Reggae Power – v/a 2cd

Dubbel cd op Doctor Bird met nummers geproduceerd door Karl ‘JJ’ Johnson in de eerste helft van de jaren ’70. ‘By the close of the Sixties, Karl ‘J.J.’ Johnson was firmly established as one of Jamaica’s leading record producers, having released a string of best-selling rock steady and proto-reggae 45s. Early in 1969, a lucrative agreement with British record label, Trojan, emboldened the ambitious entrepreneur to release an album comprising a dozen of his latest recordings in the new reggae style. Entitled “Reggae Power”, the LP was dominated by regular hit-makers, the Ethiopians, whose recent singles had proved so popular in Britain that the group had been prompted to make a promotional tour of the country. Their trip led to Trojan dramatically reworking the ‘Reggae Power’ long-player for its UK release, replacing all but two non-Ethiopians tracks with further J.J.-produced works by the trio, before issuing it in new artwork. It is the Jamaican version of the album that provides the inspiration for this exciting double-disc compilation, which collects the bulk of J.J. Johnson’s output from 1968 to 1972, including numerous reggae hits and 17 recordings new to CD.”