Staggering. Beautifully paced and varied, this classic compilation hasn’t aged a bit. Killer after killer, including numerous sides out here for the first time.

‘Vol 1 was mighty fine, presenting rare and deep recordings from Studio One’s mid-70s heyday. Hard to believe the Vol 2 is even better… As with all Soul Jazz material, the vinyl is heavyweight, with fine packaging and good liner notes. Reggae music doesn’t get much better than this: buy immediately and play loud’ (David Katz, Fact).
‘This will be hard to beat in the Studio One series in my humble opinion, amazing stuff. Too many good tunes on here to pick. Check this out you will not be disappointed’ (RYM).
‘Soul Jazz still crank out the best. Non-completist, non-purist, but always 100% killer’ (Mojo).
‘If anything, Studio One Roots 2 is even better than the first volume and has some superb (and rare) tracks’ (Record Collector).

Chocka with scorchers.
Isaac Hayes, Booker T, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown are in the house.
Some of the previously unreleased cuts are amazing, like the spaghetti-western Jackie Mittoo, and The Sharks’ dread techno.
Clear vinyl.

Pure fire, from start to finish; killer after killer.
Expert, deep digging — including a dubplate mix of Last Call — leavened with a couple of all-time classics, for good measure.
Truly a cornerstone collection.

A blistering selection, with the series’ signature mixture of classic hits and recovered treasure.

Ace Ken Khouri productions for Federal, from 1964-5; beautifully repackaged.

Originally released in 1993 on Planet E.

Warm, comfy and loose — unashamedly inchoate — for Capitol in 1967.
Nice Percy Mayfield version.

‘*****’, The Independent; ‘captivating… Q Recommends’; ‘there is no end of exhilarating music on this beguiling album’, The Sunday Times; ‘full of heartstopping musical twists and turns’, The Beat.

‘*****’, The Independent; ‘a vibrancy and energy that make it impossible to sit still’, Metro; ‘shines from Shina to Shina’, The Beat; ‘CD Of The Week… astonishing’, Daily Telegraph; ‘incendiary’, The Observer.

‘an exquisitely poignant, evocative record’, Daily Telegraph; ‘wonderful… album of the year’, Sunday Times; ‘simply a classic album. Music by the people, for the people,’ The Voice.