freeskafoundation

1 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - What A Life

2 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Time And Tide

3 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - One Man Went To Mow

4 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - I'm Not Crying Now

5 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Cryin'

6 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Oh Dear

7 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Vipers

8 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Let's Ska

9 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Blues Got A Hold On Me

10 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Tra-La-La-La-La

11 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Think Of The Good Times

12 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Only Heaven Knows

13 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - I'm Into Something Good

14 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - I Want To Be Your Lover Man

15 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Crazy For You

16 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - I Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do Now

17 - Sugar 'N' Dandy - Girl Come See

18 - The Rub-A-Dubs - Without Love

19 - Dandy - To Love You

20 - Dandy - You Got To Pray

21 - Dandy - I'm Looking For Love

22 - The Rub-A-Dubs - I Know

23 - Dandy - It's Just Got To Be

24 - Dandy And Del - So Long Baby

25 - Dandy - My Babe

26 - Dandy And Barbara - Now I Have You

27 - Dandy - I'm Gonna Sop Lovin' You

28 - Dandy And Del - Hey, Little Girl, Hey Litte Boy

DWLD

Let's Catch the Beat: The Music That Launched the Legend Review by Jo-Ann Greene

In on the ground floor, Robert "Dandy" Livingstone Thompson was instrumental to the spectacular growth and popularity of Trojan Records. 

Brought onboard as a stopgap, Dandy feverishly provided releases while the label heads busily head-hunted Jamaican producers. 

The singing producer was an astute choice by Trojan but the decision to sink money into full-priced, full-length albums was not; the reggae scene was singles-driven, and it wasn't until the second half of the '70s that a market for 33s came in. Thus, 1968's Follow That Donkey was a flop, as was its follow-up, Dandy Returns (in later years both were highly sought after by collectors).

 Trojan learned the lesson, and when Dandy's third 33, Let's Catch the Beat (credited to the Brother Dan All-Stars) was released in 1969, it was priced at a much more enticing 99p (less than the cost of two 45s), and swiftly turned into one of the label's biggest-selling records. 

The two-CD Let's Catch the Beat reissues all three albums in their entirety, while also rounding up all of Dandy's non-album A- and B-side 45s, including his productions, from 1968. Closely following the Jamaican scene, the artist immediately picked up on all the latest fashions emanating from the island, be it the rage for donkeys, ribaldry, or the new reggae rhythm. But even though all of Dandy's productions and arrangements were highly indebted to his homeland, he brought a distinctive British flavor to his records that set them apart from the originators. 

Dandy's first two albums may have remained in the shops, but the records themselves were a revelation, while his singles were sweeping through the British sound systems like blazing fire. Dandy would finally break out into the U.K. chart in the following decade, but long before that he was a superstar in the reggae community, Britain's own answer to Prince Buster, and just as influential. Kudos to Trojan for making these crucial records available to modern fans.