From Bam Bam to Cherry Oh Baby (remastered) – Trojan Records

Trojan’s From Bam Bam to Cherry Oh Baby sits right in that early-’70s foundation era the label has long kept in circulation, and the 2006 remaster sharpens a set of Festival winners and near-classics that already carried a lot of weight. The sound is warm, skanking rocksteady moving into early roots, with that unhurried bounce and tight horn-led feel you expect from the period. Toots and the Maytals are the anchor here: “Bam Bam, ” “Pomps and Pride, ” and “Sweet and Dandy” keep the energy bright, while Eric Donaldson’s “Cherry Oh Baby” and Desmond Dekker and the Aces’ “Intensified” add the kind of melody that’s stuck around for decades. It closes out with “Sweet and Dandy, ” a fitting final nod to the sweet, communal feel that runs through the whole collection.