King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1976 | |||
Studio | King Tubby's Studio, Kingston 11, Jamaica | |||
Genre | Dub | |||
Length | 31:26 | |||
Label | Yard International/Clocktower Records | |||
Producer | Horace Swaby | |||
Augustus Pablo chronology | ||||
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King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown is a dub studio album by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, released in 1976. [1] It features Carlton Barrett on drums, Robbie Shakespeare and Aston Barrett on bass guitar, and Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar. Pablo produced the album and played melodica, piano, organ and clavinet. All sessions with the musicians were recorded at Randy's studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and then Pablo took the tapes to King Tubby for mixing. [2] The album has been released on several different labels, often with slightly different artworks and track lists.
The title song is a dub version of the Jacob Miller song "Baby I Love You So", also produced by Pablo. [3] [4] It was released as a 45 rpm single in 1974 on the Mango label (MS-2001), with "Baby I Love You So" as the B-side. [5] A distinctly different mix of the song with vocals and dub can be found on the Jacob Miller and Augustus Pablo album, Who Say Jah No Dread , released in 1992. [6] [7] [8]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music | [10] |
All Music Guide: The Experts' Guide (3rd ed., 1997) | [11] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
MusicHound World , Craig Harris | [13] |
MusicHound World , David Poole | [14] |
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [15] |
Rolling Stone | [16] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [17] |
King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown was ranked 5th best reggae album and 470th overall in the 1994 book All Time Top 1000 Albums , for which Colin Larkin collected votes from professional musicians and critics, as well as from the record buying public. [18] The album was listed in the 1999 book The Rough Guide: Reggae: 100 Essential CDs. [2] In 2007, The Guardian included it in their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die". [19] In 2022, Treble magazine named King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown one of the ten essential remix albums. [20] It was chosen as the second best reggae album of all time by Mojo magazine in their 2024 list of "The 50 Best Reggae Albums Ever". [21]
Colin Larkin wrote that the album "features the mixing talents of King Tubby let loose on some of Pablo's finest rhythming". [18] Steve Barrow claimed that King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown "is the first of all dub CDs to acquire for any collection". [2] The Guardian opined that it "represents a pivotal moment in modern music". [19] MusicHound World wrote: "There were dub albums before King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown, [...] but none had the impact of this recording". [13]
The title track was ranked number 266 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [22]
Track listing taken from Clocktower Records LP CT0085
All tracks composed by Augustus Pablo
Side one
Side two
2003 Deluxe edition bonus tracks
Horace Michael Swaby, also known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist that was active from the 1970s until his death.
Osbourne Ruddock, better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s.
East of the River Nile is a 1977 reggae studio album by Jamaican musician Augustus Pablo. An instrumental album, East of the River Nile showcases Pablo's skill on the melodica, and various other keyboards. Also featured are studio musicians famous as members of the Wailers, Bob Marley's backing band.
Jacob Miller was a Jamaican reggae artist and Rastafari from Mandeville, Jamaica. His first recording session was with the producer Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd in the late 1960s. While pursuing a solo career, he became the lead singer for Inner Circle, a Jamaican roots reggae band. Miller recorded and toured with Inner Circle before he died in a car crash in early 1980 at age 27.
Lloyd Woodrowe James, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer, sound system owner and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub master at King Tubby's recording studio. His dubs are known for their clear sound and use of effects.
The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, Right Time, produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 release, Deeper Roots.
Aston Francis Barrett, CD, often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, was a Jamaican musician and Rastafarian. He was best known as the bandleader of Bob Marley's backing band, as well as co-producer of the albums, and the man in charge of the overall song arrangements.
Carlton Barrett was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet pattern on the hi-hat, and for his dazzling drum introductions, Barrett's prolific recordings with Marley have been internationally celebrated. He is credited with popularising the One Drop rhythm.
The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s and 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time. The band's name derived from the record shop that Lee had run in the late 1960s, Agro Sounds. Alumni of the band included many musicians who later went on to make names for themselves in reggae music. Legends such as Jackie Mittoo, Sly and Robbie, Tommy McCook, and Aston Barrett were all involved with the band at one point or another. Other regular members included Carlton "Santa" Davis, Earl "Chinna" Smith, George "Fully" Fullwood, Ansel Collins, Bernard "Touter" Harvey, Tony Chin, Bobby Ellis, and Vin Gordon. The band recorded Lee's most popular output from the 1970s, with the instrumental B-sides of Lee's single releases on the Jackpot and Justice labels generally credited to The Aggrovators and mixed by King Tubby.
Richard Hall was a Jamaican saxophonist who worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh and Burning Spear. Nicknamed "Dirty Harry," he also starred in the film Rockers alongside Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace.
"King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" is a dub instrumental track by reggae musician Augustus Pablo, first released under the title "King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown" as a single in 1974 on Island Records sublabel Mango Records. It is a dub version of the Jacob Miller song "Baby I Love You So", also produced by Pablo.
Carlton "Santa" Davis is a musician from Jamaica, primarily known for his drumming with bands such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Aggrovators, Soul Syndicate and Roots Radics. He has worked with reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Big Youth, The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Andrew Tosh, Wailing Souls, Ini Kamoze, Big Mountain, Michael Rose, and Ziggy Marley.
Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Firehouse is a dub studio album by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, released in 1980. It features Mickey "Boo" Richards, Leroy Wallace and Albert Malawi on drums, Robbie Shakespeare on bass guitar, and Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar. The backing band is credited as the Rocking All Stars. Pablo produced the album and played piano, organ and melodica. The album was recorded at King Tubby's Studio. "Fire House" is a reference to the Waterhouse section of Kingston, where King Tubby's studio was located. Prince Jammy also made contributions to this album but goes uncredited.
Freddie McKay was a Jamaican singer, whose career spanned the rocksteady and conscious spiritual roots reggae eras.
Rockers is the soundtrack to the 1978 film of the same name. It was released in 1979 by Mango Records and includes some of the songs heard in the film by Jamaican reggae musicians such as Junior Murvin, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Jacob Miller. In 2024, Rolling Stone magazine named Rockers the 52nd greatest soundtrack of all time.
Pick a Dub is a 1974 album by Jamaican producer and musician Keith Hudson. Critically well received, it is widely regarded as an important work in the dub music genre which evolved out of reggae. Featuring remixes of earlier material, it focuses on heavy drums and bass guitar, with echoing vocals to underscore the intense percussive rhythm. Carlton and Aston Barrett and Augustus Pablo contributed music, while vocal fragments include Hudson, Horace Andy and Big Youth. The album was originally released under the labels of Mamba and Atra, with a 1994 reissue by Blood and Fire.
Soul Syndicate, originally called the Rhythm Raiders, were one of the top reggae session bands in Jamaica from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.
King David's Melody is a reggae compilation album by Augustus Pablo, originally released in 1983 on his Rockers record label.
Original Rockers is a reggae album by Augustus Pablo and is a compilation of singles, all recorded between 1972 and 1975. It was originally released in 1979 on Greensleeves Records and was compiled by journalist and photographer Dave Hendley.
Conquering Lion is the debut album by Jamaican musician Yabby You and his backing group The Prophets. It was released in 1975 on Jackson's label Prophets. In the UK the album was released in 1975 under the title Ramadam or Ram-A-Dam, and had a different track listing.