Alton Ellis is one of the finest soulful voices to come out of Jamaica.
As well as writing hit singles himself he could make a cover version
known as a foreign tune sound like a Jamaican reggae tune with the
greatest of ease.
As the more upbeat rhythms of the earlier `Ska’ period began to slow
down around the turn of 1966 some say due to the extreme heatwave
that hit the island of Jamaica that year, slower rhythms suited the people
to groove to at the various sound systems and dances. This also allowed
the singers to express themselves more and allow the song to shine through.
No one did this better than Alton Ellis.
Alton Ellis (b.1944, Kingston Jamaica) started off singing at an early age
as part of a duo with singer Eddie Perkins and recorded for both Studio
One and Randy’s as ‘Alton and Eddy’ and had a massive hit with the song
‘Muriel’. The singing pair went their separate ways Alton going solo with
Studio One and being a much in demand voice also recorded with Duke
Reid’s Treasure Isle studio as ‘Alton Ellis and The Flames’. As we stated
earlier as the beat slowed down the top singers shined through and
Alton Ellis reigned supreme. One of his tunes that we feature on this set
‘Get Ready (Do the Rocksteady) even gave this period in reggae’s history
its name ‘Rocksteady’. It’s this fantastic period Rocksteady 1966-1968 that
we feature on this release. This set carries all the big hits ‘Ain’t That Loving
You, ‘Girl I’ve Got A Date’, ‘Cry Tuff’ alongside many more classics.
All cut at Treasure Isle songs that really defined the era.
So sit back and enjoy the Rocksteady sound at it’s finest...
Hope enjoy the set...
CD Track Listing
1 Ain’t That Loving You
2 Get Ready (Do the Rocksteady)
3 Girl I’ve Got A Date
4 La La Means I Love You
5 Baby I Love You
6 Remember That Sunday (feat Phillis Dillion)
7 Cry Tuff
8 Breaking Up
9 Why Do Birds
10 Come Rolling
11 If I Ruled The World
12 Willow Tree
13 Thank The Lord*
14 Can’t Stop Me Now*
15 How Can I Find*
*CDâBonus tracks
Vinyl Track Listing
Side 1
1 Ain’t That Loving You
2 Get Ready (Do the Rocksteady)
3 Girl I’ve Got A Date
4 La La Means I Love You
5 Baby I Love You
6 Remember That Sunday (feat Phillis Dillion)
Side 2
1 Cry Tuff
2 Breaking Up
3 Why Do Birds
4 Come Rolling
5 If I Ruled The World
6 Willow Tree
Musicians Include:
Lloyd Knibbs: Drums
Robbie Shakespeare: Bass
Lynn Tait, Hux Brown, Ronnie ‘Bop’ Williams: Guitar
Winston wright: Organ
Gladstone ‘Gladdy’ Anderson: Piano
Tommy McCook, Hermin Marquis & Supersonics: Horns
Recorded at: Treasure Isle Studios
Produced by: Duke Reid
Design By: Gary @Voodoo London
Manufactured Under License from: Count Shelly / E. Lee
