The fourth and final volume in the
African Dub All-Mighty
series was originally released in 1979, and like the previous three discs it features rhythm tracks laid down by such famous session men as
Sly Dunbar
,
Robbie Shakespeare
Lloyd Parks
, and
Franklin "Bubblers" Waul
, most of whom were already known as members of
the Revolutionaries
and the
We the People
band, but who recorded at
Joe Gibbs
' studio as
the Professionals
.
Errol Thompson
ran the board for all four collections of dub mixes, and while this fourth installment isn't quite as inspired as the third, it's also a bit more interesting and adventurous than the first. Some of these mixes are two or three times removed from the vocal tracks that were originally released --
"Iron Gate,"
for example, is a dub mix of a recut (by
Althea & Donna
) of
the Heptones
' proto-slack rocksteady classic
"Fattie Fattie"
;
"Fashion One"
is a remix of
Dennis Brown
's remake of
Alton Ellis
' 1960s classic
"Girl I've Got a Date."
Everything here is worth a listen, though
"Power Pack"
(based on the instrumental
"Drum Song"
by
Sound Dimension
) is a bit tedious and would have benefited from a more aggressive dub treatment. Recommended overall. ~ Rick Anderson