|
Earth Juice Volume 1 (Waveform, 1998) I really wish some of these modern so-called dub musicians would go back to the roots of the genre: roots itself. Unlike hip-hop, which has grown out of reggae into something entirely its own, dub should be grounded firmly in reggae. It should simply because this is where it's at its best, but some of the artists on this dub compilation have forgotten their history. Chris Zippel's "Pulse Dub" and Doof's "Baba, We Love Dub So" are especially boring, repetitive, generic ambient electronica with no hint of reggae in them. Even Qualia's "Plasma," which starts out as laid-back, airy dub, turns into sterile electronica after the first half. I should've expected this, however, as Waveform Records is an electronica label. Not all of this modern "dub" is bad, though -- P.R.O.M.'s "Hypnotized" is funky and catchy for what it is. About half of Earth Juice is indeed reggae-infused dub, with Human's "Home" and its heavy, funky bass and bluesy guitar easily being the best (despite an annoying female voice) track and Adelphi's "Jah Weybridge" and Small Axe's "Witch Doctor" being OK. But damnit, where are Augustus Pablo, Harry Mudie, Lee Perry, and King Tubby when you need them? |
|
Track Listing |
 |