A favorite DJ during the '70s and a pioneering dancehall producer during the '80s,
Jah Thomas supervised some great sessions during the early '80s. The legendary
Roots Radics band was associated with his Midnight Rock label, and the King Tubby's Hidden Treasure session was one of the best they produced. Recorded by the crack band --
Style Scott on drums, Flabba Holt on bass,
Dwight Pinkney on guitar, and
Bingy Bunny on rhythm guitar, plus Steely Johnson on organ and
Dean Fraser on saxophone -- then mixed down by
King Tubby himself, these tracks have the skeletal feel and lurching rhythms of early-'80s dancehall, including highlights like "King Tubby's Gold Dub" and "King Tubby's Grown Dub." A bare few here ("Pearl Dub," "King Tubby's Hidden Treasure") even anticipate the heavy, digital drum'n'bass beginning to come to the fore in Jamaican music. A great session, released by Trojan as part of a welcome reissue campaign. ~ John Bush