Tuesday, October 14, 2008

King Tubby & Larry Marshall - I Admire You In Dub

King Tubby & Larry Marshall - I Admire You In Dub
DUBROOM ALBUM REVIEW




Reggae Collectors, and Dub Historians, this is a good addition in your musical collection. Even crucial because this CD marks the beginning of an era in which DUB really evolved itself, in my opinion.

"Who's playing the drums?", someone asked Larry Marshall when they were recording the track that is known as "Watergate Rock" on this album. It was a young guy, named Sly Dunbar. Another nice thing to know about the opening track of Motion Record's "I Admire You in Dub", is that this was one of the very first versions that are officially labeled "Mix by King Tubby".

This disc has historical value, to say the least. Some mixes have been made as far back as 1973! So if you are only looking for real spaced out Dub, this is not your choice. There's not so much echo's, but the dub mixing is definitely there. You hear Tubby (and others) playing very subtle with the reverb device, turning instruments lo and hi in the mix, et cetera. It's a thrill to hear them experimenting, knowing where they will eventually come. Like the painter's first paintings. You see the roots of his later work. Most tracks sound very lo-fi as well, but I feel this only increases the historical feel that this album already has. Sometimes it's like I hear Studio One a wilder style.

And please, don't think that the music is low quality. When you hear the bass and drum playing together, this alone will make you move and groove. Beautiful horns, a little melodica from Bobby Kalphat, tight guitar licks from ones like Chinna and Peter Tosh (!). Because the mixing is not that wild, you can get a clear "view" on what the players of instruments are doing.

This is the first time, that the DUBs of I Admire You are being released as a whole. The Album comes with an extra, more spaced out Dub that sounds like an early Scientist version. Also, a very beautiful 12" version. I rate this album two stars out of three. One Star for the tightness of the playing, another star for historical value!

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