyway, at once familiar yet original. He imparts a sense of place that will make the scenes play like film in the readers mind and the pace is just perfect. Even the sex scenes, and there are plenty, are some of the best in literature; modern or classic.

Decadence is a novel of a young, talented and beautiful woman's journey of self-discovery, sexual awakening and artistic genesis. In the hands of one of the best story tellers working today, it’s more than an erotic novel and possesses, as does Nia, the ability to cross many lines and blur the borders of genre.

Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Dutton Adult (April 23, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 0525953833 ISBN-13: 978-0525953838

Article first published as Book Review: Decadence by Eric Jerome Dickey on Blogcritics.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “Decadence” by Eric Jerome Dickey

Eric Jerome Dickey “Decadence”

Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Dutton Adult (April 23, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 0525953833 ISBN-13: 978-0525953838

Article first published as Book Review: Decadence by Eric Jerome Dickey on Blogcritics.

The Dirty Lowdown

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Ben Sidran CD Release Show "Don't Cry For No Hipster"

Don't Cry for No Hipster

Ben Sidran CD Release Show
"Don't Cry For No Hipster"

Wed., Apr. 24th
7:30 & 9:30 PM
@ The Jazz Standard
116 E 27th St btw Park & Lex
New York, NY 10016
212-576-2232

Featuring

Ben Sidran: piano & vocals

Leo Sidran: drums

Tim Luntzel:bass

Will Bernard: guitar

John Ellis: saxophone

Moses Patrou: percussion

New CD
Ben Sidran
"Don't Cry For No Hipster"
(Nardis Music)
Street Date April 2, 2013

Featuring

Ben Sidran – vocals, piano, Wurlitzer
Leo Sidran – drums
Moses Patrou - percussion
Tim Luntzel – bass

Orlando le Fleming – bass
Will Bernard – guitar
John Ellis – tenor saxophone
Mark Shim – tenor saxophone

Trixie Waterbed – backing vocals

Produced by: Leo Sidran
(CD is available from anywhere CDs are sold.)

“One must approach the hip experience with a lifetime of preparation” writes Ben Sidran in the liner notes to Don’t Cry For No Hipster. If ever there was an example of an artist who lives the song he sings, Sidran is that example, and he has indeed approached his latest recording with a lifetime of preparation. Hipster is his 35th solo record, and on this one, he delivers twelve new original songs.

The contemporary concept of the Hipster, the counter-cultural, progressive pickler, self-styled “cat on the corner wearing the hat so small it makes his head look big” (as Sidran says), is largely associated with Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sidran, who identifies himself with an earlier wave of Hipsters – those associated with bebop, philosophy and good smoke – decided to visit the epicenter of the current zeitgeist for the recording. He and his son, Leo, who played drums and produced the project, assembled a cadre of Brooklyn characters to record at The Bunker Studio in Williamsburg. The musicians, Tim Luntzel, Will Bernard, John Ellis, Orlando le Fleming, Mark Shim, and Moses Patrou, came to the music with a fresh enthusiasm and a classic sense of deep groove.

Ben Sidran is widely recognized as the host of National Public Radio’s landmark jazz series “Jazz Alive”, which received a Peabody Award, and as the host of VH-1 television’s “New Visions” series, which received the Ace Award for best music series. A pianist, producer, singer and composer, he has recorded thirty-five solo albums, including the Grammy nominated Concert for Garcia Lorca, and produced recordings for such noted artists as Van Morrison, Diana Ross, Michael Franks, Rickie Lee Jones, Mose Allison and Steve Miller (with whom he co-wrote the hit song “Space Cowboy”). He is the composer of the soundtrack for the acclaimed film “Hoop Dreams,” and scored the documentary “Vietnam: Long Time Coming,” which won both the Aspen Film Festival audience award and an Emmy. Sidran has authored two books on the subject of jazz, Black Talk, a cultural history of the music, and Talking Jazz, a series of conversations with inspirational musicians. He holds a PhD. in American Studies from Sussex University, Brighton, England, but has studiously avoided the academic life, preferring instead to spend his time performing, producing and writing. His latest works include the memoir, A Life in the Music and the groundbreaking text There Was a Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream, along with the recordings Dylan Different and Don’t Cry For No Hipster.

