John Edwards Gunn
These Studio One compilations by Soul Jazz are much more coherent that the ramshackle 100% Dynamite series that made its way to 500% before running out of steam a couple of years ago. Plenty of great tunes on the latter discs, but the way they mixed and matched tracks from various eras and styles – plus the lack of sleevenotes – made them far from model examples of the compiler’s art. Now they’re getting it right with releases themed around Studio One Rockers, Soul, DJs and Roots.
This latest one goes to the core of what made Studio One the motherload of Jamaican music – the instrumentals. These put together great musicians like Jackie Mittoo, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Cedric Brooks, many of whom worked together as the Skatalites and under other names like the Soul Vendors. The album kicks off with some quickfire ska rhythms energised even further by a strong jazz flavour. Most of the Studio One dons were top jazz players given free rein by label boss Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd. Then the beat slows down as we enter the rocksteady era for a string of moody slow-burners. This is tough, exotic, romantic music to dance to. Tuneful, with bedrock rhythms.
The success of Studio One had a lot to do with the way tracks could be played out in the dancehall that night, having been recorded in the afternoon. Dodd and his musicians were in a position to get instant feedback and respond like lightning to changes in public mood and demand. By the time a tune was released on 7″ it was already a dancehall hit.
Listening back now, Studio One has a timeless quality. The music, while undeniably the sound of Sixties Jamaica, at the same time transcends its source. It has the atmosphere of old-fashioned recordings made on primitive equipment – it sounds ancient – but the music itself could have been broadcast from the future, the way it embodies qualities and values that producers at the forefront of electronic music are still striving to capture.
Studio One has always had the power to captivate aficionados, but has never gone mainstream outside Jamaica, so it’s not been assimilated into our popular culture. It still exists in its pure, unmediated form, as perfect nuggets of inspiration and expression within an unbreakable framework.
