Various Artists: Island 40 Volume 1: 1959-1964 Ska's The Limit

Though it's difficult to imagine, ska and reggae may never have come to the world's attention—or would at least have taken radically different paths—were it not for the Island Records label, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 1999. Though they may seem a little premature, these three CDs kick off the celebration early, and do it well. The first volume, Ska's The Limit, documents Island's earliest period. Founded in 1959 by Jamaican native Chris Blackwell, Island captured the sound of ska as it emerged into a distinct form by crossing island music with the American R&B heard floating across the Caribbean. For those who know ska only in its recent incarnation as alternative-rock radio's flavor of the month, getting back to its roots should be a revelation. In 1962, Blackwell and Island moved to London and began catering to the immigrant community in Britain's large cities. Meanwhile, ska continued to grow, attracting some notable artists included here—namely Jimmy Cliff and Robert Marley, as he was then known. "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small, the 1964 song that closes the collection, became an international hit, exposing ska to more people than ever and catapulting Island into the big time. As the title of volume two indicates, Island's second phase found it expanding its scope, mostly to include soul music under the Sue imprint. In Britain in the early '60s, soul had become an underground sensation, and Sue both repackaged songs already popular in the U.S. and released tracks by new acts, both American and otherwise. Consequently, this collection includes classics such as Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle," as well as, for better or for worse, two early tracks from The Spencer Davis Group. It's not that Island abandoned its island roots, as evidenced by the inclusion of more ska, rock steady and early stirrings of reggae: Of the latter, The Paragons' original version of "The Tide Is High" and Desmond Dekker's breakthrough hit "Israelites" provide especially strong examples. Both volumes are solid, attractively and informatively packaged collections that serve as both strong albums and good historical surveys. Though it's probably more famous these days for being the home of Cranberries, U2, Tom Waits, and PJ Harvey, Island has continued to produce Caribbean-rooted music, though it now gathers it from all over the world. A generally strong compilation, Ska Island gathers ska artists from Britain, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. to pay tribute to the label's roots by covering songs from its past. These include ska originals and, often more interestingly, ska takes on songs from other genres, such as Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."