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This is the direct follow-up to "Humanity," recorded without founding member Cedric Myton present this time, engineered and mixed at Harry J's Recording Studio by Sylvan Morris.
All ten tracks were written, composed and arranged by Lincoln Thompson himself, and the songs are explicitly dedicated to Bintia Thompson. The session personnel is genuinely stacked — Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, keyboardist Wire Lindo, saxophonist Tommy McCook, and the legendary Ernest Ranglin all appear.
It's worth being direct about the contemporary critical reception, because it was genuinely harsh in places: a September 1979 review in England's Huddersfield Daily Examiner argued Thompson had successfully created a version of disco reggae aimed at wider, popular consumption, but that the result was bland music — memorably describing it as "revolution and slavery hygienically shrink-wrapped in polythene." That's about as pointed a takedown as reggae criticism of the era produced.
A more balanced, later assessment from Reggae Vibes pushes back on that harshness somewhat: while acknowledging the album isn't a truly great LP, they call it a genuinely good collection of tunes that deserved more appreciation than it got — noting that roots purists at the time were simply put off by Ballistic Records' overt crossover ambitions and Thompson's self-described "inter-reg" sound (a deliberate blend of reggae, soul and funk).
Both readings can be true at once: this is a competently made, ambitiously commercial record that alienated the audience most inclined to champion Prince Lincoln's earlier, more straightforwardly roots-oriented work, without necessarily winning over a large new crossover audience to replace them.
A genuinely contested record in Prince Lincoln's catalog — dismissed by one contemporary critic as shrink-wrapped revolution, defended decades later as an underrated, good-not-great effort — which makes it worth hearing and forming your own opinion on, rather than taking either verdict at face value.
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This upload is for promotional and educational purposes only, celebrating the legacy and preserving the history of early Jamaican music. All rights belong to the original copyright holders. If you love this music, support the official labels by purchasing official releases when available.
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TRACKLIST & TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Nobody Here But Me (4:14)
4:14 Blessed Are The Meek (4:48)
9:02 Slave Driver (5:43)
14:45 You Gotta Have Love (5:00)
19:45 Babylon Is Falling (4:55)
24:40 True Experience (5:08)
29:48 For Once In My Life (5:48)
35:36 Walk In Jah Light (5:45)
41:21 Jungle Fever (7:24)
48:45 Thanksgiving (4:28)
VAULT SPECS:
💿 Album: Prince Lincoln & The Royal Rasses — Experience
📅 Year: 1979
🏷️ Label: Ballistic Records / United Artists
🎚️ Style: Reggae / disco-reggae ("inter-reg")
🎛️ Producer: Prince Lincoln Thompson
🎧 Engineer/Mixed by: Sylvan Morris, at Harry J's Recording Studio
🎸 Personnel: Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (drums); Wire Lindo (keys); Tommy McCook (sax); Ernest Ranglin (guitar)
⏱️ Runtime: 53:13
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