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Before ska, before rocksteady, before reggae or dub, Jamaica had its sound system dances, and the records played and most prized at those dances were invariably early R&B singles from the States, so-called "shuffle blues" tracks, which sound system proprietors sought out on U.S. buying sprees, sometimes even scraping off the labels so rival sound systems couldn't easily "steal" the songs. This wonderful three-disc, 85-track set collects some of the most popular of these "shuffle blues" sides, and while it sheds a historical light on the roots of Jamaica's later ska and reggae explosions, it also forms a pretty neat survey of the concurrent R&B scene in the States between 1946 and 1960. It's the CD equivalent of a hat trick, charting the history of both music scenes at once. Jamaican musicians, of course, turned the beat upside down and sideways and went to a whole other place with the shuffle rhythm. The rest, as they say, is history. ~ Steve Leggett
