Reggae Sunshine

The sun has got his hat on, hip, hip, hip hooray . . . for reggae. These solar powered Jamaican Essentials will have you beaming ear-to-ear in no time, as we set the feel-good dial to overload in the company of Toots & The Maytals (who seem to capture sun rays in the soul-lifting skank of "Funky Kingston"), Eric Donaldson (the sheer loved-up joy of "Cherry O Baby"), and many more.

Feel the chill-out of more reggae sunshine, in Next Steps.

There's only one thing hotter than the sun, and that's the "Soul Fire" lit by dub-meister Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters — but if it's a mellower vibe you're after, look no further than the honey-voiced Jimmy Cliff, who banishes all darkness with "Hello Sunshine". Or get sand between your toes with the Paragons' "On the Beach", which is also toasted up nicely by U-Roy.

Walk, nice and easy, on the sunshine of our Deep Cuts.

What started out as a soft-rock ballad for Seals & Crofts gets the full island treatment by the legendary Jackie Mittoo (founding member of the Skatalites) as "Summer Breeze" lopes casually towards the sunset. And the Congos take you straight to the water's edge with the roots classic "Fisherman" from the Lee "Scratch" Perry-produced classic Heart of the Congos.

Let's be honest — pretty much all reggae has the power to put a spring in your stride, invested as it is with a core of molten aural sunshine. But these tracks . . . well, they're the brightest of the bunch. We absolutely advise you apply liberal doses of sunscreen before pressing play, or the magnificence of Bob Marley, Desmond Dekker, the Viceroys, and all their brothers in super-hot skank will burn your milky white, sun-starved skin to a crisp. Maybe best wait till sundown, then watch these radiant Essentials turn night to day. You are about to be sun-splashed.