Oo, you get all the big 'uns on this compilation, a greatest-hits set from Britain's rudest reggae 'ero.
Judge Dread smirked his way through 11 U.K. hits, and virtually all of them are found on this 15-strong set. There's all
Dread's "Big" hits of course -- his debut "Big Six," and his ever expanding follow-ups. "Big Nine" wasn't amongst them, but it did feature on his splendid
Working Class 'Ero album, as did "Big One," too, obviously too small a dimension to release on 45. The hilarious "Je T'aime (Moi Non Plus)" moaned its way into the U.K. Top Ten, with "Big Ten" completing the Judge's Top 20 run. The title track, the barnyard shenanigans of "Up with the Cock," the snappy homage "Y Viva Suspenders," and the hilarious "Come Outside" all finished further down the British chart, although there was certainly no slippage in quality. The sumptuous "Lover's Rock" failed to even enter the U.K. chart, although it was a huge hit in France and was included on the magistrate's fifth set, 1980s import only
Reggae & Ska album, from which the infectious "Will I What" was also drawn. The two remaining tracks were pulled seemingly randomly from two earlier
Dread albums. The plethora of magisterial compilations makes for tough choices, this one at least sports all the hits bar
Dread's Christmas offerings, and is as good a place to start as any.