Stone-cold Classic No. 27

Is this the 27th best record of all time?
Er... perhaps I should rank it higher.
Q Magazine's "Ultimate Music Collection" issue calls "King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown" the "Pet Sounds" of dub reggae. Probably.
Augustus Pablo began life as a melodica player named Horace Swaby. King Tubby began life as a radio repairman named Osbourne Ruddock. On this 1976 collaboration, the pair created one of the most influential records of all time. More than that, though -- they also made an album that remains fresh and exciting to hear to this very day.
King Tubby "played" a mixing desk like a musical instrument. On the title track, released as a single in 1975, spectral vocals, melodica notes and a guitar riff fade in and out while a clattering drum lick keeps your head nodding and your toes tapping in time.
Dub takes previously recorded songs and chops them up, rearranges them and mixes them up. Sound like modern-day electronic dance music and hip hop? Those popular genres could not have existed without the pioneering work of Jamaica's dub originators.
On the track "Each One Dub," a melodica tune plays before a voice sings "Tomorrow may not be the same... same... same... same... same... same..."
Then you lose the voice in a hypnotic swirl of echo.
The best dub recordings remind me of the best jazz recordings.
The songs can serve as soothing background music. However, if you actively listen to the piece, you can fully appreciate the varied layers of intelligent composition.
I could listen to this type of music forever. Hmmm... so maybe a 27 ranking is a bit low.

Posted by Hello