The Skatalites ?- Foundation Ska - Without the Skatalites, there would be no ska. And this 2-CD set collects 32 tracks (e.g. Occupation; Christine Keeler) from the legendary Studio One and Treasure Isle labels, everything from full-tilt ska to Latin beats to ballads, with guest vocals by Bob Marley, Jackie Opel and other luminaries. Includes rare photos and the first history of the band ever penned... so good it's ska-rie! - It's not often that nearly four-decade-old music manages to be both seminal and cutting edge, but these 32 hits from Jamaica's-and the world's-greatest ska outfit are just that. Early ska blended R&B shuffle with mento (Jamaican calypso)-Jamaica's antic response to stateside boogie-woogie. Don Drummond, Roland Alphonso, the late Tommy McCook, and the other Skatalites injected the swinging sophistication of jazz-honed chops, and this set captures the band just starting out, during their '64-'65 tenure at Coxsonne Dodd's legendary Studio One. Ska's buoyant appeal has never died, merely gone underground now and then, and it's raging at an all-time high today. Foundation Ska shows why the Skatalites still dominate. Every track's a burnished gem, and fans will get extra kicks from the band's backing turns for Bob Marley and the Wailers ("Simmer Down") and Stranger Cole and Ken Boothe's "World's Fair" duet. Label: Studio One ?- Format: 2 x CD, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered