Doctor Bird is all set to prescribe another heady dose of reggae and dancehall this Friday! We’ve got two new reissues available to pre-order now, featuring albums from Sonya Spence, as well as four albums across 2CDs produced by the legendary Linval Thompson. Released this Friday 10th January, these titles on our Doctor Bird label, feature some of the most sought after albums from the golden era of reggae, as well as being packed with tracks new to CD!
Sonya Spence: In The Dark / Sings Love, 2CD
• 14 tracks new to CD
• Incudes soul favourite, ‘Let Your Love Flow On’
• Two of the most sought-after albums from the golden age of reggae
For any female to make their mark in the male dominated music industry, prolonged success has always been a struggle, and back in the Sixties and Seventies, the challenge was even greater. Yet in this harsh environment, Sonia Pottinger proved time and again that talent and determination could overcome almost any obstacle, remaining one of Jamaica’s leading record producers for two glorious decades.
Unsurprisingly, Pottinger’s High Note Records became a magnet for aspiring female talent during the golden age of reggae, with almost every female artiste of note looking to record for her esteemed label.
Of these performers, Sonya Spence achieved significant success from the mid-Seventies through to the dawn of the 1980s, securing a series of hit singles and two best-selling albums. Since then, both “In The Dark” and “Sings Love” have become sought-after collectors’ items among a wide spectrum of music fans, with her ‘Let Love Flow On’ 45 proving a particular favourite among soul connoisseurs.
At last, both of these superb LPs have been brought together for this long overdue collection, which is further enhanced by 21 sublime Sonia Pottinger-produced female-led tracks from the period, 13 of which make their CD debut!
The Linval Thompson Trojan Dancehall Albums Collection, Various Artists, 2CD
• 11 tracks new to CD
• Four seminal dancehall albums
• Features some of the biggest talents of the dancehall era
At the close of the 1970s, a new, strident style of reggae developed that by the close of the year had supplanted the roots sound, continuing to dominate Jamaica’s musical landscape through to the mid-Eighties: dancehall.
Few producers embraced the genre with more skill than Linval Thompson, who between 1982 and 1983 delivered four superb dancehall collections to Trojan Records, with each showcasing a major talent of the era. All but one of this quartet of LPs appear on CD for the first time in the UK, with Tristan Palma’s “Settle Down Girl” making its full digital debut.
The 2CD set is further bolstered by four Linval Thompson-produced bonus tracks, ensuring a musical feast for fans of the original dancehall sound.
Also available to pre-order now:
Hits Of ’77: Various Artists, 2CD
Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites: Freedom / Fire Corner, 2CD
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT A FULL LIST OF DOCTOR BIRD TITLES
