Search - Skatalites :: Heroes of Reggae Dub

* Tubby Dubs The Skatalites *

Jasper | New England | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't buy this disc just yet, although it is an absolutely phenominal collection of some of the greatest, most unique dub ever mixed. Here we find King Tubby working with the re-formed Skatalites in 1975, and a few other musicians (including Augustus Pablo, Ras Michael, and Earl "Chinna" Smith), to create some truly mesmerizing dub. Most rhythms were recorded by Lee "Scratch" Perry at his Black Ark Studio, then mixed by Tubby at his studio. The results are predictably awesome, though much different than traditional Skatalites material.



What you should know is that the 2001 Motion Records release, "The Legendary Skatalites In Dub," features 15 tracks of Skatalites/King Tubby work as opposed to the nine tracks on this disc. Motion Records first came out with this short version, but then they found extra mixes, and decided to expand the set, also including a couple of the original un-dubbed tracks. The updated set is called "The Legendary Skatalites In Dub." Most of the tracks have been re-named on the updated set, due to some naming errors made on this "Heroes" version. The price is basically the same, so I'd pick up "The Legendary Skatalites In Dub" over this one for sure. If, after you've become obsessed with the "Legendary Skatalites In Dub" release, and you want to hear a handful of *slightly* different mixes, you can come back and pick up this one.



As far as the original un-dubbed instrumental sessions, they can be found on the CD "African Roots," under Skatalite bassist Lloyd Brevett's name. To confuse matters, "African Roots" has also been known, in LP form, as "The Legendary Skatalites," but they are actually the same release. In an effort to be less confusing, I'll break the releases down thusly:



1. The Legendary Skatalites In Dub - Best dub release, get it first.



2. Heroes Of Reggae In Dub - Earlier incarnation of the above, featuring less tracks, misnamed tracks, but also a couple of *slightly* different mixes.



3. African Roots (AKA "The Legendary Skatalites") - The great instrumental originals, plus a few of the dubs featured on the above releases. CD release also features four ska tracks from a different session, with Don Drummond on trombone.



Happy listening."