“The singer and pianist Ben Sidran has released what is indeed a masterpiece.”
— Serge Truffaut, Le Devoir, Montreal

Artist: BEN SIDRAN
Title: DON’T CRY FOR NO HIPSTER
Label: NARDIS MUSIC
UPC Code: 7 89925 00030 2
Release Date: April 2, 2013

Track listing, track times and composer:
1. Back Nine 4:35 (B. Sidran & L. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
2. Brand New Music 3:27 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
3. Don’t Cry For No Hipster 4:59 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
4. At Least We Got To The Race 3:05 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
5. Can We Talk 5:30 (B. Sidran & L. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
6. In The Beginning 2:35 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
7. It Don’t Get No Better 3:41 (B. Sidran & L. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
8. Dying Anyway 4:14 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
9. Private Guy 4:03 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
10. Reflections 4:23 (Thelonious Monk / Thelonious Music Corp.)
11. Take A Little Hit 3:02 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
12. Sixteen Tons 3:37 (M. Travis / Merle’s Girls Music)
13. Rich Interior Life 2:45 (B. Sidran & L. Sidran / Bulldog Music)
14. Hooglin’ 4:39 (B. Sidran / Bulldog Music)

Recording Date + Location: July, 2012 Brooklyn, New York

Artist Home Market: US

Check Out Ben's New Book

There Was a Fire:
Jews, Music and the American Dream

"An extraordinary tour de force, weaving cultural, political, musical and economic history. Part textbook, part family history, Sidran is a warm, funny, and authoritative guide in this thrilling, adventurous social history of popular music. A must-read for all music-lovers."

—Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain On Music

Upcoming Live Dates

4/11:
Mill Valley @ Sweetwater

4/12:
Sonoma: Synagogue performance and book reading (details to come)

4/14:
San Francisco (private conference for neuroscientists)

4/16:
New York: CUNY Poet in New York Lecture and Performance

4/20:
Chicago: Synagogue performance and book reading (details to come)

4/24:
New York: CD Release at Jazz Standard

http://www.bensidran.com

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Win A Killer Trip To Paris with Cara Black

Released today 3/5/2013 Murder Below Montparnasse I’ll be reviewing this one soon. Get your signed first edition now for a chance to win. – The Dirty Lowdown

For Immediate Release:

Soho Press to send one fan on a "killer" trip to Paris with bestselling author Cara Black

"Transcendently, seductively, irresistibly French."
—Alan Furst

New York, January 30, 2013—What are you doing October 15 to 22, 2013? Want to tour Paris with mystery writer Cara Black? If you preorder the limited Signed Parisian Edition of her next Aimée Leduc mystery, MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE (March 5, 2013), you just might get that chance. Soho Press has partnered with San Francisco based Tea Garden Travel LLC to offer an exciting sweepstakes in association with the bestselling series. Interested fans can access entry forms inside the limited, signed first edition of the physical book, in the ebook edition, and for free at participating libraries and bookstores. Fans can also enter to win at any of Cara Black’s official tour events around the country. The list of stores, libraries and events can be found on www.parisisformurder.com.

“Cara’s devoted readers have been traveling with her to Paris since Murder in the Marais came out in 1999,” says Bronwen Hruska, the Publisher of Soho Press. “We thought it was about time to send someone for real. I wish everyone luck—the trip is going to be fantastic.”

One lucky winner will stalk the same streets, shop the same designer thrift stores and tour the same museums as Cara’s stylish Parisian P.I., the incomparable Aimée Leduc. Bestselling author Cara Black will serve as tour guide. (International intrigue and murder not included.)

What you will get: economy airfare, accommodations and a Tea Garden Travel-organized guided tour of Cara Black’s Paris. The winner will join Cara Black, a representative from Tea Garden Travel and 15 fellow travelers for a one-of-a-kind travel experience. For specific details of the prize and eligibility for the “Win a Killer Trip to Paris” sweepstakes, please consult the Official Contest Rules, which can be found on www.parisisformurder.com. Valid entry forms must be received during the official sweepstakes period, which runs from March 5, 2013 to April 30, 2013.

The winner of the Soho Press “Win a Killer a Killer Trip to Paris” sweepstakes will be announced on May 15^th on the contest website www.parisisformurder.com.

