V.A. - Prince Philip Presents: Dubplates & Raw Rhythm from King Tubby's Studio 1973-1976 (2LP)

Ooosh this is heavy: the lesser known but brilliant - mostly unreleased - work of King Tubby apprentice engineer-turned-prolific mixer “Prince” Philip Smart, for Bunny Lee, Yabby You, and Augustus Pablo, is spotlighted on a stack of half century old diamonds cut with signature, discrete, deft dynamic and 3D psychoacoustic nuance - check for the spangled peculiarities in ‘Official Sound’, the ruff but sweet crackle of ‘You Were Mine’, depth charge of ‘Man Free (Dub)’, cosmic Rasta skank of ‘Zion City Dub Wise’ and eerily bloozy strutter ‘Riding Rhythm’, and you’ll know the legendary steez

DKR put it best: “This compilation is dedicated to the memory of the late great “Prince” Philip Smart - the first apprentice of King Tubby and the first engineer at Tubby’s studio besides Tubby himself. Alongside Tubby, Philip was integral to the innovation that took place at Tubby’s studio in the mid 1970s, where the mixing of new roots reggae revolutionized the sound of Jamaican music and created styles and techniques that are still being echoed today, nearly 50 years later. 

Though rarely credited on records in comparison to Tubby, Philip also mixed a lot of the paramount music produced by those close associates of Tubby’s studio such as Bunny Lee, Yabby You, and Augustus Pablo. Philip was closely tied to Pablo due to their childhood friendship and was a partner in his stylistically significant early production works. In the early years of Tubby’s studio, both men were making and cutting custom dubs there for their sound systems before starting to produce their own tunes from scratch, and Philip becoming the second chair engineer.

Several of the songs on this compilation are a selection of the aforementioned work. All of the songs here are sourced from Philip’s personal tape archive, and basically all of these mixes and versions have been scarcely if ever heard, and never released before. This double album comprises a rare and genuine glimpse into the dubplate workings of the inner circle of Tubby’s studio in the mid 1970s, where the prime players and emerging giants of reggae music production and sound system versioned, remixed and voiced rhythms for custom and exclusive cuts. Some of the cuts heard here were formerly exclusive power plays on King Tubby’s own legendary sound system, and unlike some previous issues of such material, these are genuine mixes done at the time. Some other tracks clearly exude the youthful enthusiasm of the participants. In both cases we find this collection of tracks to be truly compelling, so please enjoy this glimpse into such rare air. Rest in power Prince Philip Smart.”