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21st Century Dub (ROIR, 1991 [orig. released 1980]) East meets West on this masterful set to often overlooked when considering the best dub albums of all time. Japanese percussionist Pecker (often a collaborator with the Yellow Magic Orchestra) approached none other than Bob Marley with the idea of doing a dub/reggae album, and although Marley doesn't appear on this album, he hooked Pecker up with some of the best musicians in Jamaica (including Sly & Robbie, Augustus Pablo, Rico Rodriguez, Mikey Chung, Carlton and Aston Barrett, and Earl "Wire" Lindo), culminating in this stunning showcase. While word is that there were some disagreements on how it should sound, you can't discern any discord when listening to 21st Century Dub. It's hard to say anymore that any music -- reggae or otherwise -- sounds truly unique, but this is about as unique as you can find in the reggae genre, even 20 years after it was recorded. Though largely performed by Jamaican musicians, I'd have to attribute the on-of-a-kind sound -- slow and brooding with jazz/funk overtones and an off-kilter sensibility (listen to the falsetto "singing" on "Pecker Power Pt. 1," which sounds unsettlingly like a Japanese version of South Park's Mr. Hankey) -- to the quirky Pecker. Despite the occasional eccentricities ("Dr. Dr. Humanity" and "Pecker Power Pt. 2" can't really be classified as reggae, but rather avant-garde percussion mumbo jumbo), 21st Century is surprisingly restrained and pensive -- this is music for cloud watching or cross country trekking. From the jazzy horn of "Mystical Cosmic Vibration" to the ethereal vocals of "Dub Jam Rock" and "Kylyn" to the dark (despite Mr. Hankey) beat of "Pecker Power Pt. 1," these tracks do what all great dubs should do: transport you to another reality. And, though often heavy in tone, nothing here truly gets dull -- the closest being the familiar remakes of Bob Marley tunes "Jamming" and "Concrete Jungle." But these covers don't hold a candle to original material like "Beggars Suite," "Mystical Electro Harakiri," and the funky "International Orchitis." I'd consider 21st Century Dub a must-have for any dub fan, great or small. |
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