The second installment in Lloyd "Bullwackies" Barnes' series of instrumental dub albums contains dub mixes of rhythms voiced elsewhere by such singers as
Max Romeo, Barrington Spence, and
Junior Delahaye.
Delahaye contributes drums, keyboards, and drum machine programming on these tracks, and the bass parts are played by
Leroy Sibbles, leader of the legendary
Heptones.
Sibbles, in fact, brings several
Heptones compositions with him -- "Gonna Fight Dub" is a cut of "Fight It to the Top," and "Sea of Dub" is a dub version of the classic "Sea of Love." These mixes are, unfortunately, almost completely without vocals. The exception is a great version of
Horace Andy's "Lonely Woman," rendered here as "Lonely Dub," which includes a few shreds of his fine singing. But as instrumental dub goes, this is top-notch stuff; Barnes was in top form as a producer during this period, and the flavors of his studio creations are rich and varied, though deeply rooted in the traditional values of golden-era reggae. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson