Studio One Ska is a various‑artists compilation in Soul Jazz Records’ Studio One series, a blistering collection of non‑stop ska classics and rarities drawn from Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd’s foundational Kingston label. First released in 2004 and reissued multiple times—including a 2026 double‑LP colored‑vinyl edition and digital remaster to mark 25 years of Soul Jazz’s partnership with Studio One—the album runs 17 tracks and about 48 minutes. It celebrates the label’s seminal ska period, featuring a who’s‑who of Jamaican music history: The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe, Stranger Cole, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Joe Higgs, Tommy McCook, The Maytals, The Ethiopians, and more.The tracklist is stacked with stone‑cold classics and deep cuts. Jackie Mittoo’s El Bang Bang, Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole’s Arte Bella, The Wailers’ (I’m Gonna) Put It On, The Skatalites’ Addis Ababa, Roland Alphonso’s President Kennedy and Look Away Ska, Joe Higgs’ (I’m The) Song My Enemies Sing, Delroy Wilson’s I Want Justice, Tommy McCook’s Freedom Sounds and Sampson, The Ethiopians’ I’m Gonna Take Over, The Maytals’ Marching On, The Skatalites’ Beardsman Ska and Exodus, Don Drummond’s Don Cosmic, Roland Alphonso’s Scambalena, and Andy & Joey’s You’re Wondering Now collectively trace how Studio One’s in‑house band and roster essentially created and defined ska. Reviewers call the compilation “utterly brilliant” and “pure fire,” praising both the selection—little overlap with other Soul Jazz/Studio One sets, lots of ultra‑rare tunes from the Brentford Road vaults—and the sound, which benefits from Studio One’s already advanced ’60s recording techniques and Soul Jazz’s mastering. As a result, Studio One Ska stands as a definitive primer on the explosive first wave of Jamaican music that would eventually give rise to rocksteady, reggae, and beyond—a joyous, high‑energy portrait of a label and band at the birth of a genre.
