Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King by Lloyd Bradley (Penguin SB £8.99)

The paperback edition of Bradley’s reggae history and it’s every bit as good as you heard.

Put together from interviews with first hand sources including Jimmy Cliff, Prince Buster, Burning Spear, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Banju Banton (basically, if they’re still got something to say, Bradley talked to ‘em).This is a book that’s vast in scope, intelligent and entertaining.

It takes the story from the evolution of the Sound System to the present day; as well as keeping a spot-on eye on the music, there’s also social history and humour aplenty here. Bradley knows his stuff, his critical sense is acute and his writing is both amusing and compelling.

With copies of this and the insanely comprehensive Rough Guide To Reggae on the shelves, for reference, you’ll never need another book on reggae. 9/10

Martin Herron