A vinyl reissue of the two volumes of 'Handsworth Explosion', originally compiled and released by Black Symbol in the early nineteen eighties, already appeared on the Reggae Archive Records last year, but the label now also adds a CD version. True reggae fanatics will undoubtedly know Handsworth from the Steel Pulse album 'Handsworth Revolution', but in addition to this iconic British reggae band, many other formations and artists were also active in the Birmingham suburb at that time. Birmingham is the most important city of the British West Midlands, so the fact the track list of 'The Complete Handsworth Explosion' contains a number of artists and songs that also featured on the recently released 'The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One' (Sceptre's 'Ancestors Calling', Zephaniah's 'Free Man', Man From The Hill's 'Redemption Day'...), should come as no surprise. That being said, with a track list counting up to twenty songs, this excellent roots compilation contains more than enough unique, rare and interesting material to make this a true collector's item.