Neville Staple - Return of Judge Roughneck (Double Vinyl) [VINYL]

Review He needs no introduction, but that just wouldn't do, would it? No.1 Rude Boy, the heart and soul of The Specials.Larger than life and twice as nice: Mr Neville Staple.If you've ever seen him on a stage, you know that this man truly loves music and was born to entertain. For me, ska and reggae has to be spot on to really work. Yes, I am a snob! Life's too short. The proof is that, once you listen to Return Of Judge Roughneck , you will be smiling, nodding and indeed a-grooving round your lounge. It's fun, but he means it.The title track uses the Gangsters riff, but, why shouldn't he? Judge Roughneck is presiding over your serious crimes against a crisp horn section. I already feel better! Bangarang offers a mid-paced quality skank. No, this isn't an ode to the Lost Boys; this refers to uproar and disorder . Down My Street , complete with trombone solo, is more up tempo and will keep you moving. Perfect ska for a sunny day, or improving a grey, damp day. Lunatics is an update on the Funboy Three classic, if returning to ska roots can be an update, but the spoken word parts are certainly relevant for 2017; stopping children's passports for fear of radicalisation/the growth of foodbanks. Crime Don't Pay sees a wiser Neville reflect that lootin , bootin , robbin an shootin can't help you, all against a jolly tune, while Gang Fever is the sort of thing I'd have wanted to hear The Specials record now; instantly recognisable yet relevant. He's managed to balance the songs well, good-time tunes with the occasional darker moment combined to simple but effective lyrics. Politician Man might be an obvious swipe, but you weren't expecting Crass, were you? So, get on down and enjoy it. Be Happy is the cover that doesn't really sit well with the other songs, it doesn't benefit being on here. But, Enjoy Yourself (Ragtime Mix) is an ideal end to the album. And, if you love your dub remixes, well, there's an extra disc of nine songs, so I don't think you're being sold short. Yes, you know what you're going to get, but that's reassuring,real ska tunes of quality that will improve your day.Look, the sun's come out. --Martin Haslam - Uberrock.co.ukYou really don't need me to tell you who Neville Staple is, do you? No, thought not. In that case I will swiftly get on with the job in hand and say that Return Of Judge Roughneck sounds exactly how you would expect it to sound. That's not always a good thing for many artists, but in Staple's case, it merely means it is a joyous concoction of ska, reggae and dub, featuring intriguing remixes and fascinating bastardisations of old favourites. Add to the mix a few choice cover versions, and unexpected ones at that, and what you get is a thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish.With the present political climate, there has surely never been a more pertinent time to revive Fun Boy Three's 1981 classic, The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum , and it gets more than a minor makeover, with the title being shortened to simply Lunatics , and now containing a damning spoken word critique of the present government. The party skank of its re-imagining is one of the highlights here, as is the somewhat surprising inclusion of If You Wana Be Happy , most famously known in its Jimmy Soul version, which topped the US Billboard chart way back in 1963. Far from the most pc song in the world, due to the chorus of If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life / never make a pretty woman your wife / so from my own point of view / get an ugly girl to marry you , somehow Staple's rude boy delivery seems sincere and, as if to justify this, there is a monologue later in the song in which he adopts a kind of you can't say that about these women! All women are beautiful! type stance. As with Lunatics , the title of this one is shrunk to just Be Happy .Less surprising but no less effective is Staple's reading of Peter Tosh's seminal Maga Dog . There are probably very few songs that fit the former Special more c