Prince Buster - Fabulous Greatest Hits [Diamond Range]

Prince Buster | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 9, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Diamond Range
• ASIN: B00004IC9F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,976 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #26 in Music > World Music > Reggae > Jamaican Ska

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Despite popular perceptions, Jamaica's first international superstar was not Bob Marley but an idiosyncratic music arranger named Prince Buster. Buster's pre- and post-ska musical stylings were so left of center (sometimes his rhythmic structures focus on the after-beat rather than the downbeat) that he's largely thought to have created his own reggae subgenre called blue beat (named after his label of the same name). Fabulous mixes some of Buster's well-known cuts with some not-so-famous ones that fly all over the musical map as far as soundscapes go. On the more obscure numbers like "Texas Hold-Up," the wicked horn section wails away over a shuffled syncopated beat, while on the bass-heavy "Freezing up Orange Street," the organ and saxophone are mixed to spar off against one another. Down-tempo ballads like "Julie" keep this collection balanced, while Buster's more ubiquitous up-tempo rhythm tracks like "Al Capone" and "Judge Dread" expose listeners to his more uncensored political positions regarding race and sex. While his hit "Ten Commandments" is included on this collection, the sexist manifesto it espouses would generate an even more heated set of responses from women than it garnered back then (the third commandment asks for the woman "to kiss and caress me, and honor and obey me, seven days a week and twice on Sundays"). In the end, those who think that Shaggy was the creative genius behind "Oh Carolina" (Buster actually produced the original version for the Folkes Brothers) need to purchase this collection and get schooled on this ska legend. --Dalton Higgins

Product Description

1993 Sequel release selected by 'Q' magazine as one of thegreatest reggae albums of all-time in 1998. Contains 12tracks, including 'Al Capone', 'Too Hot', 'Judge Dread' and'Earthquake'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not milk and water copies, September 4, 2003

By 

Chris Fitz (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prince Buster - Fabulous Greatest Hits [Diamond Range] (Audio CD)

I was having an early drink last week and there was a dj spinning some unusual stuff (for Australia) and suddenly I heard
"Al Capones guns don't argue" I was off my stool and swinging my hips and clicking my tongue chu chucca chu chucca, just as I did when I was 14 playing my Mums old copy of Al Capone b/w One step beyond (just as she had when she first bought it in 1964)
I remember the specials/Madness/Selector etc well and went to a couple of ska/2 tone concerts in 1980, but non of those bands come anywhere near the originals. These songs are timeless and have more rhythm than there milk and water copies from the late 70's early 80's. If you like ska, buy it.
It's a once off buy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous is an understatement, September 23, 2002

By 

Carol E. Czaplicki (Nerja Malaga España) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prince Buster - Fabulous Greatest Hits [Sequel] (Audio CD)

Without a doubt, THE best reggae album of all time!I'll admit being a bit biased about this. I heard it for the first time while vacationing in Jamaica sitting on the beach having a few Red Stripes. We were listening to a local radio program that was featuring the best Jamaican music of the last 40 years. Prince Buster's "Hard Man Fe Dead" comes on and my wife and me were completely blown away. We'd never heard anything like it before or since.Totally original, raunchy,incredible dance tunes that you'll find impossible not to groove to.This cd was hard to find, but well worth the time and money to procure.If you're a reggae fan and have not heard Prince Buster, you are truly missing out on one of the pioneers of the genre, not to mention how cool you're going to be when you put this on at your next party.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The world needs more Prince Buster!, August 15, 2007

By 

Mike F. "Mike" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prince Buster - Fabulous Greatest Hits [Diamond Range] (Audio CD)

If they'd spent a few more bucks spent on audio restoration, this could have been wicked! That said, the sound is certainly NOT terrible as was previously suggested. I can't say the choice of songs is definitive, either, and the liner notes are barely there. So, why should you buy this? Because from the first note to the last, this collection rocks! Prince Buster is a true original and, at least until someone puts out the anthology the Prince truly deserves, this belongs in your collection, even if you just have a passing interest in ska.