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| This sliver of time, from 1978
to 1985, break off only a piece of Sly & Robbie's three-decade career,
on this release. Sly & Robbie – names in reggae that speak a thousand
riddims - spent more time in the studio, in this case at their Taxi Productions
House, during these years. And this is a double-disc, which goes to say
how many more works have been the result of this duo sticking and working
together for so long. "Riddim" is a good taste of their foundational
days in creating unique sounds in reggae, dub and dancehall.
On this LP, Disc One starts off with such an unmistakable melody, that you can hear the crooning of Gregory Isaacs beforehand, but on this “Soon Forward Dub,” a cut produced by themselves, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare are the focus. In other words – the DRUM and the BASS. As that bass line Robbie pumps swells the speakers silly, you can’t help but think that this is one of the duo’s most memorable songs. Almost all of these instrumentals, or versions, or dubs (any term applies here really), are familiar ones, including “Crazy Baldheads” which needs no further explaining. You hear that title, and the tune immediately sinks into your mind - this time minus Bob Marley’s vocals of course. On “79 Rock,” the reverb is turned on, making the organ-chords, horns and everything else except for Sly & Robbie’s steady drum and solid bass, float and stretch into the atmosphere beyond the travels of the smoke from your spliff! In fact, many tracks get the ‘King Tubby’ treatment of crucial dubwise effects, exemplifying to the world of electronica fans – providing they’re lucky enough to know about releases such as this – that nothing you’re doing or listening to today, is new. On Disc Two, again twenty tracks strong, some standouts include “African Roots,” “Burial Dub” and “Good Rocking Dub,” all classic riddims that are left alone to enjoy a bit of freedom from the singer or deejay, who would no doubt disturb the riddim’s peace. On here, the focus is on Sly and Robbie, masters of the drum and bass, both taking precedence over any artist. With “African Free Up” and “Stone Age Dub” still to unravel even handsomer riddims, in a rub-a-dub style of course, I’ll just have to surrender prematurely to catch these ‘Riddim Twins’ in the flesh on tour sometime soon. Sly &
Robbie 25th Anniversary Tour
Mr. Marlon, "Musical
Murder" columnist of The Beat Magazine, is the dancehall reviews
selector, as well as the annual guest editor for The Beat's dancehall
issue. He's occasionally the digi DJ under another alias, DJ Pelau, and
he's been a music consultant for DMX Music's reggae format for the past
five years. Outside of the reggae world, he's a staff writer for hiphopsite.com,
and contributing writer to magazines such as The Source, Complex, Upscale
and other web sites such as Earplug.cc, HipHopdx.com and more if you can
catch him! |
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"Riddim:
The Best of Sly & Robbie in Dub 1978 to 1985" 
