how many great tracks on your dub album??

[sean]

i once talked to another bloke who loves dub, and we agreed that on average, youll maybe find 4 out of ten dub tracks on any album really light your fuse. you know? example...dangerous dub..tubby and radics...tracks 3, 4, 5, and 6 are excellent. the rest not quite as good.scientist mts space invaders..tracks 1, 4, 7, are the best by far for me. how many great tracks on your dub albums??

[Dub out of Poland]

Shall I feel provoked?


Usually it's 10 out of 10...
Relax, it's just my dub mania:D

[leggo rocker]

I have to admit that I rarely dislike any tracks on the better dub LPs. Some are obviously far better than others but most are very solid tunes.

It's the vocal LPs that tend to be a little patchy for me. Having said that, there are actually HUNDREDS of vocal LPs I know that have 100% quality all the way through.

I guess the problem of 'filler' tracks on LPs is worse where the LP is a 'manufactured' or 'contrived' release, put together from various sessions and tapes. Whereas LPs more obviously made from tracks that were produced to go onto a given LP seem to have more depth of quality.

For me dub LPs like Leggo Dub and African Anthem are 100% and vocal LPs like Robin Hood by Barrington just don't have ANY poor tracks at all.

[sean]

good point there leggo rocker.but certain tracks are usually far, far better than others on all my albums really.

[leggo rocker]

I guess there's always going to be a personal stand out tune, or two, on each LP.

Like Dematerialise on Space Invaders. One of the best early 80s dubs ever.

But the rest of the LP, even without this track, would still be a classic.

I think the problem of patchy LPs is far worse in other genres where 'filling' was rampant as so many bands and artists struggled (with drugs and alcohol and the general playboy lifestyle - probably) to produce ten quality tracks per LP.

This, for me, is one of the beauties of Reggae music. Times were very hard for these artists and yet they produced literally thousands of brilliant tracks.

[Guest]

well! I'd save 3 of 10 tracks on a dub album... but I've been listening dub for years and years. I guess that when you're a rookie and quite new to dub, it's easier to enjoy it all. when I was younger I built a serious collection of tubby's stuff...it's quite dusty now .

[Jah Glu]

hmm...weird question, but i think its very hard to say, because all dub albums are so different, but i can definetely follow you sean, i just cant decide.

[jahganja7]

to me it seems like the dub tracks are always killer, like leggo said, some better than others. i tend to think weaker songs inna roots are the watered down lover songs or unnecessary cover song out of place on a killer cultural record. or ones where the singer is obviously trying to just fill out the record. with the dub, the bass and drum is always there and always pleasing to iman ears...

[Dub out of Poland]

I can't agree with Oras...

I played dub for years now and nothing really changed - I still love all or nearly all tracks on dub albums. You have to just be in the right mood for dub and for me the mood is always right:)

And with King Tubby - it's a great mistake to underestimate him. There was a time that I thought that his dubs were too traditional for my taste, but later I just appreciated his work - not only roots-wise, but also in a dancehall style. His music is nearly always great, even for experienced dub maniacs:D

[kalcidis]

For me dub is often a similar experience as jazz. I listen to the whole albums as they often are an experience as an entirety. When I put on a dub album I rarely put on a specific track.

Each to his own though.