Writing On Your Walls

 

Hurrah, for I'm finally getting my first anti-Covid jab later today. Looks like them scientists can help you after all...

Yabby You - Plague On The Land
King Tubby - Dub Plague
Tommy McCook - Plague Of Horn

All Alone

 

The Pressure Sounds label has been a trademark of roots reggae quality for decades now, and their releases can be snapped up blindly. Which is where their new When Jah Shall Come compilation comes in, focusing on obscure Bunny Lee productions, some dubbed to the max by the great King Tubby. The lovely Life Of My Own by the mysterious Raver is only one treasure out of many here, so don't miss out, my brethren.

The Raver - Life Of My Own

With Praise

Just got the sad news that Bunny 'Striker' Lee has passed away. The legendary reggae producer, inventor of the flying cymbal sound in the mid seventies and a big influence on dubmaster King Tubby later on, was 79. He had a hand in more crucial reggae and dub tracks, many of them big hits, than you can shake a stick at. Miss him, my brethren.

Stranger Cole & Lester Sterling - Bangarang

Derrick Morgan - Rasta Don't Fear

Bim Sherman - Down In Jamdown>

Johnny Clarke - Enter His Gates With Praise

I Roy - The Godfather

Bunny Lee & Brad Osborne - Super Star Dub

First One's Always Free

"We're catching bullets in our teeth, it's hard to do but they're so sweet..." Presenting yet another six pack for your listening pleasure, with explosive artwork by Tinca. Number one with a silver bullet, baby, and it's got your name on it.

Observer All Stars & King Tubby - Silver Bullet
Tom Waits - The Right Bullets
The Dream Syndicate - Bullet With My Name On It
Cosmic Psychos - Bullet
Tunng - Bullets
Calexico - Bullets & Rocks

Full Dose

Trying to dub the evil virus away with a bass-heavy six pack of prime roots. All killer no filler, as it's brutal out deh.

Errol Brown - Black Forest Rock
Techniques All Stars - .357 Magnum
Augustus Clarke - Creation Dub
Harry Mudie & King Tubby - Full Dose Of Dub
The Revolutionaries - Atom Bomb
Phil Pratt - Walking Razor

Your History

New Pressure Sounds ahoy. Most of the fine fine tracks on this righteous helping of roots and dub were showcased before on Blood & Fire's classic Jesus Dread and King Tubby's Prophecy Of Dub collections. In case you missed out on these, Walls Of Jerusalem is a most irie alternative.

Yabby You - Go To School Jah Jah Children

Pressure Dub

Pressure Sounds, always on top. The long-lasting reggae reissue label upped the ante yet again by re-releasing two incredibily rare dub albums from '77 (Conflict Dub) and '82 (Dubbing In The Front Line) as one set. With the Aggrovators playing, Bunny Lee in the producers chair and Prince Jammy as engineer, what can possibly go wrong? You know what to do, my brethren.

The Aggrovators - Skilful Dub
The Aggrovators - Babylon Dub

Straight Life

Babylon a-wicked, so better face the judgement day, my brethren. Now dub it. To the top.

The Aggrovators - Straight To Babylon Boy's Head
King Tubby - Straight To The Capitalist Head

Round The Corner

I'll be away from my desk for a week or so, but I'll leave you with this old fashioned ten pack. After all: "I'm just a soldier, fighting the sorrow..."

James Taylor - Soldiers
Neil Young - Soldier
Bob Dylan - Mary And The Soldier
Calvin Russell - Soldier
Palace Music - The Weaker Soldier
Arthur Alexander - Soldier Of Love
Bettye Lavette - Talking Old Soldiers
Jah Lloyd & King Tubby - Soldier Round The Corner
Spizz Energi - Soldier Soldier
Renzoku Shasatsuma - I Don't Want To be A Soldier

All-Mighty Africa

"I man an African, don't call I Jamaican..." On the island, most rasta's were - and probably still are for that matter - fascinated by Africa, the continent of their ancestors. Which means it's massive ten pack time here again, my brethren, in a roots & dub stylee. We're all African descendents after all...

