VARIOUS ARTISTS. AFRICAN DUB ALL-MIGHTY CHAPTER ONE, CONSIDERED (1975): More and less than what it seems

Although the legendary Jamaican producer Joe Gibbs has his name prominent on this -- the first of a series of four dub albums released under the African Dub name -- it's actually less about him and more about the jigsaw puzzle of mixed together contributors who Errol Thompson arranged.

Pulled off the shelves at random for consideration, Chapter One is a reminder of just how elementally simple early dub was before those who followed the originators starting mixing the bass heavily in the foreground.

Here are sharp chipping guitar chords, heavily rhythmic piano, subtle percussion and, yes, that distinctive bass sound.

And the musicians at various places in these 11 mash-up tracks (and one remix of African Dub as East Africa) were the cream of Jamaica's studio musicians: Tyrone Downie, Earl Lindo, Tony Chin, Carlton Davis, Earl Smith and probably Sly'n'Robbie, Ansel Collins and others.

The instrumental album pulls elements out from various artists' singles and album tracks (including material by Big Youth, Jackie Mittoo, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown and more) to create stand-alone dub tracks which are pared right back.

Although originally released in '75 and much sought after by collectors for decades, the whole series of African Dub albums were repeatedly reissued on vinyl in the mid Nineties and again in the 2000s and 2013.

You can also hear this album at bandcamp, Spotify and other digital outlets.

And it's worth hearing for just how sharp and distilled the sounds are.

Only those with an encyclopaedic knowledge of early reggae would be able to identify all the elements used, but there are always helpful people in the world.

So here below is what is said at bandcamp about each of the tracks.

An album well worth discovering.

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Elsewhere occasionally revisits albums -- classics sometimes, but more often oddities or overlooked albums by major artists -- and you can find a number of them starting here.

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1. "African Dub" and track 12, "East Africa" are both recuts of "Love Is Not A Gamble", originally recorded by the Techniques at Treasure Isle.
2. "Universal Dub" is a medley of Jackie Mittoo's "Who Done It" (Studio One), Burning Spear's "Slavery Days" (Jack Ruby/Fox), Mackie Mittoo's "Hot Milk" (Studio One), and Ken Boothe's "My Heart is Gone" (Studio One).
3. "Midnight Movie" is a medley including Delroy Wilson's "I Don't Know Why (Studio One) (often known as "Movie Star"), Errol Dunkley's "Black Cinderella" (Fe Mi Time), and Sound Dimension's "Drum Song" (Studio One).
4. "Ghetto Skank" is a staight version of Dennis Brown's vocal of "My Kind", an original from Best of Denis Brown (Joe Gibbs).
5. "Lime Key Rock" versions Dennis Brown's "Poor Side Of Town", again from Best of Dennis Brown. The original rhythm is Ken Boothe's "When I Fall In Love" (Studio One).
6. "Lovers Serenade" versions Dennis Brown's "Play Girl", an original from Best of Dennis Brown.
7. "Treasure Dub" is a remake of the Jamaicans' "Ba Ba Boom" (Treasure Isle).
8. "Schooling The Beat" is a remake ob Bob Andy's "Unchained" (Studio One).
9. "Campus Rock" versions Dennis Brown's "Let Me Live", again from Best of Dennis Brown, with a drum and bass that sound strikingly similar to the militant "Yabby You" rhythm (Prophets).
10. "Half Ounce" is a recut of the Soul Vendors' Studio One instrumental "Psychedelic Rock", usually known as ""Rockford Rock". According to Jean Scrivener, the song is actually an adaptation of Celia Cruz's 1948 mambo hit "El Cumban Chero". Joe Gibbs' production of Big Youth's "Chucky No Lucky" and "Waterhouse Rock" as well as Trinity's "Kingston Two Rock" use this rhythm track.
11. "Worrier" is a remake of the Soul Syndicate's "Riot", first cut for Keith Hudson.
12. "East Africa" is an alternate mix of track 1.