Let's forget about the music for a minute. You know the song (anthem!), no need to rehash it. What we have here is one of the very first tales of ghetto reality. At a time when the Beatles were off in a yellow submarine and the Beach Boys were lost in good vibrations, Desmond Dekker, aka The Original Rude Boy, dropped this no frills story about life on the rough side of town. A huge hit with the mods and other outcasts in the UK, "Shanty Town" kick-started a craze that would eventually culminate in the explosion of reggae. Understand, Dekker was a star before anyone had heard of Bob Marley. "Shanty Town" is epic enough that it was still banging eight years after its release when it was used in The Harder They Come. It still kicks ass today. This pristine pressing is on the original Beverly's label, complete with the rarely heard and awesome dub on the flip. Recommended.

reviewed by monk