AMG Review of Good Times Skank Complied By Joey Jay (Good Times Sound System)

Kingsley Marshall
All Music Guide

Joey Jay, founder of the U.K.'s legendary Good Times sound system and older brother of trailblazing disc jockey Norman, is set loose in the Trojan warehouse to select his favorites from the back catalog of the legendary reggae label. But those familiar with his 2000 compilation for London nouveau house imprint Nuphonic may be a little disappointed, with this latest collection having trimmed the disco, house, funk, and hip-hop in favor of a more focused take on the original focus of Good Times, reflecting the system's earliest incarnation of a roots reggae sound, Great Tribulation. Jay's unmixed selection lets the tracks speak for themselves, with a stellar lineup that sees the spacious delays of the Silvertones and King Tubby rubbing shoulders with such lords of the genre as Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, and the Messengers and the inspirational, yet hard-to-find Chosen Few version of "People Make the World Go Round."