Before you begin reading (or skimming for that matter), keep in mind that I'm fairly new to dub music. So, my opinion may be no use to you at all. I'm covering this album because this is the first dub album I've ever listened to, and I feel like I should give my "first impression" on my recent--discovery? The term "dub" itself was bothering me; so many people were blindly comparing it to artists like Tim Hecker and Pocahaunted. What the--how can Tim Hecker be considered dub? And after all of the pot-headed musings on what "dub really is maaaaaaaaan," I decided to skip all of the comparisons and base my opinion on what I think about it, which is what I should always do instead of listening to other people's descriptions.
Dub is an offspring of reggae music, and was originally made to make instrumental revisions of existing songs. However, the process wasn't that simplistic: the instrumental recordings would then be manipulated, and have the rhythm and bass emphasized. Dub was used to make, sort of a photocopy of another song, but it would be distinct enough to be its own song. Hence, dub. Dub influenced a lot of artists later on, especially in the dance and techno field. One band I can point out that sound very dub-influenced are The Slits. If you've heard their 1979 opus Cut, the influence is very prominent. But how will you know it what sounds like if you haven't heard dub yet? Well, that's what I'm here for.
Dub Specialist's 17 Dub Shots From Studio One was my introduction to dub music, and it was a great starting point for me. It had a lot of qualities to it that I could initially enjoy because they reminded me of artists like Sun Araw, Ducktails, later-era Pocahaunted, but it had shown me the bare bones of dub, without any hipster-tinged flavors added to it. You can't blame it either, it was 1995.
I would say this album is a prime example of dub music, mainly because it sounds exactly like its genre's description. Mid-tempo, jazzy, and tropical instrumentals with the rhythmic parts emphasized. However, the bass isn't emphasized to the point where it's overpowering the mix (except the final track "Depth Charge"), in fact there are some tracks on here that are a bit trebly ("Green Light" for example). The songs on this album follow a structure: the guitars and keyboards chime in quickly and fade out from the echo and reverb while the beats continue. This combination makes these 17 songs very funky and undeniably catchy.
There may be one thing that could deter one from listening to this though: it's a bit formulaic, and by that, I mean nothing will seem out of the ordinary on the album. A guitar riff or keyboard melody may grab your attention simply because of its unusual or catchy melody, but the tempo will stay the same and the songs will always branch off of the same idea. Although this may not be a bad thing; some people do enjoy predictable music, but you could grow tired of this considering it's over fifty minutes in length.
To generalize my point, this is a fantastic album. It's very uplifting and will probably get you in a nostalgic mood, because tracks like "Dub It Easy" would be suitable as a soundtrack to crime films of the 70s and and 80s. There's not one song on here that gets bland or uneventful. It's even safe to say that some of these are delectable, because the grooves on "Starring Dub" and "Queen of the Dub" would taste great as a side to your tenderloin steak and vanilla milkshake. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for a good place in dub to start.
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