Following the release of Prince Buster’s “Let’s Go To The Dance” [RSPBLP-001], here comes another chapter in Rock-A-Shacka’s reissue Program featuring the King of Ska. Prince Buster. This set is sure to excite considerable interest among lovers of Jamaican music, featuring as it does many unreleased and alternate versions of Buster’s classic productions. The music here comes from the period 1961-1966, when Buster - as an independent producer and sound system owner - was rivalling the big guns in that field , namely Sir Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid and King Edwards.
Buster celebrated his rivalry in tracks like “They Got To Go”, “I See Them In My Sights” and “The King, The Duke, And The Sir”. Never one to miss the opportunity to assert himself against other producers, he conducted a musical feud against Derrick Morgan, a former associate who had decamped to the rival Sino-Jamaican ska producer Leslie Kong. Buster and Kong between them were the true originators of ska proper, ushering in the new music which would form the soundtrack to Jamaican independence in 1962 and beyond.
The music on this latest offering from Rocka-A Shacka features prime-quality ska, produced by a founding father of the genre, featuring great Jamaican musicians like trumpeter Baba Brooks, saxophonist Roland Alphonso, trumpeter Raymond Harper and various permutations of the premiere group of musicians collectively known as the Skatalites. It includes in-demand [and high-priced] collector’s items like the Spanish Town Skabeats “Stop That Train”, and vocals from the Prince himself, in his laid-back and engaging style.
All tracks are taken directly from tape; this release is truly a feast for lovers of ska and Jamaican R&B in general.

Steve Barrow