Is It Rolling Bob? Dub Versions (RAS/Sanctuary, 2005)

If Is It Rolling Bob? was a release for a specific niche market, then Is It Rolling Bob? Dub Versions is a niche lover's paradise.  Was the original really so spectacular that it warranted a dub version?  In a word, no.  The music in the first album was straightforward, benign lovers rock and light roots with no aspirations to step outside of the box (except perhaps for "I and I Survive," whose sound was questionably labeled reggae).  Dub music, on the other hand, is -- or at least should be -- by nature edgy and experimental.  This album is neither.  I assume there is indeed a niche market for it; otherwise, its release smacks of greed and opportunism.  It plays like elevator music -- thin, lightweight, and completely ignorable.  Well, almost completely.  The part that isn't ignorable draws attention to itself because of the annoying mix that over-saturates the echoing effects on tracks like "Knockin' on Heaven's Door Dub" and "Lay Lady Lay Dub."  Apart from the somewhat edgier sound of "Maggie's Farm Dub" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues Dub," the rest is bland and unsubstantial.