Search - Augustus Pablo :: Rockers Meet King Tubbys in a Fire House

Among his best work . . .

aliled | Shawnee, Kansas United States | 06/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...This is among the top five Augustus Pablo releases, and thereby worthy of your dollars. Regarded as kind of a follow-up to his classic "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown", this one has a slightly more dark urban vibe, thanks to the very taut and fantastic rhythms which form its core. Although it has its fans, to my ears this is the most underrated of all of Pablo's albums. It's compelling from start to finish, and melds Pablo's "far east" melodica sound with complex dub rhythms as well as any of his records did.It wasn't long after this that Pablo's records began to suffer from what sounded like a lack of inspiration, after this he made only an album or two I'd call truly essential. This release has four tracks (from singles of the era) that weren't on the original album, as well as improved sound and short but fine liner notes. The definitive Pablo collection has yet to be compiled, despite a fine attempt recently on Trojan Records ("Skanking With Pablo"). That aside, Shanachie deserves high marks from what looks like the beginning of a fine reissue program. "East Of The River Nile", Pablo's commonly acknowledged high point, has also been reissued with similarly fine sound and some bonus tracks, and is at least the equal of this release."