Aitken,Laurel & Friends Skinhead Train: Complete Singles Collection 69-70 CD

Five CDs. Widely hailed as the Godfather of Ska, Laurel Aitken dominated Jamaica's recording industry throughout it's infancy, enjoying a series of hugely popular mento and Jamaican R&B hits during the latter half of the 1950s. Early the following decade he relocated to London, where, over the years that immediately followed, he recorded for every Afro-Caribbean record company of note. While his ska and rock steady recordings ensured Laurel remained a firm favorite among Jamaican ex-patriots, the reggae explosion of 1969 exposed his work to a wider audience, with productions for Doctor Bird, Pama and Trojan Records establishing him as a musical hero for many of Britain's young, white working-classes, notably those that had adopted a fashion style dubbed by the national press as 'skinhead'. This set collects the entirety of the singer-songwriter-producer's output that saw issue on 7" singles between 1969 and 1970, with the set including big sellers alongside long lost rarities and unissued tracks that make their CD debut. While Laurel's own considerable singing skills take center stage, the collection also features recordings he produced for other UK-based artists, their number including such celebrated acts as Rico, Winston Groovy, Pama Dice, the Pyramids, the Cimarons and the Rudies. Among the 138 tracks collected here, two are previously unreleased and a further 68 unavailable on any format for decades, ensuring this celebration of fast and furious boss sounds is an essential acquisition for any self-respecting fan of vintage reggae.

1. Fire in Mi Wire - Laurel Aitken 2. Quando Quando - Laurel Aitken 3. Rice and Peas - Laurel Aitken 4. Worried Over Me - the Classics 5. Reggae Prayer - Laurel Aitken 6. Deliverance Will Come - Laurel Aitken 7. The Rise and Fall (Of Laurel) - Laurel Aitken 8. If You're Not Black - Laurel Aitken 9. Haile Haile (The Lion) - Laurel Aitken 10. Call Collect - Seven Letters 11. Carolina - Laurel Aitken 12. Kingston Town - Laurel Aitken 13. Donkey Man - Laurel Aitken 14. Woppi King - Laurel Aitken 15. Mr Soul - Laurel Aitken 16. Suffering Still -Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 17. Reggae '69 - Laurel Aitken 18. Haile Selassie - Laurel Aitken 19. Blues Dance - Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 20. Lawd Doctor - Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 21. Big Fight in Hell Stadium -Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 22. Run Powell Run - Laurel Aitken 23. A Message to You - Rico ; Laurel Aitken 24. Save the Last Dance - Laurel Aitken 25. Walk Right Back - Laurel Aitken 26. Don't Be Cruel - Laurel Aitken 27. (Sloop) John B - Laurel Aitken 28. Island in the Sun - Winston Groovy 29. Work It Up - Winston Groovy 30. (My Girl) Josephine - Winston Groovy 31. Champagne and Wine - Winston Groovy 32. Babylon Gone - Rico ; Laurel Aitken 33. Shoo Be Doo - Laurel Aitken 34. Landlords and Tenants - Laurel Aitken 35. Everybody Sufferin' - Laurel Aitken 36. Jesse James - Laurel Aitken 37. Freedom - Laurel Aitken 38. Pussy Price Gone Up - Laurel Aitken 39. Gimme Back Me Dollar - Laurel Aitken 40. Skinhead Train - Laurel Aitken 41. Kent People - the Gruvy Beats 42. Benwood Dick - Laurel Aitken 43. Apollo 12 - Laurel Aitken 44. Scandal in Brixton Market - Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 