Mr Soul of Jamaica


Mr Soul of Jamaica is an album by Jamaican rocksteady singer Alton Ellis. It contains twelve tracks recorded between 1967 and 1970 at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Recording Studios in Kingston, Jamaica and was produced by Reid and released on his Treasure Isle label in 1974. Although this was his only album for the label, Ellis had already been a star musician in Jamaica from the early 1960s onwards, having recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label before moving to Treasure Isle, and the album is a compilation of some of his Treasure Isle singles, although some of his biggest hits including "Rock Steady", "Girl I've Got a Date" and "Cry Tough" were left off it.
In May 2013 the album was reissued as an expanded 2-CD set titled Mr Soul of Jamaica/Greatest Hits, featuring the other singles Ellis recorded for Treasure Isle with his band the Flames from 1964 onwards, plus the extended disco mixes of some of the tracks that were released on Jamaica's High Note label in the 1970s.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alton Nehemiah Ellis except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "Breaking Up" – 3:02
  2. "Why Birds Follow Spring" – 2:27
  3. "I Can't Stop Now" – 3:24
  4. "Ain't That Loving You" – 2:43
  5. "You Make Me Happy" – 2:55
  6. "Remember That Sunday" – 2:55

Side two

  1. "All My Tears Come Rolling" – 2:46
  2. "Baby I Love You" – 2:21
  3. "Chatty Chatty" – 2:22
  4. "Willow Tree" – 2:44
  5. "If I Could Rule the World" – 2:29
  6. "What Does It Take" – 3:19
  • Note: The original 1974 release of the album contains several errors in the track titles, which were corrected on the 2013 reissue.

2013 ''Mr Soul of Jamaica/Greatest Hits'' 2-CD reissue

CD1

  1. "Breaking Up" – 2:57
  2. "Why Birds Follow Spring" – 2:30
  3. "I Can't Stop Now" – 3:20
  4. "Ain't That Loving You" – 2:45
  5. "You Made Me So Very Happy" – 2:53
  6. "Remember That Sunday" – 2:34
  7. "All My Tears " – 2:40
  8. "Baby I Love You " – 2:26
  9. "Chatty Chatty People" – 2:19
  10. "My Willow Tree" – 2:41
  11. "If I Could Rule the World" – 2:23
  12. "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" – 3:16
Bonus tracks:

  1. "Why Did You Leave Me" – 2:36
  2. "I Can't Stand It" – 2:40
  3. "La La Means I Love You" – 3:07
  4. "Diana" – 2:36
  5. "Personality" – 2:08
  6. "Trying to Reach My Goal" – 2:14
  7. "Pumping In" – 2:36
  8. "Black Man's Word" – 2:48

CD2

  1. "Something You've Got" – 2:37
  2. "Dance Crasher" – 2:38
  3. "A – You're Adorable" – 2:41
  4. "Honey I Love" – 2:59
  5. "Don't Trouble People" – 2:56
  6. "The Preacher" – 2:11
  7. "Blessings of Love" – 2:24
  8. "Shake It" – 2:44
  9. "Girl I've Got a Date" – 2:28
  10. "How Can I" – 2:52
  11. "Cry Tough" – 2:13
  12. "Rock Steady" – 2:57
  13. "Duke of Earl" – 3:19
Bonus tracks:

  1. "Breaking Up" – 6:05
  2. "I Can't Stop Now" – 5:23
  3. "You Make Me Happy" – 7:02
  4. "Remember That Sunday" – 3:54
  5. "Baby I Love You " – 6:08
  6. "If I Could Rule the World" – 6:09
  7. "I Can't Stand It" – 6:48

Personnel