To request a copy of the signed Parisian Edition of Murder Below Montparnasse or for more information about the sweepstakes:
Contact Paul Oliver | Director of Marketing and Publicity
poliver@sohopress.com | 212-260-1900

At a Glance: Win a Killer Trip to Paris with Cara Black

The Sweepstakes Prize
A trip to Paris with author Cara Black and fifteen other fans to tour the City of Lights as it appears in Black’s bestselling Aimée Leduc series.

Ways to Enter
a. Preorder or purchase a copy of the “Signed Parisian Edition” of MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE which contains an entry ticket as well as specially commissioned map of Aimée’s Paris endpapers and the author’s signature. This special “Signed Parisian Edition” is limited to the first printing, so we’re recommending fans preorder.

b. Attend an “Official Cara Black Event” and receive an entry form from the author herself.

c. Visit a “Participating” bookstore or library and receive an entry form there.

d. Order the digital edition of MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE during the official sweepstakes period and find instructions at the back of the book.

e. Locations of “Official Cara Black Events” and “Officially Participating Bookstores” can be found on the sweepstakes website: www.parisisformurder.com.

Official Rules & Information
Can be found at www.parisisformurder.com.

The Sweepstakes Period
March 5^th 2013 to April 30^th 2013. The winner will be announced on May 15^th.

The Trip
Takes place October 15^th, 2013 through October 22^nd, 2013. The trip is being planned and run (there will be an agent running the tour itself) by Tea Garden Travel.

About Cara Black

Cara Black is the author of thirteen books in the bestselling Aimée Leduc series, including Murder in the Marais and Murder at the Lanterne Rouge. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son and visits Paris frequently.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Book Review:”Death’s Door: A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery” by James R. Benn

Many would argue that the Mystery is the most challenging form of genre fiction to write and write well. Not only is the author required to employ all the usual craft of writing an entertaining story; interesting plot, passable prose, character development, a riveting sense of place, but also a puzzle for the reader, and a puzzle that, as Raymond Chandler put it, “ The solution, once revealed, must seem to have been inevitable.” It helps, too, if the author can work into the story topics that are pertinent socially. Hammett did it by centering his stories on the corruption of small and large town politics. The modern master Walter Mosley does it by drawing scenes that depict the disadvantages that minorities face in daily life, and he does it while never seeming to preach.

If the mystery is the most challenging form of genre fiction, then historical fiction must be a close second. In historical fiction the challenge is first an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the era, the characters and the events of the time the author uses to center his story upon. On first glance it may look easy. But it never is. With historical fiction the writer must assume that the reader is more than a little familiar with the actual history, therefore playing loose with the facts, events and characters is rarely allowed.

James R. Benn has managed to not only write a first rate mystery, but also convey very accurately an era from history. Benn’s Billy Boyle mysteries are always entertaining, filled with riveting characters, and beautifully plotted stories. Boyle and his supporting cast of characters are finely drawn and period correct and his dialog is often humorous. Billy Boyle is a Boston police detective turned Allied intelligence agent during World War II. He is distantly related to General Eisenhower and, as his name would suggest, is an old time Boston Irish cop.

Death's Door (Billy Boyle World War II Mystery) is the seventh mystery in Benn’s historical series (after A Mortal Terror ). Boyle and Kaz, his Polish partner who is a count in exile, are ordered to Rome to investigate the death of an American monsignor in the neutral Vatican. The Death’s Door of the title is one of the five entrances to Saint Peter's Basilica. Wild Bill Donovan, head of the OSS, who would go on to found the CIA after the war, has assigned Boyle to the case. The fact that Vatican city sits in Nazi occupied Rome, and that Vatican City is a neutral state is only one obstacle that Boyle and Kaz must overcome.

At the time the story takes place, early 1944, the allied armies are bogged down in southern Italy and it is from there that Boyle and Kaz are smuggled into Rome and the Vatican disguised as priests. They are assisted by Lt. John Hamilton, the real-life pseudonym of the actor and author Sterling Hayden. That Hayden/Hamilton actually worked for Wild Bill Donovan and the OSS and later the CIA is only one of the marvelous historical facts that Benn peppers the story in. Hayden in actuality spent part of his undercover service sailing with supplies from Italy to Yugoslav partisans and parachuting into fascist Croatia so including him as the ships master smuggling Boyle into Rome was a great touch.

