"'Cause the wicked carried us away captivity
Require from us a song
How can we sing King Alfa song
In a strange land?"

No wonder the (forced) African diaspora felt such an affinity with the biblical Isrealites (the name of another reggae classic, by the way, by Cliff's great friend Desmond Dekker, featured on disc two).

The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad" paints an unforgettable portrait of the outlaw as his own worst enemy, in a very few, poignant words over a relentless, implacable beat:

"Walking down the road with a pistol in your waist
Johnny you're too bad

....One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to
....You gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock"

Dylan wishes "You Gotta Serve Somebody" had such compact impact.

Also livening the banquet are Toots and the Maytals standards "Pressure Drop" and "Sweet and Dandy" (more on Toots here).

All disc two has to offer is Dekker's "Isrealites" (the first reggae hit in America) and "It Mek"; Cliff's "Viet Nam," "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" (covered by Brownsville Station in '73) and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People"; Toots and the Maytals' "Do the Reggay" (wherein a style was named), "54-46 (That's My Number)" and "Pomp and Pride"; Johnny Nash's eternal "I Can See Clearly Now"; Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby," and other goodies by the Ethiopians, Melodians, and Uniques.

If you want to revel in the very best reggae has to offer, pick up Marley's Legend and this deluxe edition of The Harder They Come soundtrack (if you need more Cliff, his Anthology is outstanding). Irie, mon!