It's now 2023, which has always been the year of production on Echo Beach releases, and number 23 is the latest installment in the King Size compilation series Dub. The cover of King Size Dub 23 (Echo Beach) is one of the most beautiful of the series: So here we see the legendary Echo Beach through the eyes of the Slovenian artist ROK, who also worked for Ariwa. Young and old of all backgrounds celebrate the Sound System under palm trees, and the house saint, King Tubby, leans smiling in the doorway. So what does the sound bring? First of all, a number of old acquaintances: The noise shapers, which were actually dissolved, surprisingly open with a lively one Dub-House track. Right after that it gets deep with Mexican Dubwiser, one of the most interesting current label acts. With a humorous and effective version of JJ Cale's coke classic "Cocaine", sung by Earl 16, the first of numerous cover versions is heard. A good half of the tracks are interpretations of (mainly) pop, new wave and some reggae classics, a field to which the label has devoted itself with particular dedication in the last ten years. It is understandable that this maximalism provokes certain signs of weariness and wear and tear on the consumer side. But at this beach party, the celebrities mingle freely with the ordinary folk, and it's worth listening to the party talk more closely. With "Armagideon Time" Willie Williams' timeless apocalyptic is once again updated. Seanie T and Al's versiondubb is based melodically on that of The Clash, Rob Smith's Onedrop Remix leads him rhythmically back to his Jamaican roots on the one hand, but doesn't shy away from string pizzicato. The Clash raise their heads once more with "Guns of Brixton", minimalistically reduced to drums&bass by Mannaseh, and recorded by the Swiss Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, who have developed their very own kind of reggae populism (and probably drilled the flea with the cover versions into their ears for the first time in their Hamburg label). At this point, what was simply too much of a good thing and sometimes mediocre over the length of the album is properly portioned. The musical highlight is the version by Dub Syndicate's "Mafia" feat. Bim Sherman, a tune that doesn't seem to go far wrong. In addition, Misled Convoy meets Uncle Fester on Acid not only provide the most bottomless dropout moment, but also the connection to the sister-in-law On-U-Sound label. Finally, for highlights of their own kind, author Alan Moore with a Spoken Word contribution and Kid Loco with a version of Kraftwerk's "Robots", the latter a tasty foretaste of upcoming events on this beach. A chilling counterexample is "Dub to be Wild” by RE-201 ft. Awa Fall. A Steppenwolf im Dub-Pelz, even a Zion track remix can't save this failed joke. And Paolo Baldini simply chose a somewhat weak track for his collaboration with LAB. Otherwise, Volume 23 is among the highlights of the longest-serving Dubseries in German-speaking countries. Not just because of the magic of numbers, but thanks to the broad spectrum of voices and opinions and a just-right balance between the familiar and the new, experiments and mainstream maneuvers. More women in the line-up than on the cover would be desirable for the future. And fewer rock songs.
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King Size Dub 23
3 responses to “King Size Dub 23 "
In this case, I like the cover best.
And the versions of most of them that have been brewed umpteen times DubVersions I know now all in better versions. "Mafia" with Bim Sherman is and remains - at least for me - in the "Original Version" from Dub Syndicate are untouchable on “Strike The Balance” and any attempt to top that is almost megalomaniac and while that's a bit of an exaggeration on my part, it's at least a mistake. But as we have learned, im Dub : “Each bug is a new version. So, do what you want, but I don't have to celebrate everything in the same way.
For me, a guiding principle from Adrian Sherwood is crucial! "At first you need a good riddim, before you can make a good dub’ ( A guiding principle that he sometimes couldn’t quite keep to himself, because not everyone was born with making good riddims as a matter of course ).
Good riddims come - for me as a reggae fan - but always from Jamaica and the "relatives" in England and of course also from Africa!
Which brings me to the last sentence in the review, which – for me clearly – sums it up :
“….. less rock songs !” ( and especially pop songs )
I also wonder who is responsible for most of the painter's foils that were laid here as a rhythm carpet, since it was probably not enough for a really well-woven carpet.
Overall, I have the feeling that you want to try certain people as well Dub "Tasty" to make that otherwise associated with reggae and Dub have nothing to do.
Yes, what the heck. Everything I write here can also be wrong, but that's how I feel about it. I don't really have to turn it off, but every now and then something like anger overcomes me. There are many things that make me angry here on earth (sometimes I am even angry myself) but that makes me reggae or even Dub get angry is then clearly off topic.
Rob Smith's "Police in Helicopter" is where I get the most angry. It annoys me a lot, but not always. His "definition" of rhythm really repels me, especially in this case. I could now enumerate a small “shit parade”. From the "worst" to the least "bad" but that would be my private nonsense and actually there is no such thing as bad music but this compilation disappointed me.
I am firmly convinced that "Tim BenzCo-Musik" is not a foundation for Dub has POINT !!! And if it's "Cocain" then it's from Dillinger! Basta !
(When I didn't know any reggae, I found Erich's “Cocain” quite nice, but I don't necessarily want to go back to the time when I didn't know any reggae).
Do not get me wrong. Reggae went to my head when it was ska. I now look at music from a very high horse. I developed a real “aggrogance” towards all music that isn't somehow rooted in Africa (there are always exceptions...) and for me too “the prophet doesn't count for anything in my own country”. German music bores me to death. And also everything that Germans usually like to listen to. It's very general now, I admit, but I'm in such a mode of accounting right now. There are good German musicians, but they're only good because they don't make German music. Oh sorry, I'm just upset. Among other things, because at the Summerjam - if at all - only reggae is played.
Yes, Kabaka Pyramid also sounded like reggay to me.
So long………………… lemmi
I'm disappointed too, I'm surprised that such a disc gets four stars here, I would give it two at the most!
I'll admit that I didn't even manage to listen through all the songs, too inappropriate for my listening pleasure!
The cover is actually one of the best of all...
Can't get any worse!