Duke Reid's Treasure Chest (Heartbeat, 1992)

Between Duke Reid's Treasure Chest and Respect to Studio One, Heartbeat provides quite a proficient overview of the formative years of reggae.  The Duke Reid set compiles tunes from the vaults of his Treasure Isle label, perhaps second only to Studio One in terms of success and influence.  Both albums contain two CDs (or tapes or LPs or 8-tracks for those of you living in 1982), but while the Studio One collection features a range of styles -- from ska to rock steady to roots to early dancehall -- Treasure Chest focuses on the rock steady era (circa 1966-68).  This narrow focus means that, over the course of 41 tracks, some less-than-classic material slips in -- particularly on Disc 2.  Still, by and large, legendary songs abound -- from "Loving Pauper" to "Queen Majesty" to "Tide Is High" to "Ba Ba Boom" to "You Have Caught Me" to the perhaps less-renowned but no less potent "Everyday Is a Holiday" by the Sensations.  If you're into rock steady, this and Roots of Reggae Volume 2 provide strong overviews, although the latter is probably a bit more efficient and features a wider range of material.  If you don't like rock steady, well, why are you even reading this?  Note: The first, and best, CD is available by itself from Heartbeat as Treasure Isle Mood.