Island's multi-part overview of the company's first forty years gets off to a flying start with 1959-1964: Ska's the Limit, an excellent 20-track collection tracking the music's evolution from its origins as a shuffling Caribbean variant of R&B known primarily as "Jamaican blues" to the worldwide success of Millie Small's classic "My Boy Lollipop." Opening with Laurel Aitken's 1959 smash "Boogie in My Bones," the set moves forward in a loosely chronological fashion, the music slowly adopting the more pronounced beats which heralded its transformation into ska; along the way there are early recordings from
Bob Marley and
Jimmy Cliff, as well as landmark hits from Derrick & Patsy ("Housewife's Choice") and Justin Hinds & the Dominoes ("Carry, Go, Bring, Come"). A superb introduction not only to early ska, but also to the label which introduced it to the world. ~ Jason Ankeny