When Boyle accepts the assignment,he has ulterior motives. His lover, Diana Seaton, a British spy has been captured by the Nazis and is being held in Rome. If that isn’t distraction enough, once in the Vatican he must navigate the various political factions of the Catholic church – though neutral, there were staunch supporters of the Nazis as well as pro-allied factions – and he also finds that the Vatican is full of escaped POWs and other refugees from the German occupation including Jews, Gypsies, and British diplomats. Further, he must walk a fine line in maintaining the Vatican's neutrality lest the Nazis be given an excuse to invade.

“Death’s Door” Audiobook sample.

Today most people assume that Vatican City has been an independent state for a millennium or more. In fact, it only became a separate entity from Italy in 1929. To give the reader an idea of just how small Vatican City is, it encompasses around 110 acres. In St. Peter’s Square, the border consists of a white line painted on the ground. According to the Lateran Treaty, certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably Castel Gandolfo and the major basilicas, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign embassies.These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See. Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by police agents of Vatican City State and not by Italian police. During WWII the fragile neutrality of The Vatican must be understood to under take any kind of understanding – and lay to rest some misconceptions of Pope Pius XII and the rest of the church – of the times and events. The threat of invasion, first by the Mussolini fascists, then by the Nazis was very real. The Pope did feel that The Vatican must remain strictly neutral. Unfortunately, he was often neutral by omission by not condemning the atrocities taking place in Europe. The killing of 1.8 million Catholic Poles or for that matter, the killing of another million by the Soviets either. As Benn points out in the Authors Notes, when he did speak out, the language was so circuitous as to be robbed of any real meaning. Because of these facts, history, or at least ‘popular history’ often paints Pius XII as a collaborator when a closer look actually acquits him of complicity in these crimes.

Some key historical characters that Benn makes use of in the novel are Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who is one of Billy Boyle’s main contacts in the Vatican. O’Flaherty had set up an organization to hide an estimated 4,000 escaped POW’s and Jews, along with Italian antifascists. It is estimated that he also hid some 5,000 Roman Jews inside the Vatican and in church properties, including the Popes summer residence; Castel Gondolfo. Working along side the real-life O’Flaherty was Monsignor Monti who worked tirelessly to aid, feed and hide refuges. At the direction of Pius XII, he organized the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza with the express purpose of assisting the refuges. In 1963 Monsignor Monti would become Pope Paul VI. These actions, as well as many others acquit the Pope, who in reality had very few options to remaining silent and still protecting the Vatican’s neutrality. Any invasion of the Vatican would have the immediate effect of turning over these refuges to Germans as well as removing any protection from all Catholics in reach of the Nazis.

Also key to the plot is Boyle joining forces with a Colonel Erich Remke of the German Abwehr (military intelligence) to communicate to the allies that the Abwehr were plotting the assassination of Hitler and they just wanted assurances that the allies wouldn’t take advantage of the resulting power vacuum to invade, but allow for an ordered surrender. Remke is fictional, but the plot against Hitler is very real and they did try and communicate this to the allies using the Vatican and Pope Pius.

Benn’s research is admirable and the expert way in which he uses this historical data to tell a riveting story is brilliant. The story has the feel of an old time adventure story, and Benn’s marvelous dialog bring the characters to life. If this is your first taste of James R. Benn and Billy Boyle, then I dare you not to read the other six novels. Historical Mysteries just don’t get any better than this.

Benn lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut, with his wife Deborah Mandel, a psychotherapist who offers many insights into the motivations of his characters. He’s a graduate of the University of Connecticut and a member of the Mystery Writers of America, and the Author's Guild.

Article first published as Book Review: Death’s Door: A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery by James R. Benn on Blogcritics.

The Dirty Lowdown

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Album Review: “Reggae Golden Jubilee”

First came ska, that wonderful marriage of Caribbean mento, calypso, jazz and R&B characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and found wide recognition in British mod bands. Ska morphed into Rocksteady around 1966 made popular by vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. Johnny Nash, the American soul singer had an international smash hit in 1968 with "Hold Me Tight".

