Originally released in 1965, The Wailing Wailers is the debut release by The Wailers. Not a true “studio” album, the record is a compilation of what influential record producer Clement Coxsone Dodd (also a key figure in early ska and reggae) considered to be the best recordings, at the time, of Neville “Bunny” Livingston, Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley, and Peter “Tosh” McIntosh. The album has been out of print for a minute, and Yep Records is brining it back to start off a series of reissues that will tackle gems from Studio One vaults. “Simmer Down,” an early version of Bob Marley’s “One Love” and “Put It On,” plus Peter Tosh’s solo cover of “You Don’t Miss Your Water” (appears as “When the Well Runs Dry”) and much more appear on this classic title, which will feature its original artwork.

• music label: Studio One 1965 / 2016

reviewed by buffalo fingers 05/2016