VARIOUS - 100% Dynamite (Ska-Soul-Rocksteady & Funk In Jamaica) VARIOUS

100% Dynamite is the cornerstone of Soul Jazz Records’ releases and launched their long-running series of highly regarded reggae albums. This album is the fully expanded version.

Since the album’s original release, 100% Dynamite has become a cornerstone of funky reggae music. Eighteen killer tracks that show the influence that American jazz, funk and soul music had on Jamaican reggae.

The album was Soul Jazz Records’ first foray into the mighty vaults of Studio One and many of the tracks featured come from the legendary label. 100% Dynamite features some serious and heavyweight Jamaican funk by Jackie Mittoo, The Upsetters and Toots and The Maytals, alongside the cream of Jamaican jazz musicians such as Tommy McCook, Cedric Brooks and Lennie Hibbert. Also included here are killer reggae versions of USA soul classics including Marlena Shaw’s Woman of the Ghetto, Aretha Franklin’s Rocksteady, Syl Johnson’s Is It Because I’m Black, William DeVaughan’s seminal Be Thankful and more.

Jamaican/USA influences went both ways and included here are many cornerstone reggae songs that cross into the worlds of both hip-hop and punk – check Brentford All Stars’ massive Greedy G, the basis for Boogie Down Productions’ Jack of Spades, and Willie Williams’ Armagideon Time, later covered by The Clash.