Releasing dub versions of recent hits (if not whole albums) is, of course, a Jamaican tradition. And being the students of reggae that
UB40 were, they dutifully followed that tradition with their second album. The results were middling, though you had to admire the group's approach: Rather than merely lift out the vocals and tinker with the bass, they rewrote vast tracts of the album. Ultimately, there's enough excruciatingly bad Jamaican dub out there already, and
UB40's contribution to the pile, however well intentioned, did nobody any favors. However, it was a sign of their huge U.K. popularity that even the dub version of
Present Arms became a Top 40 hit. This was certainly the only time a dub album has (or probably ever will) troubled the U.K. chart compilers. ~ Alex Ogg