Fire over Babylon : dread, peace and conscious sounds at Studio One

"Spiritually charged roots reggae from Clement Dodd's super studio ... [Soul Jazz have] certainly done an excellent job with Fire Over Babylon. Think of it as just one of many angles you could take on this eternally nourishing music, and you won't walk wrong".

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"Studio One was known as the Jamaican Motown because countless artists emerged from its training ground, including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Ken Boothe. Despite being the key site of ska innovation in the early 1960s, Studio One ended up in Treasure Isle's shadow during rocksteady and scored fewer hits than Channel One or Joe Gibbs during the roots reggae heyday of the late 70s. But, as revealed on this stellar compilation, the production values never dropped, its deliciously lo-fi sound and permissive atmosphere yielding some excellent Rastafari-oriented output ... Studio One fans will delight at the intense works gathered here, and there is plenty to discover for those not already well-versed in the hallowed label".

"[Another] excellent set documenting the abundance of outstanding roots recorded by reggae's foundation label ... Studio One supremo Clement Dodd was more than just an entrepreneur: descended from the rebel Maroons, he would often visit Rasta camps to take part in "reasoning" sessions, and thus "felt" an impassioned chant such as Cedric Brooks and Count Ossie's 'Give Me Back Me Language And Me Culture', and, indeed, the radical ire of Freddie McGregor's 'I Am A Revolutionist'. With further deep cuts aboard from The Gladiators, Wailing Souls, Horace Andy and others, 'Fire Over Babylon' is from the very top drawer".

"Soul Jazz Records have been mining the rich seam of Jamaica's most important foundation label, producer Clement Dodd's Studio One, for well over two decades now. This 18-track selection of '70s roots reggae gems shows no dip in quality, with premier vocal harmony groups Wailing Souls and The Gladiators featuring most prominently, while the addition of super-rare pirate anthem Ya Ho by The Viceroys and Judah Eskender Tafari's exquisitely soulful Always Trying make this an essential set. Best of all is roots crooner Freddie McGregor's I Am A Revolutionist, where the singer calls out the inequities of Babylon on one of the most militant, righteous cuts ever recorded at the studio".