Max Romeo - Best Of (Médiacom/Nocturne)
This 'Best Of' should rather have been titled 'Max Romeo & Friends', as for each track Max is accompanied by a friendly colleague (a direct result of a copyright issue that left Max Romeo without the original recordings to his own songs).
Clive Hunt - Clive Hunt & The Dub Dancers (Makasound)
If we are to believe the press release accompanying this Makasound release, 'Clive Hunt & The Dub Dancers' is the first dub album produced in Jamaica in about twenty years!
T.D. Rankin - Too Much Division (Self-published)
In the Antwerp reggae scene everyone knows the cheerful T.D. Rankin. With 'Too Much Division', T.D. now serves us his self-published debut album offering mostly new roots and a drop of dancehall.
Morgan Heritage - Mission In Progress (VP Records)
With their previous album, 'Full Circle', Morgan Heritage concluded a period in their career, but 'Mission In Progress' proves that this was by no means the end of the trip.
Barrington Levy - Teach The Youth: Barrington Levy & Friends At Joe Gibbs (17 North Parade/VP Records)
In the same line as the Jacob Miller-release from a few weeks ago, Barrington Levy is joined by some of his deejay-buddies in the studios of the late Joe Gibbs.
Rasites - Sex, Violence And Drugs (Ariwa)
The Rasites are back! Not that this London posse ever really went anywhere, because they are one of the most active backing bands in the current live circuit (Michael Rose, Abyssinians), but where album releases are concerned, after their 2001 debut effort, 'Urban Regeneration', things stayed completely quiet.
Rupa & The April Fishes - Extraordinary Rendition (Cumbancha)
Every now and then yours truly is confronted with an album that is hard to categorize, and 'Extraordinary Rendition' by Rupa & The April Fishes fits that description perfectly.
Watcha Clan - Diaspora Hi-Fi: A Mediterranean Caravan (Piranha)
With 'Diaspora Hi-Fi' Watcha Clan, a five-Member multicultural band from Marseille, delivers what has to be the ideal soundtrack for a film by Gypsy filmmaker par excellence, Tony Gatlif.
Eek-A-Mouse - Most Wanted (Greensleeves)
This latest addition in Greensleeves' Most Wanted series is dedicated to the oeuvre of the man with the most eccentric name in reggae: Eek-A-Mouse.
Cocoa Tea - Reggae Anthology: The Sweet Sound Of Cocoa Tea (VP Records)
As we have come to expect of VP Records, this 'Reggae Anthology' is yet again a solid overview of the career of the artist in question, Cocoa Tea, from his first songs for Junjo Lawes to recent tracks on his own Roaring Lion label.
Joe Ariwa - Dub Tech Dub + Joe Ariwa & Young Warrior - Joe Ariwa Meets Young Warrior (Ariwa)
The two newest releases on the Ariwa label are not created by the Mad Professor himself as this time he left the helm to his son Joe Ariwa.
No More Babylon - Roots Meeting (A La Folie Music)
For 'Roots Meeting', French band No More Babylon from Toulon invited a whole host of "friends" such as Earl Sixteen, U Brown, Ken Boothe and Josie Mel.
Triston Palma - Joker Smoker (Greensleeves)
Re-release of the legendary Jah Thomas produced album that put Triston Palma/Palmer on the reggae map.
Little Harry, Billy Boyo & Nicodemus - DJ Clash, 3 The Hard Way (Greensleeves)
"Now here comes a musical shark attack...", only original eighties DJ vibes on this '3 The Hard Way'!
Various Artists - Songs For Reggae Lovers (Greensleeves)
Cunning as they are, the Greensleeves label dropped his double compilation album full of lovers rock in stores just in time for Valentine's Day.
Jacob Miller - Jacob Miller Lives On (VP Records)
When writing a review, it's best to get right to the point: this Joe Gibbs production from 1980 is simply the re-release of the month.
Cedric 'Im' Brooks - From Mento To Reggae To Third World Music (VP Records)
Cedric 'Im' Brooks, saxophonist schooled at the now famous Jamaican Alpha Boys School, has always had a broad musical taste and 'From Mento To Reggae To Third World Music', an album he recorded with backing band The Divine Light in 1973, is a clear testimony of that fact.
The Mighty Diamonds - Inna De Yard (Makasound)
As an avid fan of The Mighty Diamonds, especially lead vocalist Tabby's voice, yours truly was looking forward to hear the result of their sessions in Earl 'Chinna' Smith's yard.
The Meditations - No More Friend (Greensleeves)
'No More Friend', in 1983 already the fourth album by The Meditations was originally described by the trio as being their first dance album.
Luciano - Jah Is My Navigator (VP Records)
The Messenger was quiet for a while but returns with 'Jah Is My Navigator'. Recorded under the direction of bosom friend and bandleader Dean Fraser, this album exudes the class that we've come to expect from a Luciano release.