Roots Archives Forum

Lately I have been getting into dub records by Inner Circle, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and the like. While I really enjoy these classic dub albums I was surprised to find that most of the songs were only 2 to 4 mins long. I have heard extended dub remixes of Bob Marley, and others by Sly and Robbie but that is about it. Do they make 7 to 10 min long dub songs? Are there any albums or artists that specialize in the extended dub?

a couple good ones come to mind:

Junior Reid - If I Dub Pt 1 & 2
4th Street Orchestra - Rowing Down the River

Thanks, the Junior Reid sounds great and I will have to find the other one somewhere. I love the long playing dub.

Jammy's dubs are often extended, for instance the dub of Born Free by Michael Rose on Attack 12" is a good one.Also worth checking a cd called Jammy in Roots for more extended dubs.
Most early,classic dubs are only 2/3 minutes long because that is usually the length of the original vocal track from which the dub is then made e.g King Tubby. Its only later in the 70s, with the disco mix or 12" single that the length of the dubs increased.Check the Greensleeves label which often had vocal+DJ+dub on one 12".
Also worth checking Black Foundation in Dub, the Jack Ruby set, which has vocal tracks with DJ and extended dubs.
Some Perry tunes like Reggae Music by Doctor Alimantado and Rasta Train by raphael Green/Alimantado also clock in at 10 minutes plus.
If youre in to digital dub thats when the tunes began to stretch out even further for instance Alpha & Omega are a band who have extended dubs on their lps.
Hope this helps
Bliss Out Rasta

Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess it makes sense that the early dubs were short, and they sound great when paired with the original vocal tracks but something about really being able to get into an extended groove is so sweet. I will definitely start to track down your suggestions.

Lord! Wish i could recall just where I heard a ten minute dub..i know i have but dunno what it was.

Most dubs would have to be less than 4mins so they can fit on the Bside of a 7inch.

What about 12inch singles like, for an example, Ranking Dread - Love a dub. I dont own it, but I think it has a discomix on one side (vocal then dub) and another version (same riddim) on the other side. Is the version filling the b side, like 7 mins long?

And Ive seen 12inch singles with a discomix on one side and a standard length dub on the otherside. What a waste of space! Is there a reason for this?


And as a side question, please could somebody tell me the maximum playing time of a side of a 7inch 45, 12inch 45, 10inch 45 and 12inch 33rpm record? I cant seem to find out from googling. Thanks

Studio 1 and some Joe Gibbs 12" 45s are also good for extended dubs (Studio 1 because some of the rhythms are pretty short so get run 3 times instead of 2). On maximum length of sides, I've seen rock 7" 45s that run for around 7 mins, or in the old days EPs which could have 3x3 minute tracks a side, and you can get up to about 30 mins on one side of a 12" 33 rpm but the quality/sound level gets fairly poor by that stage. However most reggae albums don't seem to last much more than 15 mins a side (5x3 minute tracks).

Black Roots, Black Slate and Talisman are three bands that have extended vocals/dubs.Some tracks by Talisman like Dole Age for instance are 10 minutes plus. Also worth checking Misty in Roots Live at the Counter-Eurovision Lp most of the tracks are 6 minutes plus with some tracks like Judas Iscariot clock in at 11 minutes or so.

This thread could be of interest to you;

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