A box set of any kind is meant to be a thorough collection of songs. It’s hard to imagine a collection more thorough than Down in Jamaica: 40 Years of VP Records. This collection of reggae includes 94 songs and features 101 different artists ranging from Gregory Isaacs to Beenie Man. It not only takes the listener through the history of VP Records, but also brings back rarities that have been out of print.
The collection was curated by Carter Van Pelt, the Director of Catalog Development for VP Records. Of the collection, Van Pelt said, “The goal is to tell the story of a continually owned and operated family business at the heart of the global growth of reggae, dancehall, and Caribbean music.”
One of the complaints about reggae is that a lot of it ends up sounding the same. This collection is pretty effective in showing the different sounds of reggae. It bounces from traditional reggae to dub and dancehall. There are even some songs that border on psychedelic. “Hot Stepper” by Ini Kamoze is a good example. With the reverb on both the vocals and the keyboards, this song gives you a healthy dose of psychedelia with the reggae sounds that will get your head bobbing.
A distinct change happens on the second disc. At the beginning of the disc, the tunes move from dub to reggae that is more influenced by hip-hop. You can hear it particularly in songs like “Down in Jamaica” by Red Fox and “Murder Dem” by Ninjaman. “Miss Goodie Goodie” by Colin Roach and Galaxy P also has a bit of a hip-hop feel – mostly because the vocals have a similar quality to Lil Jon. That’s part of the disc. The other part is songs that would fit just as well on a soul collection. The soul component of the disc is represented in jams like “Good Life” by Cocoa Tea and a cover of “When I See You Smile” by Singing Sweet. “Born Again” by Mikey Spice is another song that lives at the intersection where soul meets reggae.
The soulful groove continues on the third disc. “Down by the River” by Morgan Heritage is a good example. The vocals on this song are on par with your favorite soul artists. Along the same lines, “No Letting Go” by Wayne Wonder is a song that brings Stevie Wonder to mind. One song on the third disc that catches the attention is “I’ve Got Your Man” by Lady Saw. For one, it is one of the rare tracks on the collection by a female artist. It also catches the attention because of the bouncy, soulful melody and the fact that it’s basically a diss track in which Lady Saw taunts someone for having taken her man.
More female artists are featured on the fourth disc. “It’s a Pity” by Tanya Stephens is a dub track in which she sings about how it’s a pity that a certain someone has a wife. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking for more of her music after hearing her soulful vocals. “Lioness on the Rise” by Queen Ifrica is a slow jam, but the lyrics make it something of an empowerment anthem. Some familiar artists appear on the fourth disc. Shaggy raps to a rock beat on “Church Heathen”. Maxi Priest sings “Easy to Love”, a slow jam that would be perfect coming from the windows of a lowrider.
It takes a while to get through this collection, but it’s time well spent. This collection is full of songs that will get your head bobbing and your body moving. On top of that, it is a must-have for collectors due to the rarity of some of the tracks and the presentation of the box set.