The Sons Of Selassie - I Man An African
Hugh Mundell - Africa Must Be Free By 1983
Jack Ruby & The Disciples - African Birthright
The Black Notes - African Style
Alton Ellis - African Descendents
Prince Far I & The Arabs - Dub To Africa
Los Hombres - Africa
King Tubby - African Roots
Prince Francis - African Skank
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - African Dub

Bag Or Trainload

"It's so sweet, yeah, yeah, I can't stop smokin' yeah..." Presenting a rootsy six pack. Have a toke of collie herb, why don't you. It's cool. Light that chalice.

Tommy McCook - One Trainload Of Collie
Hopeton Lewis - Cool Collie
Sly & The Revolutionaries - Collie
Horace Andy - Collie Herb
Dillinger - One Bag Of Collie
King Tubby & The Aggrovators - Collie Dub

Loco Means Crazy

"Crazy moonbeams cover up the sky, oh crazy, you're the light in my eye..." Un poco loco? Good. Presenting a mad mad ten pack. Dig in.

Bud Powell - Un Poco Loco MP3

Patsy Cline - Crazy MP3

Daniel Johnston - Crazy Love MP3

James Brown - I'll Go Crazy MP3

King Tubby & Friends - Real Gone Crazy Dub MP3

The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms MP3

Slick Slavin - Speed Crazy MP3

O.V. Wright - I'd Rather Be Blind, Crippled And Crazy MP3

Meat Puppets - Crazy MP3

El Lebrijano - Lo Mismo Que Un Loco MP3

Jonkanoo Ten Pack

Thought it was about time for a new dub ten pack, so here goes. All strictly roots, all killer no filler. Mixing board wizardry guaranteed. Don´t forget to turn up that bass, my brethren.

Jack Ruby & The Black Disciples - Slavery Days Dub MP3

Skin, Flesh & Bones - Boxer Dub MP3

Lee Perry - Fisher Man Dub MP3

Glen Brown & King Tubby - Termination Dub MP3

Augustus Pablo - Up Warrika Hill MP3

Impact All Stars - Jaro MP3

Tappa Zukie - Dub MPLA MP3

Revolutionaries - Jonkanoo Dub MP3

Ossie All Stars - Dub Down Babylon MP3

Techniques - Ghetto MP3

Keep On Dubbing

Dread at the controls taking over... High time to dub it to the top here a bit. One of my fave musical genres, dub basically means stripped-down, instrumental versions of regular reggae songs. Featuring heavy, heavy bass, snippets of vocals, and tons of added sound effects. From echo, tape delay and reverb to animal sounds, ringing telephones, crying babies, gunfire and blaring sirens... Everything goes really, just as long as it pleases Jah.

The legendary Osbourne Ruddock alias King Tubby remains the undisputed master of dub, but other producers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Joe Gibbs, Erroll Brown, Herman Chin Loy and Keith Hudson - to name but a few - mixed some mean ones too in their time. And the realization that all these amazing tracks were made with rather limited means, as Jamaican studios didn´t exactly feature state of the art equipment, makes their soundboard wizardry all the more impressive.

The players vary, but often feature reggae revolutionaries Sly Dunbar on drums and Robbie Shakespeare on bass. Without further ado, here´s a well charged dub ten pack for all you brethren out there. No recent stuff here mind, all strickly roots, ´cause that´s the way I like it. Seen?

Herman Chin Loy - Jah Jah Dub MP3

King Tubby - Satta Dread Dub MP3

Augustus Pablo - Keep On Dubbing MP3

Aggrovators - Rockers Almighty Dub MP3

Upsetters - Black Panta MP3

The Revolutionaries - M.P.L.A. MP3

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - Freedom Call MP3

Vital Dub - Roof Top Dub MP3

Keith Hudson - Black Right MP3

Scientist - Babylon Fight Dub MP3