Having dominated the rock steady era Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid sought to reinforce his standing as one of Jamaica’s premiere record producers following the arrival of the new reggae sound towards the close of the Sixties. Numerous best-selling singles duly followed and by the dawn of the following decade few doubted his Treasure Isle label would continue to be a standard bearer for top quality sounds for many years to come. Evidence of the high quality of his output throughout this period came in the form of the “Gay Jamaica Independence Time” LP - a 12 track collection comprising a mixture of recent hits and new material performed by some of the Kingston’s leading talent notably DJ U Roy whose early recordings for Reid were in the process of transforming the island’s music industry. Unissued outside Jamaica at the time this superb collection is represented here with the original track-listing augmented with an abundance of relevant bonus material. Featuring vocal and instrumental hits and rarities from some of reggae music’s leading talents the compilation also highlights the output of Treasure Isle’s sound engineer Byron Smith during this time including Tommy Cowan’s previously unissued ‘Stranger In Town’. With a dozen of the recordings previously unissued on CD this 2CD set should be an essential purchase for long-standing fans of the Treasure Isle sound and those simply wishing to hear the very best Jamaica had to offer during the first golden age of reggae.

DISC ONE
1. BOOM SHACKA LACKA - Hopeton Lewis
2. WAKE THE TOWN - U Roy
3. CONDITION BAD A YARD - The Ethiopians
4. WHITE RUM - Earl ‘Wire’ Lindo
5. (WEAR YOU TO) THE BALL - Earl ‘Wire’ Lindo
6. PUMPING IN - Alton Ellis
7. HOPEFUL VILLAGE - The Tennors
8. (THIS STATION) RULE THE NATION - U Roy
9. DYNAMITE - The Tommy McCook Quintet
10. BIG BOY AND TEACHER - U Roy
11. WHAT DOES IT TAKE - Alton Ellis
12. JAMAICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM - Winston Wright
BONUS TRACKS
13. SOULDER MAN - The El Dorados
14. THIS IS ME (aka YOUR NAME IS ANDY) - Dorothy Reid
15. REGGAE MERENGUE - Tommy McCook
16. ALLELUJAH - The Ethiopians
17. KEY TO THE CITY - Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett
18. ANGEL LA LA - Nora Dean
19. BELLAFIRE - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics
20. CHANT - Duke Reid All Stars
21. HIDE AND SEEK - Winston Wright
22. I WANT IT - Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
23. ROCK AWAY - Tommy McCook Quintet
24. WHAT KIND OF LIFE IS THIS - Slim Smith
25. BAWLING PEOPLE - Tommy McCook
26. MOTHERS TENDER CARE - The Ethiopians
27. PSYCHEDELIC REGGAE - Winston Wright
28. FIRE FIRE (TAKE 3) - Tony & His Group
29. SUPER SOUL - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

DISC TWO
1. NEHRU - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics
2. SKA-VOVI - Dorothy Reid
3. TIME PASS BY - Justin Hinds
4. NIGHT OWL - Winston Wright
5. WAILING - Tommy McCook
6. IF I SHOULD MAKE IT - Freddie McKay
7. BLACK RIVER - Tommy McCook
8. PIRATE - The Ethiopians
9. MY BEST DRESS - Tommy McCook
10. CAUGHT YOU - Glen Adams
11. IN THAT BAR - Joya Landis
12. BANG BELLY - Tommy McCook
BYRON SMITH’S BARON’S SELECTION
13. BARBWIRE - Nora Dean
14. MESHWIRE - Winston Wright
15. ANOTHER RIDE - The Sexy Girls
16. BARON’S REGGAY - Tommy McCook
17. DARLING PLEASE RETURN - The Barons
18. STUPID DOCTOR - Tommy McCook
19. MY LOVE FOR YOU - The Jamaicans
20. FOR OUR DESIRE - King Sporty
21. SOUL MOVEMENT - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics
22. STRANGER IN TOWN - Tommy Cowan
23. MIGHTY ALLEY - Winston Wright
24. CRYING EVERY NIGHT - Stranger Cole
25. TOM’S VERSION - Herman Marquis
26. STICK BY ME - Winston Jarrett
27. CALYPSO MAMA - The Barons
28. BARBWIRE (ALTERNATE TAKE) - Nora Dean