Prince Buster - The Outlaw (1969 Blue Beat, vinyl rip)

Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. (born 28 May 1938), better known as Prince Buster and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music. The records he made on the Blue Beat label in the 1960s inspired many reggae and ska artists.

Like "Wreck a Pum Pum" before it, "The Outlaw" could reasonably claim to stand among rock's first-ever concept albums, a collection of songs built (for the most part) around the legend of the American west, bad men and, indeed, outlaws.

"The Cincinnati Kid" and a tight remake of "Al Capone," the thumping "Gun the Man Down" and "The Baddest," the driving "It's Burke's Law," with its bemusing vocal premonition of Eek-A-Mouse and "The Outlaw" itself all feed into the album's overall theme and, if the likes of "Happy Reggae" and "Fever" seem a little out of place, the blazing take on "Phoenix City" that closes the set swiftly restores the concept's equilibrium.

Prince Buster - The Outlaw (1969, vinyl rip)

(256 kbps, cover art included)