"Randy's Anthology: Randy's 50th Anniversary" will be in stores on October 28. It celebrates a period of 50 years since Randy's was stablished as a downtown Kingston retail record shop and studio.
Fom Kingston, Jamaica to Jamaica, New York - Randy's developed over the years with the highly respected business growing beyond Jamaica to include branches in the U S.and blossoming to emerge as the leading reggae label, VP Records.
The brainchild of Vincent and Patricia Chin since 1958, the strong vibe of Randy's came first, fuelling positive energy into the complete package of studio, distribution and sales. Idler's Rest was the famous hub of creativity that was situated just around the corner of Randy's Record Mart; and in there many producers and artists gathered in search of a chance to record in the studio.
Much of Jamaican music history was created at that time, in an era commonly recognised as reggae music's most creative period; and it is wonderfully portrayed in the upcoming anthology, "Randy's 50th Anniversary" that provides an indepth audio/visual experience featuring 50 of the studio's greatest productions.
Reggae icons like Bob marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, The Skatalites and Dennis Brown are among the artists on the CD/DVD collection that comes with extensive liner notes from historians, Steve Barrows and David Katz; and a complimentary DVD full of interviews.
Disc 1 covers a period from 1960 to 1971 when ska tunes like the politically motivated "Independent Jamaica" from Lord Creator and the Skatalites' "Malcolm X" were produced by Randy's, where popular and controversial styles of music were embraced. Other songs on this disc include: Bob Marley & The Wailers' cover of the Archie's pop single "Sugar Sugar" and "John And James" by a youthful Toots & The Maytals. Musical pioneers like the great trombonist Don Drummond on "Machine Shop", organ player Jackie Mittoo on "End Dust" and the original sound system deejay Winston 'Count Machukie' Cooper on "Warfare" - shine on this disc.
The second disc reflects a time in music between 1971 and 1976 with "Don't Go" by Horace Andy, "Lonely Soldier" by Gregory Isaacs, "For The Love of You" by John Holt and "Cheater" from Dennis Brown. The 1972 Clive Chin produced award winning hit by Augustus Pablo, "Java" is featured along with I-Roy's "Hospital Trolley" that was recorded on the "Java" rhythm. Peter Tosh's "You Can't Fool Me Again" and Junior Byles' "King of Babylon" are also included in this bicentennial commemorative set that chronicles reggae music culture form ska to reggae to dub.
In an interview on the accompanying DVD, Sly Dunbar of famous bass drum duo, Sly & Robbie speaks highly of the Randy's Studio 17 sound saying, "[it] sounds ten times better than the stuff being put out today. We are [now] trying to get back that sound but we can't get it back."
Randy's Studio 17 churned out great hits like: Bob Marley and The Wailers' ground-breaking album Catch A Fire to Peter Tosh's first two solo albums Legalize It and Equal Rights.
The 17 North Parade imprint was launched by VP in 2007 tn honor of the Reggae Mecca based Randy's Record Mart. 17 North Parade is dedicated to preserving and reintroducing the most influential musical pioneers of the Caribbean.
Celebrate with VP and bask in the musical jouney of the "Randy's 50th Anniversary" CD & DVD Collection.
