The Trojan Story 3LP & Book Box Set

One of the most significant collections in Trojan's immense catalog, the The Trojan Story album dramatically changed the perception of Jamaican music among the general British public outside of the country's Afro-Caribbean population. Prior to its release in 1971 there had never been an attempt to present a comprehensive anthology of the island's musical development, with vintage ska, rock steady and reggae widely regarded as obsolete and of precious little merit. The treble disc set, which became an instant best-seller, had been the brainchild of Trojan's label manager and Black Music fan, Rob Bell, who, assisted by Trojan stalwarts, Dandy Livingstone, Webster Shrowder, Des Bryan and Joe Sinclair, produced arguably the most significant Jamaican music retrospectives of all time.

Now, 50 years following its original release, this hugely influential album has been revisited by Bell, along with reggae musician, Rusty Zinn, who have succeeded in improving what was already an almost perfect collection. Presented in the original eye-catching artwork, the set is further enhanced by a highly illustrated 50-page booklet in which Bell and Zinn relate the stories behind the release life at Trojan in the '60s and early '70s and the 50 tracks featured on the compilation.

It is without hyperbole to say that without the existence of Trojan Records, the last 50 years of U.K. music would not at all be the same. Rob Bell's label tapped into the hunger for reggae, ska and rocksteady from both the growing West Indian population and the white hipsters enraptured by the music's bounce and groove. Trojan fed them dozens of 45s and compilations featuring the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and the Maytals. They proved enormously influential on the men and women that would form groups like the Selecter, UB40 and Matumbi. And as those acts garnered worldwide acclaim, compilations like The Trojan Story, originally released in 1971, spread the good word even farther. This welcome reissue of that collection fleshes out the story even more with extensive liner notes delving into the story of each track and some crucial memories from Bell himself. At the same time, this pressing is incredibly noisy. To be fair, the original version was, in part, mastered by using vinyl drops of the singles being compiled. So having the sound diminished that much further on this new edition is forgivable. And the joy of having all this amazing material in one easy to use set cannot be understated. I'll suffer through a bit of surface noise to hear the Three Tops' 'It's Raining' and Lynn Taitt's 'Way of Life' whenever I care to.