King of Ska: The Indispensable Desmond Dekker

To pick a truly essential Desmond Dekker collection from the myriad best-ofs, box sets, and period anthologies that dot the musical landscape would be almost impossible; many of the Dekker compilations currently on the market are practically interchangeable in terms of both content and sound quality. But if you're looking for a starting point, you can't do much better than this 20-track retrospective, which includes just about every hit single Dekker made during the peak of his popularity in the late '60s. There are the songs of Biblical warning ("Honour Your Mother and Your Father," "This Woman"), the rude boy anthems ("007 (Shanty Town)," "Rude Boy Train"), the topical admonishments ("Keep a Cool Head," "Unity"), and, of course, the immortal "Israelites," which introduced most of North America to the ska sound when it was a worldwide radio hit in 1969. Not to mention charming period pieces like "Intensified Festival 68" and the irresistible romantic come-on "Pickney Gal." Highly recommended.