Love Of The Common People (The Joe Gibbs Anthology 1967-1979)

This two-disc set goes a long way toward validating the career of Joe Gibbs, one of Jamaica's legendary producers. Known as much for his strongarm tactics as his abilities as a musical svengali, Gibbs and his studio were vital to the transition of Jamaican music from the freneticism of ska to the more languid, spacious beat of rocksteady. Along with Lee Perry, Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, and others, Gibbs moved Jamaican music from the gentle tones of mento and calypso toward the harder edge of American R&B and soul. Lyrical content changed too, reflecting the internal turmoil of a former colony groping toward independence. Most of the hits are here, delivered by some of the music's greatest stars, including Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh, Big Youth, Delroy Wilson, and a host of others. Gibb's relationship with Lee Perry was crucial to Perry's development. With Gibb, Perry learned his eye for talent and found an outlet for his ideas and songs. The first disc reflects this. Later, Erroll Thompson and Niney the Observer filled the chair that Perry abandoned, and the hits kept coming. This two-disc portrait isn't exhaustive; reducing his output to this format is analogous to trimming Motown's output to a double disc, an almost impossible task in the face of a mountain of music. Still, this set is probably the best overview listeners are likely to get and an essential addition to the library of anyone in search of the roots and future of Jamaican music. ~ Rob Ferrier|