Various

It seems like every week that Studio One releases a new compilation of old material, and I'm always astounded by how they manage to find it and pull it out of the archives. On Nice Up the Dance, they do it again in fine fashion. Featuring songs by reggae legends such as Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson and more, Nice Up the Dance gives you the opportunity to really appreciate these great old songs by tacking on instrumental B-sides to them (the shortest song clocks in as just under seven minutes). The rhythm of most of the songs on the album have all been used and reused by different artists over the ages, and even if you don't know the songs, bits and pieces sound familiar. What's great about this CD is how the different versions of the songs blend in together, the original versions flow into the instrumental/dubbed ones seamlessly and the length of these songs are very relaxing. It's a great album to put on and listen to in the background while doing something engrossing, the tunes are all soothing and have the old recording feel to them. Although many of the songs featured have been released previously on various Studio One compilations, the instrumental versions gives this CD the feeling of being a collection of old singles, and that alone makes it an interesting CD and definitely one worth owning.