Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Deluxe Edition)

Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Deluxe Edition)
Label: Shanachie
Record date: 1972-75
Album style: Dub, Lee Library, Reggae, Rockers, Roots, Tubby
Notes: A true classic. Bonus tracks 13-16.

If you had to pick just one album to represent dub "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown" is the disc. The title really says it all: the collaboration between the premier engineer and the top roots producer of the mid-’70s resulted in definitive King Tubby interpretations of some of Pablo’s deepest rhythms. It also demonstrated conclusively that a studio engineer could be considered as creative as the singers, musicians and visionary producer who made the music. A dub is essentially a remix In the hands of an engineer as good as King Tubby (1941 – 1989) it became an artform, and an incredibly popular one.

For this ground-breaking disc, Pablo assembled a brilliant cast: the Upsetters/Wailers drum and bass duo of Aston "Family Man" Barrett and brother Carlton, guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith, horns-men Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall, Bobby Ellis, Vin Gordon and bassist Robbie Shakespeare. All sessions were recorded by the engineer Errol "ET" Thompson at Randy’s Studio on North Parade. Pablo then took the tapes to King Tubby for mixing. He initially released instrumental, deejay and vocal cuts as 7-inch 45s on his Hot Stuff, Rockers and Pablo International labels, between 1972 and 75, but as the vogue for dub albums exploded in 1976, Pablo compiled twelve of his b-side dubs to make this set.

The centrepiece of the album is "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown", a killer dub version of Jacob Miller’s vocal "Baby I Love You So" which almost single-handedly defined dub for a non-Jamaican audience when it was released as a single by Island Records (UK) in 1975; it also appeared on the company’s massive-selling "This Is Reggae Music" sampler.

Using his custom sliders, Tubby eases Miller’s voice in and out of the mix, adding stabs of guitar and melodica. Carlton Barrett’s explosive snare fills further serve to punctuate the elastic rhythm, which was first cut for producer Herman Chin Loy’s 1973 album Aquarius Dub. Similarly, "Frozen Dub" propelled the Heptones on a recut of their Studio One classic "Love Won’t Come Easy". Hopefully someone, some day, will undertake to present this crucial set in all its glory, with alternate mixes. ~elrockers.org

Tracklist:
1. Keep On Dubbing
2. Stop Them Jah
3. Young Generation Dub
4. Each One Dub
5. 555 Dub St.
6. Brace's Tower Dub
7. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
8. Brace's Tower Dub No. 2
9. Corner Crew Dub
10. Skanking Dub
11. Frozen Dub
12. Satta Dub
13. Black Gunn*
14. I Ruthland Close*
15. 1-2-3 Version*
16. Silent Satta*

Producer: Augustus Pablo
Mixing Engineer: King Tubby & Errol Thompson
Drums: Carlton Barrett
Bass: Robbie Shakespeare & Aston Barrett
Guitar: Chinna
Organ: Augustus Pablo
Piano: Augustus Pablo
Tenor Saxophone: Dirty Harry
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis
Trombone: Vin Gordon
Clavinet: Augustus Pablo
Mixing studio: King Tubby's (Kingston, JA)
Recording studio: Randy's (Kingston, JA)

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