• First serious anthology of Lloyd Charmers’ earliest productions.
• Twelve tracks new to CD.
• Features some of reggae music’s greatest Jamaican performers.
The late 60s and early 70s witnessed a transformation of the Jamaican music industry, with the global popularity of the new reggae sound opening the way for a host of ambitious independent record producers to make their mark on the local scene and shores beyond.
Among this new breed of record-makers were a number of former recording artists whose influence on the future direction of reggae would prove profound, with their number including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Winston ‘Niney’ Holness, Clancy Eccles, Derrick Harriott and the man whose early reggae productions are showcased on this set, Lloyd Charmers.
‘Reggae In Wonderland’ collects the cream of Charmers’ early output as an independent producer from a fascinating period in Jamaican music history, during which reggae underwent a series of transformations that commenced with the driving rhythms of boss reggae and closed with a more measured style that echoed the rock steady sound of the late 60s.
Among the recordings featured here are major hits and long forgotten rarities, performed by some of Jamaica’s most accomplished artists, most notably Bob Andy, Ken Boothe, Dave Barker, Owen Gray, B.B. Seaton, Bobby Davis and of course Charmers himself. To quote the legendary Paul Nicholas, this is reggae like it used to be!