Simmer Down at Studio One

Though credited to Bob Marley and the Wailers, Simmer Down at Studio One actually collects music from the 1960s, well before Marley’s ascension to superstar status, when the group was simply called the Wailers and was a ska band. The title track is iconic, a galloping call to repentance aimed at Kingston’s violent rude boys accompanied by the horns and rhythm section of the Skatalites. A couple of these selections (“It Hurts to Be Alone” and “One Love”) would reappear later in the Wailers repertoire as reggae songs, but on these recordings it’s all honking ska backbeats.