Screaming Target


Screaming Target is the debut album by Jamaican deejay Big Youth. It was recorded and released in 1972 on the Gussie and Jaguar labels in Jamaica. It was issued in the United Kingdom in 1973 by Trojan Records.

Recording and production

The album was produced by Big Youth's childhood friend Augustus "Gussie" Clarke. Some of the tracks on the album had previously been hits as singles, including "Screaming Target", which used K.C. White's "No, No, No" rhythm, "Tippertone Rock", and "The Killer". Several other tracks employed rhythms from Clarke's other productions, including Leroy Smart's "Pride & Ambition", Lloyd Parks' "Slaving", Dennis Brown's "In Their Own Way", and Gregory Isaacs' "One One Cocoa Fill Basket". The 2006 CD reissue adds the aforementioned tracks and more as a bonus.

Critical reception

The album was a favourite dub LP for music critic Robert Christgau in the 1970s, although he omitted it from Christgau's Record Guide: [Rock Albums of the Seventies], lacking the comprehensiveness for import-only albums at the time.

Track listing

All tracks written, arranged, and produced by Gussie Clarke.
The track "Tippertone Rock" is listed as "Tippertong Rock" on the cover of the 1973 Trojan Records release, while it's listed as "Tippertone Rock" on the vinyl LP itself. Later releases added "Screaming Target " and "Concrete Jungle". The 1976 Gussie LP releases only added "Concrete Jungle".

Credits

Recording Information