U-Roy Version Galore CD

Although largely unreported by the mainstream popular press, 17 February 2021 witnessed the passing of a true great of popular music: Asman Euwart Beckford. Under his stage name of U Roy, Beckford revolutionised the Jamaican music industry and in so doing also heavily influenced the development of hip hop, jungle and grime. In 1970, the immense popularity of his ground-breaking 7" singles for Treasure Isle boss, Duke Reid popularised DJ recordings, and sparked an explosion of similarly-styled discs, performed by a plethora of established and wanna-be toasters. Over the next year or two, U Roy continued to record high quality works for Reid, who gathered many of the DJ's most popular sides on two best-selling long-players, 'Version Galore' and the eponymously titled 'U Roy', issued in 1971 and 1993, respectively. In tribute to the man and his music, both of these seminal collections have finally been brought together, along with the remainder of his Treasure Isle singles and a number of rare alternate takes. These historic recordings, which forever changed the sound of reggae, demonstrate the inimitable style that resulted in U Roy becoming the world's first DJ superstar.

1. Your Ace from Space - U Roy ; Tommy 2. On the Beach - U Roy ; the Paragons 3. Version Galore - U Roy ; the Melodians 4. True Confession - U Roy ; the Silvertones 5. Tide Is High - U Roy ; the Paragons 6. Things You Love - U Roy ; the Jamaicans 7. The Same Song - U Roy ; the Paragons 8. Happy Go Lucky Girl - U Roy ; the Paragons 9. You Will Never Get Away - U Roy ; the Melodians 10. Wear You to the Ball - U Roy ; the Paragons 11. Don't Stay Away - U Roy ; Phyllis Dillon 12. Hot Pop - U Roy ; Tommy McCook 13. Nehru - Tommy McCook 14. True, True - U Roy ; Ken Parker 15. Wake the Town (Take 2) - U Roy ; the Paragons 16. Flashing My Whip - U Roy ; the Paragons 17. The Ball - Earl 'Wire' Lindo 18. Do It Right - U Roy and the Three Tops 19. Ain't That Loving You (Alt. Take) - U Roy ; Alton Ellis 20. Do Re Mi U Roy ; the Melodians 21. Super Boss - Tommy McCook 22. Honey Come Forward - U Roy 23. Treasure Isle Skank - U Roy 24. This Station Rule the Nation - U Roy ; Tommy McCook 25. Drive Her Home - U Roy ; Hopeton Lewis 26. Tom Drunk - Hopeton Lewis ; U Roy 27. Words of Wisdom - U Roy ; Tommy McCook 28. The Merry Go Round - U Roy 29. Wake the Town - U Roy ; the Paragons 30. Big Boy and Teacher - U Roy 31. Everybody Bawling - U Roy ; the Melodians 32. Ain't That Loving You - U Roy ; Alton Ellis 33. Behold - U Roy ; Tommy McCook 34. Way Back Home - U Roy ; Tommy McCook 35. My Girl - U Roy ; the Techniques 36. My Girl Version -Tommy McCook 37. Peace and Love - U Roy ; the Jamaicans 38. Peace and Love Version - Tommy McCook 39. Drive Her Home Part Two - Tommy McCook 40. You Will Never Get Away (Take 5) - U Roy ; the Melodians 41. Studio Chatter - U Roy ; Byron Smith