Prince Buster – Judge Dread
welcome back to the Skaject folks! today we’re checking out another Prince Buster record from 1967, Judge Dread:
Judge Dread, the title track, starts off the record with a lil skit introducing Judge Dread, sentencing a bunch of rude boys to comically large sentences without a real trial. the little bit of instrumental that accompanies this is nice. Sharing You is a nice and mellow track. Nothing Takes the Place of You is a really sweet, laid back song. real nice track. not a ton of thoughts on Ghost Dance. Rock With Feeling is a very nice instrumental track. good time. oooh Sweet Beat is directly referencing the transition to rocksteady! love that. The Appeal continues the story of the opening track as the start of Side B. Dark Street’s fine. Judge Dread Dance closes out the story of Judge Dread. dunno how to think about these songs. would probably need to do a lil more contextual research, cause some of this sounds like Buster’s thoughts on the behavior of rude boys and part of it feels like commentary on the judicial system but its a lil mixed up in there. Show It Now is one of the brighter tracks on the record, which, even then, still very laid back. Raise Your Hands has a pretty good core hook to it. A Change Is Gonna Come is a really nice closer to the record. good time.
faves –
dislikes –
man i can really feel the music slowing down and mellowing out. it is not a bad thing at all but nearly this whole record has that kinda laid back groove to it. ive read about how the prevailing style shifts over to rocksteady by the end of the decade but its another thing to start to hear the transition, haha.
this was a nice record. def better than i went in expecting, ngl. a lot of it just aint really my style, yknow? neat package overall though.
Judge Dread – 4/10
next up we’re gonna checking out our last record from 1967, Ska Authentic, Vol. 1 by the Skatalites!
previous: What a Hard Man Fe Dead | next: Ska Authentic, Vol. 1
previous Prince Buster record: What a Hard Man Fe Dead | next: She Was a Rough Rider
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