‘Studio One Dub Plate Special’ returns on CD and LP

Back in 2018, Soul Jazz Records dug deep into the Studio One vaults for an exclusive Record Store Day 7″ box set. It gathered ten tracks originally issued as ultra-limited, hand-etched, one-sided 12″ dub plates, including eight of those rare cuts plus previously unreleased alternate versions from Jacob Miller and George Philip.

The box set has been long out of print, but now the complete collection is back on CD and LP. That’s good news for anyone who missed it the first time around. For reggae fans and Studio One addicts, it’s a welcome second chance to hear these recordings in one place.

There’s around 30 minutes of prime Studio One music here, recorded at Coxsone Dodd’s legendary Brentford Road studio in Kingston. The late great Alton Ellis gets things moving with the righteous Black People, while the Brentford All Stars turn War’s The World Is A Ghetto into a hypnotic instrumental.

Cedric Brooks and The Soul Brothers deliver groovy instrumental workouts such as Power To The People, Soul Eye and Skitting Day. And then there are also noteworthy cuts from The Officials, Alton & Zoot, George Philip and Jacob Miller’s wicked alternate version of Westbound Train.

Short, sweet and packed with heavyweight Studio One cuts, this is a reissue worth having if that original box passed you by.