Description
Release Date: 2023
Label: Trojan Records
Track List
Disc: 1
- 1 (Poor Mi) Israelites – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 2 It Mek (UK Mix) – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 3 Fu Man Chu – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 4 (Where Did It Go) the Song We Used to Sing
- 5 Beautiful and Dangerous – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 6 King of Ska – By Desmond Dekker & the Cherry Pies
- 7 Intensified ’68 (Music Like Dirt) – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 8 Sabotage – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 9 Sugar Dumpling
- 10 Don’t Blame Me – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 11 Perseverance
- 12 It’s a Shame – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 13 Jeserine – By Desmond Dekker & the Cherry Pies
- 14 Bongo Gal – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 15 Pick Up the Phone
- 16 Mother’s Young Gal – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 17 This Woman – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 18 Shing a Ling – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 19 You Can Get It If You Really Want
- 20 Unity – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 21 Live and Learn (The More You Live)
- 22 Rudy Got Soul – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 23 Get Up Adina – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 24 Generosity
- 25 Pretty Africa – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
Disc: 2
- 1 007 (Shanty Town)
- 2 First Time for a Long Time
- 3 Rude Boy Train – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 4 Honour Your Mother and Father
- 5 It Pays – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 6 Problems – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 7 Wise Man – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 8 Mother Nature
- 9 It Gotta Be So
- 10 Beware
- 11 Coconut Water
- 12 Soldering
- 13 Sweet Music – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 14 Labour for Learning
- 15 No Place Like Home
- 16 Writing on the Wall – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 17 Parents
- 18 Sing a Little Song
- 19 Mother Pepper – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 20 Mount Zion – By Desmond Dekker & the Four Aces
- 21 Licking Stick – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 22 Young Generation – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 23 Pickney Gal – By Desmond Dekker & the Aces
- 24 Jamaica Ska – By Desmond Dekker & the Specials
Notes
Two CDs. Long before Bob Marley’s rise to pre-eminence, the title of the world’s leading reggae performer rested firmly with another young singer from Kingston, Jamaica: Desmond Dekker. Between 1967 and 1970, Desmond enjoyed a succession of international hit singles, breaking new ground with singles such as ‘007’, the first Jamaican-produced single to break into the UK top twenty, and ‘Israelites’, the first reggae single to reach the Number One spot in Britain and to breach the US chart. Further triumphs followed thereafter, with major chart hits including ‘It Mek’, ‘Pickney Gal’, ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and ‘Sing A Little Song’, all of which cemented his place in history as Jamaica’s first global superstar. All these works, along with the best of his remaining recordings from the ska, rock steady and reggae eras are featured on this compilation, featuring extensive liner notes and imagery, the set pays due respect to the original King of Reggae and superbly demonstrates the immense talent that set Desmond Dekker apart from his peers during the Golden Age of Jamaican music.
