Prince Buster - The Outlaw (1969)

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.~ Review by Dave Thompson