Various artists, Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986

On Tom Tom Club's song Genius of Love, Tina Weymouth declares: "Reggae's expanding with Sly and Robbie." She was paying respect to the in-house rhythm section of Compass Point studios, the Bahamas recording studio founded by Island records' Chris Blackwell. This compilation brings together tracks from the studio's most fertile period, when reggae musicians connected with artful pop bands and disco artists; the results translated well to hip New York dancefloors and often crossed over to the charts. The sun-kissed, rubbery grooves and spacious arrangements for Grace Jones, Will Powers and Talking Heads have proved timeless, although some of the lyrical matter remains bizarre. The Jamaicans must have been nonplussed when Ian Dury sang "I wibble when I piddle" on Spasticus Autisticus, and also when David Byrne proclaimed, on Born Under Punches: "I'm not a burning building, I'm a tumbler!"