Reggae as a musical term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit "Do the Reggay" by The Maytals. While owing obvious debts to both ska and rocksteady, reggae, the music itself, was faster than rocksteady, but tighter and more complex than ska. Reggae is most easily recognized by the rhythmic accents on the off-beat, usually played by guitar or piano (or both), known as the skank. This pattern accents the second and fourth beat in each bar (or the "and"s of each beat depending on how the music is counted) and combines with the drums emphasis on beat three to create a unique feel and sense of phrasing in contrast to most other popular genres focus on beat one, the "downbeat".

“Easy Snappin’” Theo Beckford

This slower tempo and the use of syncopated, melodic bass lines that differentiates reggae from other music make it a music form that is totally original, yet familiar in sound. As Edward Seaga, the Jamaican prime minister said, “Jamaican popular music demonstrated a triumph of creativity by borrowing nothing to build something.”

The word “Reggae” itself is open to a few interpretations. Reggae artist Derrick Morgan stated: “We didn't like the name rock steady, so I tried a different version of 'Fat Man'. It changed the beat again, it used the organ to creep. Bunny Lee, the producer, liked that. He created the sound with the organ and the rhythm guitar. It sounded like 'reggae, reggae' and that name just took off.

“Independent Jamaica” by Lord Creator

Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles of The Dynamites with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae (loose woman) into reggae. However, Toots Hibbert said, “There's a word we used to use in Jamaica called 'streggae'. If a gal is walking and the guys look at her and say 'Man, she's streggae' it means she don't dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, 'OK man, let's do the reggay.' It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing 'Do the reggay, do the reggay' and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound its name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. And no reference would be complete without consulting Bob Marley, who claimed that the word reggae came from a Spanish term for "the king's music". The liner notes of To the King, a compilation of Christian gospel reggae, suggest that the word reggae was derived from the Latin regi meaning "to the king".

Whatever the origins of the word, the music has significantly shaped the political, social and economic DNA of Jamaica. As 2012 marks the island's 50th year of independence, and Reggae Golden Jubilee: Origins Of Jamaican Music is one of the most definitive collections ever compiled.

“Rock Steady” by Alton Ellis

VP Records has assembled extensive liner notes, Deluxe Packaging & 100 of the Island's Most Celebrated Hits From Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Yellowman, Shaggy, Buju Banton, Sean Paul and so many more. Whats more, each song was hand picked by Edward Seaga, who is the longest serving member of Jamaica's Parliament and the only surviving member of the legislature that drafted Jamaica's Constitution in 1962. He has hand picked 100 of the most significant songs to emerge from the country to celebrate the island's half-century turn of liberation. As a former record company owner and producer, Mr. Seaga was a major pioneering force in the birth and development of the Jamaican music industry, especially the ska movement in the 1960s.

“It’s Alright” Bob Marley & The Wailers (1970)

To accompany the music, Seaga has written extensive liner notes and track-by-track notations in the box set's 64-page booklet. The commemorative 6" x 12" songbook package also includes iconic photographs from Jamaica's
first fifty years, a preface from VP Records President Christopher Chin and a foreword from radio personality Dermot Hussey and reggae historian John Masouri.

There are songs here that you’ll probably remember. There are songs here you SHOULD remember and there are a lot of songs that even the ardent music collector will hear for the first time. Pick it up, you won’t regret it, mon.

Here’s the track listings:

Disc One
1. Easy Snapping (Original Version) -- Theophilus Beckford
2. Dumplings -- Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
3. Manny Oh -- Higgs & Wilson
4. Oh Carolina -- The Folkes Brothers
5. They Got To Go -- Prince Buster
6. Independent Jamaica -- Lord Creator
7. Black Head Chinaman -- Price Buster

“Israelites” Desmond Dekker 1969

8. Blazing Fire -- Derrick Morgan
9. Wash Wash -- Prince Buster
10. Sammy Dead -- Eric 'Monty' Morris
11. My Boy Lollipop -- Millie Smalls
12. Carry Go Bring Come -- Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
13. Occupation -- Don Drummond & The Skatalites
14. Little Did You Know - The Techniques
15. Dancing Mood -- Delroy Wilson
16. Rough And Tough -- Stranger Cole
17. Take It Easy -- Hopeton Lewis
18. Every Night -- Chuck & Joe White
19. Rock Steady -- Alton Ellis
20. Tougher Than Tough (Rudie In Court) -- Derrick Morgan with
Desmond Dekker & The Aces
21. No More Heartaches -- The Beltones
22. The Tide Is High -- The Paragons
23. Trench Town Rock -- Bob Marley & The Wailers
24. Israelites (a.k.a. Poor Me Israelites) -- Desmond Dekker & The Aces
25. Sweet And Dandy -- The Maytals
26. Everything Crash -- The Ethiopians
27. Satta Massa Gana -- The Abyssinians
28. Fire Corner -- King Stitt
29. Java Dub -- Impact All Stars
30. Hypocrite -- The Heptones

