the finest single example of dub reggae that you can recall

[c hristian]

Your finest example of dub reggae. What is it?

For me, I've heard good stuff, but can't get past Burning Spear "Wa Da DA" . That's it for me.





WHERE IS YOUR LOVE JAMAAAAAAAIIIIICAAAAAAA!?!!?!? WHERE IS YOUR LOOOOOOOVE JAMAAAAAAIIIICAAAAA!?!?!!?

[Chris P]

Keith Hudson - 'Pick A Dub' for me everytime ( I need an album's worth of genius dub, one track's not enough)

[Ronald]

I used to have an lp called Fighting Dub wich featured the Skin Flesh and Bones band, it was the best dub album I had, had because foolishly I lend it to someone who then disappeared.

[c hristian]

i need about 4 hours of inventive dub myself, but I haven't found it yet, save for finding the best tracks and putting it on 1 (2 , 3 or 4) cd.

Special place in my life for Dub. Definitely the music of choice for times of extreme weather or temperature. For here, that means dub in August and February. I'm thinking about starting early however, as they are predicting "wintery weather" which may mean snow. Snow means shovelling sidewalks and driveways. Shoveling s and d means DUB in my ears!!

[Neil Foxlee]

I used to have an lp called Fighting Dub wich featured the Skin Flesh and Bones band, it was the best dub album I had, had because foolishly I lend it to someone who then disappeared.

Ronald, you're in luck, because an extended version has been reissued by Steve Barrow on his Hot Pot label.

Re finest single dub, it surely has to be Augustus Pablo's King Tubby's Meets Rockers Uptown, which bears repeated listening. There are, of course, other great examples, to which I will no doubt return.

[Adam Blake]

Re finest single dub, it surely has to be Augustus Pablo's King Tubby's Meets Rockers Uptown, which bears repeated listening. There are, of course, other great examples, to which I will no doubt return.

I would go along with that one too.

[c hristian]

see , I KNEW someone was goint to through out the Augustus track. But really! I get so tired of that track being included in every single best of dub compilation. It's good, granted, but what ELSE?!? Fine, NEil put it out there, as I knew he would, but now let's moved BEYOND, and find SOMETHING ELSE.

Thank you. Sorry I didn't warn you before that I was going to have that reaction to what I knew was coming.

[c hristian]

guess my title was a bit misleading. should have read the finest single example except for KT meeting the Rockers Uptown

[Hugh Weldon]

Two 12" reggae singles I remember playing fairly constantly through 1978 were King Tubby etc and the dub of Dr Alimantado's 'Born for a Purpose' which came a very close second.

[Jamie Renton]

Augustus Pablo cut some other wondrous dubs aside from "King Tubby's ..." which tend to get overlooked. Various versions of !"East of the River Nile" & "Warika Hill" & "Cassava" ... I'd say, pretty well anything Pablo was involved in 70s is worth having,

Another favourite is Joe Gibbs & the Professionals "African Dub Almighty Vols 1 - 4", pretty much every track a dub classic!

[Neil Foxlee]

The two hardest dubs I can think of off the top of my head are Prince Jammy's dubs to Sun Is Shining (Shining Dub) and Johnny Clarke's classic Play Fool Fe Get Wise (sometimes known as No Idiot Dub), both available on Fatman presents Unleashed Dub and Fatman Dub Contest: Prince Jammy Meets Crucial Bunny, among other releases.

The heaviest dubs, on the other hand, would probably be found on King Tubby's work with Yabby You (eg Beware Dub) and Glen Brown (Termination Dub).

There are a limited number of truly classic dub albums (of which Pick A Dub would be one), most of which were compiled retrospectively from rhythms already used on singles, rather than being churned out on the back of vocal or deejay albums.

[Martin_Edney]

I'd vote for

- single track (apart from King Tubby's Meets Rockers Uptown): Negusa Negast, which gets variously credited to Prince Far I, Roy Cousins and The Royals

- album - again Prince Far I features, here, this time with Cry Tuff Dub Encounter chapter 2 (long since deleted, but most of the tracks are available on a CD called dubwise - it's worth programming your CD player to reproduce the original album, missing out the other filler tracks)

[Neil Foxlee]

Re Negusa Negast, do you know if the tracks of that name on Dubbing with the Royals (Pressure Sounds) and Prince Far I Megabit 25 1922 (Tamoki Wambesi) are the same? The latter is said to sample Prince Far I, rather than being a straightforward Prince Far I dub:

(review from Steve Barker's On The Wire blog)
"The temptation to put Far I’s name on an album prompts a cut and paste job from Roy (The Royals) Cousins back catalogue, but in the hands of Sir Freddie Viadukt aka the (albeit late) Minister of Noise the result becomes almost tasteful. On the perimeters of Warrington lies NAFFI HQ where original tapes from Randys, Tubbys and the Black Ark have been manipulated into their current state, and on the whole a fairly reverential piece of work with Far I voice samples worked into the mix a la Sherwood with Dub Syndicate. But the game is really up on the pseudo (?) Amharic-titled ‘Ejarsa-Gora’ where the ‘marvel of miracles’ sample appears in the mix on top of Vivian Jackson’s ‘Yabby You’ rhythm and traces of Gregorian chant. All traceable back to the Minister’s classic ‘Voodoo Soul’ period where he bravely introduced Far I to Alice Coltrane. With the divine vocals of Roy Cousins, plus contributions from Knowledge, Charlie Chaplin and the Minister’s ex-Mrs Brenda Ray this works out as a recommendation rather than a warning."

[Neil Foxlee]

PS check out http://members.shaw.ca/dublp2/ and scroll down to the bottom for a still relevant 1977 Black Echoes selection of top dub LPs, with their top single track being Crime Wave from King Tubby Meets the Upsetter at the Grass Roots of Dub.

Heavyweight stuff and it ain't no bluff, believe me.

[Neil Foxlee]

As it's from 1977, the Echoes list doesn't include any Scientist stuff.

Some of the best dubs only appeared on dubplates (one-off sound-system special mixes). For examples, see http://www.jahwarrior.com/Top_Ten_Baddest_Roots.html (with samples - note that Kunte Kinte has finally been released)

and http://web.archive.org/web/200111040501 ... plate.html , sadly no longer with sound samples.