Various Artists - Virgin Front Line: Sounds of Reality

However the Front Line story really began in 1976, two years before the inauguration of the label, with a budget compilation from Virgin called The Front Line (named after the local slang for Railton Road, Brixton) released as a promotional tool for the burgeoning number of reggae artists signed to Branson's imprint. The tracklist of Sounds of Reality reflects this, um, reality with a hefty proportion of the selection coming from Virgin rather than actual Front Line releases.

The Front Line was a roaring success, becoming the biggest selling reggae album of the year in the UK, probably due in no small part to the 69p price tag. Presented on disc one of this set, it's easy to see why the release caught the imagination of a public only recently turned on to Jamaican music, mainly through Bob Marley and the Wailers. Indeed, one of the standouts is U-Roy's “Natty Rebel”, where the pioneering deejay toasts over The Gladiators’ version of “Soul Rebel”.

Listening now, many of the sampler’s ten tracks sound a little flat – the real gems on disc one are the bonus tracks, also from the pre-Front Line era. Sweet, achingly melodic classics like “Chatty Chatty Mouth” by The Gladiators and “Shame and Pride” by The Mighty Diamonds, I-Roy’s laid-back, nursery-rhyming “Musical Shark Attack” or Delroy Washington’s otherworldly “Give All The Praise to Jah” should be the places to start.

The Front Line was duly followed up by The Front Line II and The Front Line III, and discs two and three of Sounds of Reality again reproduce these with extra tracks. As the songs roll by, more and more glimpses of the expansiveness of Front Line’s roster are revealed - inimitable voices such as the shamanic drawl of Prince Far-I, coming on like a Rastafarian Dr. John with minimal accompaniment on the fantastic “Foggy Road” and the legendary Cool Ruler Gregory Isaacs with Lovers Rock hits like “Soon Forward” (here it’s the great extended 12” version). Big name groups also feature, like Culture with the brass-heavy “Holy Mount Zion” from their classic Harder Than The Rest, and the Twinkle Brothers who contribute eight songs in total including the Latin syncopation of “Distant Drums” and the epic “Jah Kingdom Come”.

Amongst the marquee names, a number of minor artists still manage to shine – in particular Ranking Trevor with his melodic deejaying on “Rub A Dub Style” (on the instantly recognisable “Queen of the Minstrel” riddim). Elsewhere “Cairo” by Joyella Blade, one of a handful of songs from female artists, whets the appetite for more of this enigmatic synth-blessed strutting and former tour buddy of The Clash, Prince Hammer, gabbles stream of consciousness over arabian vibes on “Bible”.

Disc four – the Disco Mixes - is where things get really interesting, with some great extended dubs from 12” singles. Another Bob Marley version from U-Roy – this time on “Small Axe” – kicks things off, but it’s his follower and near namesake I-Roy who steals the show with the x-rated (although perhaps not by today’s standards) “Hill and Gully”.

Front Line’s marketing approach tended to focus on the righteous, militant side of reggae, as indicated by the iconic logo (originally from the sleeve of The Front Line) of a black fist gripping barbed wire while blood trickles down the wrist. Musically too, alongside the roots-centric lyrical content, politics often rears his head, from Tapper Zukie’s rhythmically upbeat “Tribute to Steve Biko”, for the anti-apartheid activist to Poet & The Roots’ “It Dread Inna England (for George Lindo)”, where Linton Kwesi Johnson champions the less well-known case of a black man wrongly imprisoned for robbery of a Bradford betting shop. Both these songs emphasise the increasing cross-cultural push for equal rights that reggae at the time captured so well.

A reproduced vintage Front Line advert points out that ‘seven Bob Marley albums don’t make a reggae collection’ and Sounds of Reality is a great introduction to the breadth of music that made up the late 70s roots reggae scene. Learned heads may take issue with the hit-and-miss nature of some of the choices on this compilation, but nevertheless it’s packed full of evidence of both the excellent and the interesting sides of the Front Line era. Put all that music together with a nice little book telling the label’s back story in detail, with a foreword from John Lydon (who was heavily involved with signing a number of Front Line artists), and you’ve got a strong contender for best box set of 2014.