New releases last eight weeks: Classics/Ska

Review: While not as celebrated as some of his Jamaican contemporaries, Winston Holness AKA Niney The Observer was a hugely successful record producer. This excellent two-disc set does an excellent job in rounding up the best of his output between 1973 and '75, a period where he enjoyed countless hits at home and over in the UK. There's naturally plenty of goodness to be found amongst the 49 tracks on show, with cuts featuring now well-known Jamaican scene stars - think Junior Delgado, Delroy Wilson, Big Youth, Max Romeo, Junior Byles, Horace Andy, U-Roy and ska survivor Tommy McCook - being joined by more dubbed-out 'versions' (credited to his studio band The Observers') and local hits by artists whose fame rarely spread beyond the Caribbean (Winston Wright, Hubert Lee, Earth & Stone). In an indispensable introduction to one of Jamaica's finest producers of the 1970s.

Review: It isn't too often that you can get two rare and desirable releases on one CD but that's just what we have here. Dr.Bird gives us these rare 70s examples of lesser known releases that have a strong cult following but are still being discovered. Delroy Wilson's Sarge from 1977 and Ken Boothe's Unlimited from 1977. Both releases are lauded for each singers soulful voice and music diversity with early ska and rocksteady infused into their reggae sounds. Both releases are hard to get original copies for a reasonable price so having them together is an added treat.