45. Frankenstein - King Horror 46. I Can't Stand It - Winston Groovy 47. Stupid Married Man - Laurel Aitken ; Girlie 48. Madam Streggae - Girlie 49. Think Me No Know - Laurel Aitken 50. Trombone Man - Rico 51. Pussy Got Thirteen Life - Laurel Aitken 52. Single Man - Laurel Aitken 53. Skinhead Wreck the Town -Laurel Aitken 54. Moon Rock - Laurel Aitken 55. Merry Xmas - Winston Groovy 56. Sin Pon You - Laurel Aitken 57. Everynight - Laurel Aitken 58. Cut Up Munno - Winston Groovy 59. The Vampire - King Horror 60. Cutting Blade - King Horror 61. Leaving Me Standing - Winston Groovy 62. Little Girl - Winston Groovy 63. The Hole - King Horror 64. Loch Ness Monster - King Horror 65. Zion I - Rico ; the Visions 66. Funky Chicken, Part 1 -Winston Groovy 67. Funky Chicken, Part 2 - the Cimarons 68. Funny, Version 1 - Winston Groovy 69. Funny, Version 2 - the Cimarons 70. Sin, Sun and Sex - Pama Dice 71. Honky Tonk Popcorn - Pama Dice 72. Bongo Man - Pama Dice 73. Reggae Popcorn - Pama Dice 74. The Worm, Part 1 - Pama Dice 75. The Worm, Part 2 - Pama Dice 76. Only You - Laurel Aitken 77. I Can't Go on - Winston Groovy 78. Funky Monkey, Version 1 - Dice the Boss 79. Funky Monkey, Version 2 -Dice the Boss 80. Give Me Back Your Love - Trevor Lloyd 81. Hold Me - Trevor Lloyd 82. Chinee Brush - Trevor Lloyd 83. Real Collie - Dice ; Cummie 84. Loch Ness Monster (Alt. TK.) - King Horror 85. The Worm - Pama Dice 86. You Can't Turn Your Back on Me - Winston Groovy 87. Funky Duck - Dice the Boss 88. Funkier Than Duck - Dice the Boss 89. The Naked City - King Horror 90. Wood in the Fire - King Horror 91. Mr Popcorn - Laurel Aitken 92. Share Your Popcorn - Laurel Aitken 93. I've Got to Have Your Love - Laurel Aitken 94. Blue Mink - Laurel Aitken ; Gruvy Beats 95. Souls of Africa - Tiger 96. Dallas, Texas - Laurel Aitken ; Gruvy Beats 97. Standing on the Corner - Winston Groovy 98. You Send Me - Winston Groovy 99. Nobody But Me - Laurel Aitken 100. Baby Please Don't Go - Laurel Aitken 101. Yellow Bird - Winston Groovy 102. For Your Love - Winston Groovy 103. I'll Never Love Any Girl - Laurel Aitken 104. Take Me Back - Laurel Aitken 105. Reggae Popcorn - Laurel Aitken 106. Here Is My Heart - Winston Groovy 107. Birds and the Bees - the Gruvy Beats 108. Election - the Freedom Singers 109. Tomorrow's World - Fleece ; the Live Shocks 110. Pick My Pocket - the Versatiles 111. Freedom - the Freedom Singers 112. The Outlaw - Laurel Aitken 113. So Much Love - the Classics 114. Same Old Feeling - the Classics 115. Nobody Else But You - Joe Lace 116. Version of Nobody - the Live Shocks 117. Baby I Need Your Loving (1970 Version) - Laurel Aitken 118. Think It Over - Laurel Aitken 119. Musical Scorcher - Tiger 120. Three Dogs Night - Tiger 121. Sex Machine - Laurel Aitken 122. Since You Left - Laurel Aitken 123. Groovin' - Winston Groovy 124. Sugar Mama - Winston Groovy 125. Witchcraft Man - the Inner Mind 126. Night in Cairo - the Inner Mind 127. Pum Pum Girl - the Inner Mind 128. Freedom - the Inner Mind 129. History of Africa - the Classics 130. Honey Bee - the Classics 131. Pachanga, Part 1 - Laurel Aitken 132. Pachanga, Part 2 - Laurel Aitken 133. Tennessee Waltz - Winston Groovy 134. Old Man Trouble - Winston Groovy 135. Why Can't I Touch You - Laurel Aitken 136. (You) Can't Turn Your Back on Me - Laurel Aitken 137. Mary's Boy Child - Laurel Aitken 138. Mary's Boy Child (Instr.) - the Rudies