Brand new selection of rare and classic releases made at Studio One by reggae's leading women! Featuring legendary artists such as Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Hortense Ellis (with a guest appearance by her brother Alton), alongside a host of rarities from lesser known names such as Nina Soul, Nana Mclean, Denise Darlington, Myrna Hague and also Doreen Schaeffer - vocalist and founding member of The Skatalites!
Featured here are some notable cover versions - from Tyrone Davis’ soul classic 'Can I Change My Mind' to the Byrds' 60s psychedelic anthemic 'Turn Turn Turn' in a rub-a-dub style!. Doreen Schaeffer versions Alton Ellis’s seminal 'I’m Still in Love with You', Nina Soul versions the slack rocksteady anthem 'Barb Wire'.
Many of these tracks are almost impossible to find and many have never been issued ever since their initial release. The music on the album is - of course - 100% killer and features backing from all of the seminal groups at 13 Brentford Road including The Skatalites, Sound Dimension, Soul Brothers and the Brentford All Stars, and ranges from ska, rocksteady, roots, lovers and more from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
All produced by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd at Studio One Records, the number one sound in reggae music.
The album is released on Soul Jazz Records as a double-vinyl with gatefold sleeve, download code, the CD comes in slipcase and both come with extensive sleevenotes.
REVIEWS
“As a label based around the musical activities of Jamaican producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, Studio One’s output is almost comically immense. By extension, the Soul Jazz label’s extensive reissue dive into the Studio One vaults, which has been underway since the early 2000s, is showing no signs of running thin on quality. The latest offering in the series, Studio One Women Volume 2, is a model of consistency as it offers a variety of island reggae styles.
To drive home the enduring vitality of Soul Jazz’s Studio One endeavour many of the tracks on Vol. 2 are impossibly rare, and in some cases, reissued for the first time. This only heightens the set’s thematic focus as the quality and the scarcity of the contents are primed to satisfy reggae newcomers and seasoned fans alike.
Seven artists are reprised from Volume One. Of the returning singers, Marcia Griffiths is the most prominent, and on two of her three tracks she’s backed by Sound Dimension, Studio One’s house band, led by bassist-vocalist Leroy Sibbles with contributions from such heavyweights as guitarist Ernest Ranglin, keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, and saxophonists “Deadly” Headley Bennett and Cedric Brooks.
A set that glides forth without a stumble and benefits further from the multi-decade span of the contents, scoring yet another winner for Soul Jazz in their continued mining of Studio One’s riches.” Vinyl District
"Spanning rocksteady to 1970s soulful reggae, on this essential compilation Soul Jazz’s excavation of the Studio One vault once again shines a vital light on the legacy of women within the history of Jamaican music". Vinyl Factory
"Maybe one of the best reggae collections the Soul Jazz label has ever given us – a really rich collection of tracks from the Studio One collection" Dusty Groove