Mi Cyaan Believe It (Island, 1982)

*GUEST REVIEW*
I own the Linton Kwesi Johnson anthology double CD, but have mixed views on it.  The dubs are great, but the dub poetry can be a little wearing at times.  Apart from that album, I own very little other dub poetry.  This is, of course, assuming that Prince Far I is classified as toasting as opposed to poetry.  The material on this album is closely correlated with the vocalised dubstep from Kode 9 and related imprints.  Mi Cyaan was recorded at London's Studio 80 by vocalist Michael Smith with Dennis Bovell and LKJ on production.  The roots backdrop is slow and moody and jazzy enough, but it's really the vocals that add the spice here.  Smith is a slow and deliberate poet who really shines when he draws out his lines for as long as possible.  He haunts you, the way that Daddi Gee still does, with a roots-based chant that probably belongs on a Jamaican Ian Paisley.  At a faster pace, he is less successful and recalls Benjamin Zephaniah's weaker output.  Now if only Michael Smith had appeared on Jackanory!

- ragudave