Sufferer's Choice: Roots Reggae 1968-1973 (Attack, 1993)

This collection features reggae from the time period when rock steady was giving way to reggae, specifically those songs focusing on the poor "sufferers" in the Jamaican ghettos.  Though titled "roots reggae," these tracks have more of an older, rock steady feel.  Versions of the Wailers' "Trench Town Rock" and the Abyssinians' "Yim Mas Gan," for instance, are earlier, less polished versions that the ones that are more widely known today.  Easily the best song on this album for me is Lloyd Jones' "Rome," an escapist tune featuring tranquil vocals and an ultra-groovy guitar rhythm, courtesy of Harry Mudie (see Harry Mudie Meets King Tubby in Dub Conference Volume 1 for the dub version).  Easily one of the best reggae songs of all time.  The other cuts pale in comparison, but also good are "Sufferer" by The Kingstonians, the haunting "Jah Jah Me No Born Yah" by Cornell Campbell, the Wailers' classic "Nice Time," and the parable of growing up, "The Song My Mother Used to Sing," by Dennis Brown.  True to the theme, most of the tracks are gritty in both subject and sound, which some listeners may not like, but good material transcends all of this.