MUSIC

The fourth and final volume in the African Dub All-Mighty series was originally released in 1979, and like the previous three discs it features rhythm tracks laid down by such famous session men as Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Lloyd Parks, and Franklin "Bubblers" Waul, most of whom were already known as members of the Revolutionaries and the We the People band, but who recorded at Joe Gibbs' studio as the Professionals. Errol Thompson ran the board for all four collections of dub mixes, and offers an interesting and adventurous approach. Some of these mixes are two or three times removed from the vocal tracks that were originally released -- "Iron Gate," for example, is a dub mix of a recut (by Althea & Donna) of the Heptones' proto-slack rocksteady classic "Fattie Fattie"; "Fashion One" is a remix of Dennis Brown's remake of Alton Ellis' 1960s classic "Girl I've Got a Date." Everything here is worth a listen, recommended overall. - Rick Anderson

Producer Joe Gibbs took the credit for the four discs released in the mid-'70s under the title African Dub All-Mighty, but the musicians were in reality a shifting aggregation of members of the Soul Syndicate, We the People, and Revolutionaries bands, and the man actually working the mixing board was famed sound engineer Errol Thompson. Chapter 1 is a fine listening experience -- note in particular "Campus Rock" (a dub version of Dennis Brown's "Let Me Live") and "Treasure Dub," which is a version of the Jamaicans' rocksteady classic "Ba Ba Boom." Recommended. - Rick Anderson

The second volume in this vintage four-disc series of instrumental dub from Joe Gibbs' studio finds him still working with members of the Soul Syndicate and We the People bands, and utilizing the formidable mixing talents of Errol Thompson. What sets this volume somewhat apart from the other three is the number of rhythms it carries over from the rocksteady era: "Chapter Two" is a remix of the Techniques' late-'60s classic "Queen Majesty"; "Peeping Tom" reworks the Melodians' "You Have Caught Me"; and "My Best Dub" is an instrumental and nicely dubbed-up recut of the early Wailers track "Hypocrites." But it also includes some heavyweight rockers and one-drop material, including "Angola Crisis" (based on a familiar rhythm later used for such roots reggae hits as "Uptown Top Ranking" and "Three Piece Suit") and an absolutely brilliant dub mix of Bob Andy's "Chained," here rendered in dark, minimalist tones with drastic dubwise effects and retitled "Third World." Along with the third volume, this is one of the most impressive of the four discs in the African Dub series. - Rick Anderson

The third (and most impressive) of four volumes of dub mixes from the studio of producer Joe Gibbs, African Dub, Chapter 3 finds engineer Errol Thompson getting a bit more adventurous than he had on the earlier installments. More of these dub versions keep shreds and snatches of the original vocal tracks in the mix, which is almost always a plus in a dub context -- little snippets of disembodied vocals float through the otherworldly musical atmosphere, lending a sometimes spooky human element to the sound and often casting new and refracted light on the meaning of the original lyrics. And on this volume, Thompson seems to be taking a few cues from his competitor Lee "Scratch" Perry, throwing such extramusical elements as water sounds (on "Freedom Call") and ringing telephones (on "Jubilation Dub") into the mix along with the usual gossamer shreds of guitar, horn, and keyboard. Highly recommended. - Rick Anderson

A wealth of DIY dubplates and 45s from Jah Massagan’s East London sound crop up for first time on tape with cherry-picking label Death Is Not The End - heavy roots dub troubles cut at the studios of King Tubby, Lee Perry, Channel One, and Joe Gibbs… Eljay Mass, son of Jah Massagan’s owner-operator, Lloyd Mass, dips into his dad’s enviable archive for an hour of rare, one-away platters that hail a self-organising rhizome of sound systems which sprang up in the UK with arrival of the Windrush generation, and brilliantly altered the course of music on this strange island in the process. The cassette-only session speaks to prevailing links between Caribbean culture and UK inner cities which reverberated from the ‘70s into the ‘80s, and has endured as a touchstone for some of our isles’ most vital music, setting templates for independent distribution networks and producing waves of innovative hybridisation. Owner-operator Lloyd Mass and his childhood pal and amp builder Tony Mass were a small but steadfast part of preserving these sounds, holding down their Leyton corner of London, where they would pass the torch to Eljay Mass and an extant network of rigs, engineers, Deejays and ravers who really do it for the culture.