If Rounder/Heartbeat’s series of reissues of material from Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One label has done nothing else, it has underscored the notion that reggae is best thought of as Jamaican soul music (if that thought needed to be driven home). Six the Hard Way collects tracks by artists whose fame has yet to really cross the water, but their lack of international acclaim doesn’t reflect on their talents. Slim Smith had a great voice, the harmony vocals on the Cables’ “Love is a Pleasure” push the song, and Willie Williams’ “Armagideon Time” and “Master Plan” have a spiritual/social consciousness that comes through with startling clarity.

 

Beyond the fun of the material, Six the Hard Way is a reminder of how labels once worked. There was more to Motown than the seven or eight best-known acts, which was also the case at Stax, Atlantic, and Sun, for that matter. They didn’t only work a small stable of stars. They released singles by artists whose songs didn’t catch on, or who became one-hit wonders, or whose work was overshadowed through the years by the labels’ brightest lights. They put out singles that tried unsuccessfully to capitalize on the success of another song. In short, there was a lot more to most of the storied labels than their biggest stars, and Six the Hard Way shows how good the b-level stars could be.