Reggae Power/ Various - Reggae Power: Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks / Various

Two CDs. By the close of the '60s, record retailer and jukebox businessman Karl 'J. J. ' Johnson was firmly established as one of Jamaica's leading record producers, having released a string of best-selling rock steady and proto-reggae 45s by such noted local acts as Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the Rulers, Carl Dawkins, the Kingstonians and the Ethiopians. Early in 1969, a lucrative agreement with British record label, Trojan, emboldened the ambitious entrepreneur to release an album comprising a dozen of his latest recordings in the new reggae style. Entitled Reggae Power, the LP was dominated by regular hit-makers, the Ethiopians, whose recent singles had proved so popular in Britain that the group had been prompted to make a promotional tour of the country. Their trip led to Trojan dramatically reworking the Reggae Power long-player for it's UK release, replacing all but two non-Ethiopians tracks with further J. J. -produced works by the trio, before issuing it in new artwork. But with the Ethiopians collection already available on the Doctor Bird CD, Reggae Power & Woman Capture Man, it is the Jamaican version of the album that provides the inspiration for this exciting double-disc compilation, which collects the bulk of J. J. Johnson's output from 1968 to 1972, including numerous reggae hits and 17 recordings new to CD.