I happened to be watching the local NYC Time Warner news channel NY1 yesterday and caught this story about former Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga visiting VP Records (Seaga helped study and promote Jamaican music, ran the WIRL record label, and was one of the key architects of Jamaica's independence--though I should note that his politics and policies have been conservative-leaning). NY1 isn't hosting the video of the segment--otherwise I would have posted a link to it here. Seaga was in New York signing advance copies of Reggae Golden Jubilee - Origins of Jamaican Music - 50th Anniversary, a four CD box set (featuring hit songs from the first 50 years of Jamaican independence) compiled by Seaga himself; he also contributed track by track liner notes.
Not all, but many of the tracks here will be familiar to most ska/reggae fans, but it still looks like a very decent compilation. (Even more ambitious--and highly recommended--is Trojan Records' stellar Freedom Sounds, which is a five CD set of much rarer material, most of it directly related to the struggle for and celebration of Jamaica's independence from the UK; perhaps I'll review it someday, if I ever have the time to really dig into it!)
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