VA - Blue Beat: The Singles - Vol. 1 BB1 - BB48 [4CD Remastered Box Set] (2014)

The music pre-dates much of the stuff we have come to know as early ska but it's interesting for fans to hear the roots of what was to follow.

Anyone with even a vague interest in the history of Jamaican music would be aware that Blue Beat label was integral to the success of the island's music in the UK and beyond, so highlighting the best of its earliest output is undoubtedly a fine idea.

Blue Beat Records was an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word bluebeat as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jamaican pop music, including music by artists not associated with the record label.