CD Review

"Dub Side of the Moon"

Easy Star All Stars

Easy Star Records

Ted Boothroyd

Let's say you're a huge fan of Pink Floyd's mega-seller Dark Side of the Moon, and you have a little money to spend. You have a choice. You could buy the Special 30th Anniversary SACD/CD Edition of that very album, with 5.1 Surround Sound, new art and 20 page booklet; or you could buy "Dub Side of the Moon", by a group you never heard of before.

What would you gain with choice #1? First, from your Significant Other, a frown and a question that in its spoken form is "Do you seriously need another copy of that?" and unspoken form is, "Are you really that much of a geek?" Second, the same old music. That's it; that's all you get.

Now, what would you gain with choice #2? First, from your SO, a curious but non-committal glance that says, "Okay, at least it's different." Second, distinctive music, although familiar tunes, lyrics, and song structures. Third, a renewed interest in an old favorite based on the successful execution of a brilliant idea, namely a creative reggae re-interpretation by talented musicians. Fourth, four bonus dub tracks. That's it, that's what you get.

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Although the closest Ted Boothroyd has come to a personal association with the Caribbean was to have a Trinidadian grandfather, which Ted didn't really have a lot to do with, he happily took in Harry Belafonte's calypso hits in the '50s and became a huge reggae fan in 1969 when Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" hit big in Canada. Ted has reviewed books on Caribbean music for The Beat, writes album reviews for other periodicals, and co-hosts a reggae and world music radio show in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on Canada's east coast.