All Beatles, All Reggae

As most people have experienced, there's something inherently catchy and toe-tapping in the reggae beat. Of course, you also know that the Beatles were master's at rafting the perfect pop melody. So, if you put these together, how can you go wrong?

I love cover songs that don't try to recreate the original, but instead put a unique spin on them. The Trojan Beatles Tribute Box Set certainly fits that mold. This is easily the best collections of reggae Beatles. The Trojan record label is legendary in reggae circles. So, it's fitting that they used their vast repertoire of reggae stars to build this 3-CD box set of Beatles songs done in the reggae style. I really don't understand how a relatively repetitive and monotonous reggae beat can be so consistently entertaining. But you'll have a hard time not enjoying this collection. There are numerous repeats (the same song interpreted by different artists) as well as several instrumental numbers (which I didn't care that much for). But, it's a pretty comprehensive collection. The first two discs are labeled simply as "The Black, Gold & Green Album," The third disc is called "The Black, Gold & Green Album... UK Stylee" and I have no idea what that means.

The first selection here is from Disc 1 while the second is from the third disc. The second, by the way, is from reggae legend, Desmond Dekker who just died last year. Remember the big hit "Israelites"? That was Dekker. Finally, I decided to throw in another song from a reggae legend on Disc 2 - John Holt. Here is John Holt's I Will.

This is a worthwhile purchase for a relatively inexpensive price. You can find this 3-CD box set for less that $25 on Amazon here.

1. Ernie Smith - You Won't See Me (3.69 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Desmond Dekker - Blackbird (3.01 MB; 128kbps MP3)
3. John Holt - I Will (3.39 MB; 128 kbps MP3)