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By the early Seventies, Clancy Eccles sat firmly atop the reggae tree, having enjoyed a succession of hits both in Jamaica and the UK, where the bulk of his productions had seen issue on Trojan’s Clandisc subsidiary.
To capitalise on the popularity of his work, the London based record company chose to launch their new Big Shot label LP range with a collection comprising a dozen of his lesser known tracks that had remained unissued since being recorded two to three years earlier.
Unfortunately, due to the age of the material, the resultant “Top Of The Ladder” album sounded dated compared to the reggae sounds of the day, with poor sales of the long-player leading to it being pulled after an initial pressing run of just a few hundred copies.
Although largely overlooked by record buyers at the time, the LP’s scarcity, allied to the high quality of the music featured within its grooves has since led to it becoming one of the most sought-after Trojan collections on the market.
Unavailable on any format for almost half a century, “Top Of The Ladder” is finally available once more, with its dozen tracks bolstered by over 40 Clancy Eccles-produced sides from the early Seventies – including the original reggae version of ‘Kingston’ Town’ and many recordings new to CD!
Tracklist
DISC ONE: TOP OF THE LADDER
1. OPEN IT – Winston Wright
2. THINKING ABOUT IT - The Dynamites
3. CAPTIVITY - Joe Higgs
4. LOVE THAT BUILDS – Higgs & Wilson
5. HITS MEDLEY - Clancy Eccles
6. REGGAEDELIC – Winston Wright
7. CAT WALK - Winston Wright
8. ECCLES SKANK - Winston Wright
9. QUARTER MASTER - Winston Wright
10. PASSING THROUGH – Lord Creator
11. COW FEET REGGAE - The Dynamites
12. NYAH ROCK - Winston Wright
BONUS TRACKS
13. HOLLY HOLY - The Fabulous Flames
14. ROD OF CORRECTION – Clancy Eccles
15. OLD MAN RIVER – Mello & The Mellotones
16. HELLO MOTHER - The Dynamites
17. POWER FOR THE PEOPLE (PART 1) - Clancy Eccles
18. MOLLY - Lord Creator
19. GEORGE – Gladstone Anderson
20. PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE – Clancy Eccles
21. DON'T CALL ME NIGGA – Tyrone Taylor
22. BUILD MY WORLD AROUND YOU – Mello & The Mellotones
23. SWEET JAMAICA - Clancy Eccles
24. SUNDAY VERSION – The Dynamites
25. RUB A DUB – King Stitt
DISC 2: SOUNDS FROM KINGSTON TOWN, 1970 - 1972
1. KINGSTON TOWN - Lord Creator
2. STAND BY YOUR MAN – Merlene Webber
3. HALLELUJAH FREE AT LAST - Clancy Eccles
4. HI DE HO - The Fabulous Flames
5. JOE LOUIS - The Dynamites
6. TEARDROPS WILL FALL - The Silvertones
7. JOHN CROW SKANK - Clancy Eccles
8. HAILE SELASSIE – Mello & The Mellotones
9. GOING UP WEST - Winston Wright
10. IF YOU WERE MINE - Honey Boy Martin
11. GANJA FREE – Clancy Eccles
12. LIVITIS - The Fabulous Flames
13. RED MOON – The Dynamites
14. TOMORROW – Stranger & Gladdy
15. UNCLE JOE - Clancy Eccles
16. WINEY WINEY – Jackie Bernard
17. GROWING UP - The Fabulous Flames
18. THAT’S HOW I NEED YOU - Lord Creator
19. POWER FOR THE PEOPLE (PART 2) – Clancy Eccles
20. THE WANDERER– Beres Hammond
21. I FE LAYO – Larry McDonald & Denzil Laing
22. SINGLE MAN - Honey Boy Martin
23. LIVE AND LOVE – Barry Wilson
24. SHA LA LA - The Dynamites
25. WHAT WILL YOUR MAMA SAY (STRINGS MIX) – Clancy Eccles