“Marcus Garvey” by Winston 'Burning Spear' Rodney

Disc 2
31. Wear You To The Ball -- U- Roy & The Paragons
32. Cherry Oh Baby -- Eric Donaldson
33. 54-46 Was My Number (Stick It Up Mister) -- Toots & The Maytals
34. Them A Fi Get A Beatin' -- Peter Tosh
35. Many Rivers To Cross -- Jimmy Cliff
36. The Sun Shines For Me -- Bob Andy
37. Marcus Garvey -- Winston 'Burning Spear' Rodney
38. Fade Away -- Junior Byles
39. Lady With The Star Light -- Ken Boothe
40. Right Time -- Mighty Diamonds
41. Police And Thieves -- Junior Murvin
42. Ram Goat Liver -- Pluto Shervington
43. We De People/ The Power And The Glory -- Ernie Smith
44. Two Sevens Clash -- Culture
45. It's Alright -- Bob Marley
46. Forward Ever -- Jacob Miller

“Push Comes To Shove” Freddie McGregor

47. My Number One -- Gregory Isaacs
48. Money In My Pocket -- Dennis Brown
49. Kaya -- Bob Marley
50. Rub-A-Dub Style -- Michigan & Smiley
51. Uptown Top Ranking -- Althea & Donna
52. Land Of My Birth -- Eric Donaldson
53. Silly Games -- Janet Kay
54. Someone Loves You Honey -- June 'J.C.' Lodge
55. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner -- Black Uhuru
56. Arlene -- General Echo

“You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)” Dawn Penn

Disc 3

57. Over Me -- Yellowman
58. One Two -- Sister Nancy
59. Pass The Dutchie -- Musical Youth
60. I'm Getting Married In The Morning -- Yellowman
61. Try Jah Love -- Third World
62. Push Comes To Shove -- Freddie McGregor
63. Love Has Found Its Way -- Dennis Brown
64. Cottage In Negril -- Tyrone Taylor
65. Every Time A Ear De Soun' -- Mutabaruka
66. Electric Boogie -- Marcia Griffiths
67. Under Me Sleng Teng -- Wayne Smith
68. Greetings -- Half Pint
69. No Way Better Than Yard -- Admiral Bailey
70. Wild World -- Maxi Priest
71. Cover Me -- Tinga Stewart & Ninjaman
72. Wild Gilbert -- Lovindeer
73. Pocomania Day -- Lovindeer & Chalice

“Wild World” by Maxi Priest

74. Good Thing Going -- Sugar Minott
75. One Blood -- Junior Reid
76. Twice My Age -- Shabba Ranks & Krystal
77. Hello Africa -- Garnett Silk
78. Murder She Wrote -- Chaka Demus & Pliers

Disc 4
79. Putting Up A Resistance -- Beres Hammond
80. You Don't Love Me (No, No, No) -- Dawn Penn
81. Murderer -- Buju Banton
82. Tour -- Capleton
83. Lord Give Me Strength -- Luciano
84. Untold Stories -- Buju Banton
85. Fed Up -- Rodney ' Bounty Killer' Price
86. Sycamore Tree -- Lady Saw
87. Black Woman & Child -- Sizzla
88. Who Am I (Sim Simma) -- Beenie Man

“Black Woman And Child” by Sizzla

89. Down By The River -- Morgan Heritage
90. Virtuous Woman -- Warrior King
91. Gimme The Light -- Sean Paul
92. Pon De River, Pon De Bank -- Elephant Man
93. Welcome To Jamrock -- Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley
94. She's Royal -- Tarrus Riley
95. True Reflections -- Jah Cure
96. Roots -- Etana
97. Boombastic -- Shaggy
98. Lioness On The Rise -- Queen Ifrica
99. On The Rock -- Mavado
100. The Harder They Come -- Jimmy Cliff