• I Feel The Spirt – Prince Buster (1963)
• My Boy Lollipop – Millie Small (1964)
• The Senseational Maytals - The Maytals (1965)
• I Shall Not Remove - Delroy Wilson (1966)
• Ska Authentic - The Skatalites (1967)
• Action! - Desmond Dekker & The Aces (1968)
• Come Back Darling -Johnny Osbourne & The Sensation (1969)
• Bob Andy Song Book - Bob Andy (1970)
• The Best Of The Wailers - The Wailers (1971)
• The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff/Various Artists (1972)
• Groundation - Count Ossie & The Mystical Revelations Of Rastafari (1973)
• Natty Dread - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974)
• Satta Massagana/Forward On To Zion - The Abyssinians (1975)
• War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo & The Upsetters (1976)
• 90 Degrees In The Shade - Third World (1977)
• Africa Must Be Free - Hugh Mundell (1978)
• Showcase - Black Uhuru (1979)
• Uprising - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1980)
• 60's 70's 80's = Taxi - Sly&Robbie (1981)
• Chant Down Babylon - Bob Marley (1999)
• Fya - Dezarie (2001)
• Da Real Thing - Sizzla (2002)

 
60's 70's 80's = Taxi - Sly&Robbie (1981)

LABEL: Taxi | GENRE : Dub/Rockers | NEXT RELEASE: Hot Dub(1985)

By 1981, Sly Dunbar and Robert Shakespear had established themselves as the industry’s best. Their Taxi imprint launched in 1978 had also become one of the island’s top labels, enhanced by its cutting edge recording facilities.

The body of work the duo had amassed by the turn of the decade made them a suitable signing for the now notorious Island Records, however the group seemingly opted for a distribution deal(a relatively rare occurrence) and retained the rights to their work while using the opportunity to ensure they made a groundbreaking international debut, by showcasing the depth of their musical cauldron.

“60s, 70s, 80s = Taxi” is considered an audio biography of the duo’s musical relationship, encapsulating the musical experiences they encountered in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s that collectively made them Taxi. The technical approach to the album seamlessly combined the Ska, Dub and Dancehall genres by applying cutting-edge production techniques of the early ‘80s mastered by the Riddim Twins, and in the process revived interest in Ska, extended the shelf life of Dub, while expanding the possibilities for Dancehall’s soundscape. The final product served as a musical dedication to pioneers such as Herbie Hancock, Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Ousley, Luther Dixon, Don Drummond, The Melodians and Delroy Wilson to name a few.

Despite the length of the end product(14 Tracks), only six people are noted as having worked on the album project, besides from Sly & Robbie. Mikey Chung(Lead Guitar), Uziah “Sticky” Simpson(Percussion), Roland Alphonso(The Skatalites) and Tyrone Downie(The Wailers) are the only people given credit on the album. Artwork was designed by Bruno-Christian Tilley, who seemed to have worked briefly for Island Records from 1980 to 1981.

The original 1981 14 track album was aptly titled, “60s, 70s, 80s = Taxi”, with simultaneous releases in the UK and the US by Island and its Mango Records subsidiary respectively. Its distribution in Germany was done jointly by Taxi and Island Records, where it was re-issued twice that year.

Since the creation of their musical union in 1975, the two have collectively worked on over 200,000 recordings,containing a who’s who list of global music’s biggest stars. They have worked tirelessly to create an extensive catalog consisting of 105 songs, 69 albums, 94 singles/EP’s, 23 compilations, 70 remix projects and are credited with working on  511 full length albums projects.

Works from their catalog have been sampled a total of 44 times.

TRACKLIST

You Don’t Care
Bum Ball
Only Sixteen
You Have Caught Me
Rain From The Sky
When I Fall In Love
Conquer Me
Swing Easy
Soul Serenade
Who Done It
Stampede
I Should Have Known Better
Watermelon Man
El Pussy Cat Ska