Long overdue anthology of the influential work of Keith Hudson – Jamaica’s ‘dark Prince of Reggae.’ Melody Maker is a 2-CD collection that binds together the varied components of Hudson’s role in the evolution of Jamaican music.
THE DARK PRINCE OF REGGAE
The impact that Keith Hudson has had upon the evolution of Jamaican music cannot be over-stated. Born in Kingston in 1946, Hudson’s career would be a short one – he died in 1984, aged just 38 – but his work as a producer and as a recording artist in his own right would have a lasting effect.
Often referred to as ‘The Dark Prince of Reggae,’ Hudson was known for his sparse, heavy productions and his uncompromising approach. His formative years in Kingston coincided with the emergence of the sound system culture. He was a schoolmate of Bob Marley, Delroy Wilson and Ken Boothe and was a fervent admirer of Coxsone Dodd’s production techniques at Kingston’s Studio One. As a teenager, Hudson would regularly attend the studio to add trombone parts to Dodd’s recordings.
After leaving school, Hudson studied dentistry and he used the earnings from his work in that industry to finance his own early recordings. In 1969, he launched his own imprint – the Inbidimts label – and released Shades of Hudson by DJ Dennis Alcapone. The first batch of Hudson-produced releases included Ken Boothe’s Old Fashioned Way and Mr Tambourine Man and Delroy Wilson’s I’m Gonna Get You and Moon Rock.
DEEJAY AND ROOTS
Hudson was quick to recognize the potential of deejay recordings and, before the end of 1969 he had recorded U Roy’s Dynamic Fashion Way – a rework of Ken Boothe’s song. He took the deejay concept further and deeper with Dennis AlCapone on sides such as Revelation Version, Marker Version and Zaka-Za-Za, all of which feature in this collection.
By 1970, Hudson had started to record under his own name. Early offerings from that phase of his career include Old Fire Stick, Smoke Without Fire, You Must Be Popular, Old Broom and Edna – again, all included in this compilation. By 1972, his attentions were almost entirely focused upon his own vocal recordings and his music was becoming heavier and more roots-orientated, as evidenced particularly by the excellent Strayed in Babylon.
Not that he’d abandoned deejay material altogether, though… The work with Dennis Alcapone continued with tracks like Ball of Confusion, and with I Roy, whose Silver Platter is a highlight of this collection.
EVERY STRAND
Whilst Hudson’s earlier work was very much singles-focused, by the mid-1970s he had followed the trail established by the likes of Marley, Peter Tosh and The Mighty Diamonds and turned his attention to albums. With that shift in attention came a deeper dive into the dub and roots styles that dominate such albums as Too Expensive (1976), Brand (1977) and Rasta Communication (1978). This revised approach allowed Hudson the freedom to expand ideas that had been tried out in the single format and also provided the opportunity to incorporate soul, funk and disco influences into his recordings.
There have been previous attempts to document Keith Hudson’s varied and deeply influential career – the 1996 compilation album Shades Of Hudson comes to mind. With Melody Maker, however, Cherry Red Records have provided what must qualify as the definitive Keith Hudson anthology. Over two CDs and across 49 tracks, every strand is featured – the rare early recordings, the deejay phase, Hudson’s own vocal recordings and the embrace of roots and dub. Just about every artist to have been associated with Hudson is featured – in addition to those already mentioned, tracks by John Holt, Al Brown, the Soul Syndicate Bunny Gayle, Alton Ellis, Johnny Clarke and others can all be found here.
A LASTING INFLUENCE
The influence of Keith Hudson is still with us, over 40 years after his premature death. It can be heard in musical genres as disparate as electronica and post-punk, as well as in styles more closely aligned to reggae. As an artist, Hudson was never directed by fashion or commercial pressures. He did things his way and, as a result, he pushed the boundaries.
I’ll leave the final words to Jamaican music specialist Laurence Cane-Honeysett, writer of the comprehensive sleevenotes that accompany Melody Maker: “Taken together, Melody Maker is an essential invitation into Keith Hudson’s formative years: a powerful, carefully assembled collection that brings his rare and sought-after 7” singles back into focus and lets their full force be heard in sequence. Compact, heavy and unmistakably original, these recordings reveal Hudson at his most inventive, shaping singers, deejays, musicians and versions around rhythms of remarkable depth and character. For collectors, newcomers and log-time admires alike, the album offers not only a vivid portrait of one of reggae’s most singular producers, but also a compelling reminder of why his music continues to inspire such devotion.”
Listen to Keith Hudson’s Melody Maker – the track that gave this compilation its title – below:
