Strange combination - but all good stuff
Tom | London | 11/12/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Odd combination of Pablo tracks from various eras. The bulk of the album is a straight reissue of 1975's "Ital Dub", a kind of "easy listening" dub classic and notably smoother than a lot of the earlier stuff here. You can't really go far wrong with tracks like "East Of The River Nile", "Java/Mava" and "African Queen" - solid gold classics one and all. I would quibble about the inclusion of The Upsetters' "Words of My Mouth" for the very good reason that you can hardly hear Mr Pablo at all! Might have been better to include a real Perry/Pablo collaboration like the brilliant "Vibrate On" - but you never quite know what's going on in the murky world of licensing music for reggae compilations! I imagine licensing problems are the reason that nothing has been included from Pablo's greatest dub album (make that THE greatest dub album) "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" while, for some reason, John Holt's "My Desire" has sneaked on there! One further minor quibble is the sequencing of the tracks which places the relatively straight "Shake Down" AFTER it's brilliant dub version "Shake Up" - don't know these CD compilers know anything about listening to dub albums!?!??!"
Dis a di Boss
tastyorngj | Jville,NC | 07/04/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Dis a di boss nuff said, once again Mr Pablo has shown his talents, from there humble beginnings , up to his untimeley passing. The music on this disc, is one of raw reggae. The start of what would be a life long journey, where do you want to be ? Pablo can take you there, just close your eyes and listen. From the rough side if town , to the cool breezes of the evening on the the beach. Jump on and take a ride, and imagine a sound so nice you'lll want to play it twice..."
Fitting title for this CD.
Kevin Blake | Farmingdale, ny USA | 10/06/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD covers some great early Augustus Pablo. Its has his signature hit "Java" and its DJ version called "Mava" featuring Dennis Alcapone. It also contain on of his first hits the jazzy "East of the River Nile". "My Desire" is a John Holt tune which is very good. Some more highlights are "House Raid" which is a version of Peter Tosh's "Funeral","Road Block" which is a version of Bob Marley's "3 o'clock Road Block". There isn't a weak tune on here."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1