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Dub
music had to come from somewhere, and the consensus is that
it came from the mind and the 4-track mixing board of
Osbourne Ruddock, known far and wide as King Tubby. Tubby
began his career in the mid-'50s repairing radios and DJ
sound systems. Near the end of the decade, Tubby went to
work cutting and mixing records for Jamaican impresario and
Treasure Isle label honcho Duke Reid, recording hit singles
by popular singers such as the Melodians and Phyllis Dillon.
It was while working with Reid that Tubby began what seemed
to be a deceptively simple bit of experimentation: he would
remix songs starting by dropping the vocal track, boosting
parts of the instrumental track (e.g., suddenly there would
be nothing but bass or rhythm guitar), and add subtle
effects like echo or delay to the instruments he had
isolated.
The immediate impact of this process of dub mixes was that
songs became hits... twice. Tubby was remixing recognizable
tracks like the Melodians' "You Don't Care," and played for
the crowds who gathered to dance to the mobile sound
systems, the effect was mesmerizing.
Reggae historian Steve Barrow, writing about the crowd's
reaction to Tubby's first public airing of his dub mixes,
notes that "the crowd did a quick double take and then went
wild, pushing down the fence until it was flattened, and
then rushed in, knocking the speaker boxes flying." Tubby
had clearly stumbled on to something very powerful with dub.
Soon Tubby, relying on extremely primitive 4-track recording
and mixing equipment, was the mixer in demand for most of
Jamaica's big-name producers such as Duke Reid, Vivian
Jackson (aka Yabby You), and Winston "Niney the Observer"
... - John Dougan, All-Music Guide
Collectors Albums
Glen Brown & King Tubby - Termination Dub (1973-79) (Blood &
Fire, UK).CD/Vinyl
A previously unreleased dub of the "Dirty Harry" horns
classic represents 1973, while the rest of the set
concentrates on the last half of the decade, when Glen
Brown's South East Music label was associated with
particular heavy roots material such as "Lambs Bread",
"Cleanliness Is Godliness" and "Away With the Bad". The
Tubby-mixed dubs to the same are even more amazing versions
of the deadly rhythms, and go a long way to explaining why
both producer and engineer have become legends. - from
Reggae : The Rough Guide
Dubbing With the Observer (Observer, JA; Attack, UK).(Vinyl
only)
The combination of King Tubby's deft touch at the mixing
board and Winston "Niney" Holness' proven rhythms could
hardly have failed. The dub master gets his hands on 13 of
Niney's prime tracks (ranging from Sang Hugh's dread "Rasta
No Born Yah", through Dennis Brown's "Cassandra" and "No
More Will I Roam" to Ken Boothe's massively popular "Silver
Birds") , creating a dub set that helped further establish
the form when it appeared in 1975.
- from Reggae : The Rough Guide
King Tubby's Prophecy Of Dub (Blood & Fire, UK).(CD / Vinyl)
The first dub set on which Tubby took apart and reassembled
Yabby You's rhythms has the advantage of most of the early
classics from the singer/producer, several of which were
collected on the pioneering Conquering Lion album. Not
unexpectedly, the rhythm for "Conquering Lion" itself crops
up, alongside impressive versions of "Run Come Rally" and
"Jah Vengeance", as well as the Jackson-produced Michael
Rose gem, "Born Free". The CD adds 2 equally worthwhile dub
sides of much sought after instrumentals: "Revenge" and
"Death Trap". One of the handful of definitive Tubby sets. -
from Reggae : The Rough Guide
Dub Gone Crazy: The Evolution of Dub at King Tubby's
1975-1978
(Blood & Fire, UK).(CD / Vinyl)
Dub Gone 2 Crazy: In Fine Style (1975-79) (Blood & Fire,
UK).(CD / Vinyl)
2 volumes retrospectively compiled of prime Bunny Lee
material dubbed almost to oblivion. Both comprise 'version'
sides from impossible-to find-45s (Wayne Jarrett's "Satta
Dread" and Ronnie Davies' "Power Of Love", to mention just 1
exceptional track from each) , as well as previously
unreleased tracks drawn from Lee's master tapes. They
utilize the mixing talents of not only Tubby himself, but
also of his disciples 'Prince' Philip Smart, Lloyd 'Prince
Jammy' James and Hopeton 'Scientist' Brown, all working at
Tubby's Dromilly Avenue studio. The best places for the
newcomer to start. - from Reggae : The Rough Guide
Harry Mudie Meets King Tubby In Dub Conference - Volume 1, 2
& 3
(Moodisc, JA; Moods, US).(CD / Vinyl)
Harry Mudie combined the sweetness and the heaviness that
have always been integral to Jamaican music, even on
occasion successfully integrating lush string arrangements.
Tubby played with both elements, mostly making obvious the
sheer weight of Mudie's rhythms, but wisely maintaining
snatches of strings on some tracks. All 3 volumes of the
series rank among the most thoughtfully mixed and original
dub albums ever, with the hits most associated with Mudie -
Lloyd Jones' "Rome", the Ebony Sisters' "Let Me Tell You
Boy", Dennis Walks' "Drifter" and the Heptones' "Love
Without Feeling" - emerging all the more awesome. - from
Reggae : The Rough Guide
King Tubby Meets Lee Perry: Megawatt Dub
With the continuing interest in dub music as a driving force
behind the electronica explosion, classic dub albums from
reggae's golden era are like the Holy Grail. Watty Burnett,
member of the great roots-reggae group The Congos, produced
and sang a number of excellent recordings during the l970's
the classic roots reggae era. Working with top-ranking
producers and dub masters Lee 'Scratch' Perry and King Tubby
as well as noted engineer Philip Smart, he had dubs created
of many of his recordings from this time, many of which were
unreleased or only released on Jamaican 45's. This album,
consisting of material never available before, is a
collector's feast of prime dub material shaped by the hands
of the masters. Featured are the crunching rhythms and
spaced-out effects which have made King Tubby and Lee Perry
Productions automatic sellers to reggae's faithful.
King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (Yard, JA; Clocktower,
US).(CD / Vinyl)
Augustus Pablo was among the first producers to employ
Tubby-mixed dub sides on his 45s, and their first album
together was an instant classic. The title track, the
version to Jacob Miller's "Baby I Love You So" became more
popular than the vocal side, and remain many peoples' choice
for the definitive Tubby's side. Versions to other
Pablo-produced singles - Paul Whiteman's "Say So", the
Heptones' "Love Won't Come Easy" and Bongo Pat's "Young
Generation" - prove just as impressive. - from Reggae : The
Rough Guide
Rodigan's Dub Classics - Serious Selections - Volume One
Mixed by King Tubby, Prince Jammy & Scientist (Selecta,
UK).(CD / Vinyl)
A selection that is beyond reproach. No Sylvan Morris or
Errol Thompson, but some of the best from the other 3
masters of the genre, including one of the first of Tubby's
to make an impression on a significant number of record
buyers, "Watergate Rock" (the version to Larry Marshall's "I
Admire You") and two examples of the form at its most
developed - Jammy's "Pablo In Moonlight City" (Earl Zero's
second cut of "Please Officer") and Scientist's "Fall Dub"
(Johnny Osbourne's "Nightfall"). - from Reggae : The Rough
Guide
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