Big Seven - The Best of Judge Dread

Sexually explicit (or "slack") lyrics have a long history in calypso and reggae music. But slackness never found a more devoted or bizarre exponent than Alex "Judge Dread" Hughes, a British singer who made a number of albums in the early '70s that were considerable hits in the U.K. Toasting and singing over instrumental tracks that were either created in Jamaica or imitations of classic Kingston rhythms, Judge Dread brought a distinctly English sensibility to the genre. Wordplay and double-entendre that sounded sly and subversive in the mouths of Caribbean artists like Prince Buster and Lord Kitchener came across as schoolboy toilet-talk when delivered by Judge Dread — reggae for the Benny Hill crowd. One of the interesting things that this retrospective collection reveals is that Judge Dread was actually not a bad singer, when he bothered to sing; his (inevitable) rendition of the Chuck Berry novelty song "My Ding a Ling" is nicely done, as is "Blue Cross Code," a refreshingly non-slack number (unless these American ears are missing a piece of distinctively British double-entendre). But for the most part, this stuff is musically derivative and will only be funny to those who are in regular touch with their inner ten-year-old boy.