Despite the widespread popularity of reggae music in the UK, following its explosion onto the international music scene in the late 1960s, many of these in charge of Britain's mainstream media were reluctant to give the exciting new sound coverage, wither in print or over the airways. In an attempt to counter this prejudice, Trojan Records took the bold step of embellishing recordings from Jamaica with sophisticated orchestration, with the resultant 'commercial reggae' sound immediately finding favour with the country's reggae fans. Consequently, the company not just maintained, but in fact extended the procedure, employing producers to record the country's finest British-based reggae acts. The result was the release of an abundance of superbly crafted recordings, the production values of which rated with the best that British pop had to offer. The sound, which heavily influenced the development of lovers rock, eventually faded, but after years of being uncool, 'commercial reggae' has at last begun to be widely appreciated once more for what it is: good time music. This essential collection gathers many of the finest examples of the sound, combining major works with long forgotten classics from the vaults.
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