Pick a Dub | ||||
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Remix album by | ||||
Released | 1974 | |||
Genre | Dub | |||
Length | 34:23 | |||
Label | Klik Records | |||
Producer | Keith Hudson | |||
Keith Hudson chronology | ||||
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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.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The album has been critically well received and is regarded as important in Hudson's discography and in the genre of dub music. In 1994, The Wire identified the album as "one of the first dub albums" and described it as a "must-have". [2] Lloyd Bradley, author of This is Reggae Music, suggests that along with King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown , Super Ape and African Dub Chapter Three this album is "one of the supreme heavyweight champion dub sets." [3] Including the album in its 2007 comprehensive series on "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die", The Guardian indicated that "no other dub album can rival Pick-a-Dub's austere sonic qualities." [4] In England's Dreaming, Jon Savage gives the album his "vote for the greatest dub album ever." [5] Allmusic in its review characterized the album as "a seminal work, a landmark in progressive remixing" that is "arguably the crowning achievement of Hudson's career." [6] While arguing by contrast for Hudson's later album Brand , the website brainwashed indicates that Pick a Dub typically "ranks as the pinnacle of his dub releases". [7]
Pick a Dub consisted of remixes, specifically primarily instrumental "riddim" dubs, of earlier material. [3] Though reworked and retitled, Hudson's track list recast earlier songs into new form. The classics "Declaration of Rights" and "Satta Massagana" were recut as "Black Right" and "Satia". [8] The title track, "Pick a Dub", was a dub of Hudson's own composition "S.90 Skank", which had been a hit song for Big Youth. [8] [9] The album focused on the heavy rhythms of bass guitar and drums, with snippets of otherworldly vocals. [4] [8] The Wire identified as among the album's strengths "[s]tuttering melodica, squelching keyboard and guitar chops and a mix which dropped instruments in and out of the sound picture every few bars". [2] Hudson did not use the processed sound effects that later became common in the movement, [8] a lack cited as "refreshing" by Bradley, who noted that such early sets reflected "the remixer's art in its purest form". [3] The overall effect of Hudson's music is described by brainwashed as "uniquely deep and gothic". [7]
The album was recorded with Carlton and Aston Barrett of Bob Marley & The Wailers on drums and bass, with additional music supplied by melodica virtuoso Augustus Pablo. [8] [10] Snippets of vocal tracks included material by Hudson, Horace Andy and Big Youth. [11] It was originally released in 1974 on the Mamba label prior to release by Atra. [5] In 1994, it was reissued by Blood and Fire. [6]
All tracks composed by Keith Hudson
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.
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.
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.
King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown is a dub studio album by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, released in 1976. 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. The album was recorded at Randy's in Kingston, Jamaica, and has been released on several different labels, often with slightly different artworks and track lists.
Marcus Garvey is the third album by reggae artist Burning Spear, released in 1975 on Fox Records in Jamaica and then internationally on Island Records later in the year. The album is named after the Jamaican National Hero and Rastafari movement prophet Marcus Garvey. A dub version of it was released four months later as Garvey's Ghost.
Black Board Jungle, often called Blackboard Jungle Dub, is a studio album by The Upsetters. The album, originally released in 1973 under artist name "Upsetters 14 Dub", was pressed in only 300 copies and issued only in Jamaica.
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.
Rock Steady with Flo & Eddie, also known as Prince Flo & Jah Edward I, is the fifth studio album by Flo & Eddie. Released in 1981, the album consists of rocksteady and reggae music. The album was recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica under the production of Errol Brown, frontman for the British soul band Hot Chocolate.
The Wailers Band is a Jamaican reggae band formed by former members of Bob Marley and the Wailers after Marley's death in 1981. It was led by bassist Aston "Familyman" Barrett until 2016, when he passed the role onto his son, Aston Barrett Jr.
Keith Hudson, was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer. He is known for his influence on the dub movement.
One drop rhythm is a reggae style drum beat.
This Is...Augustus Pablo is a studio album by Augustus Pablo originally released in 1974 and co-written and produced by Pablo's childhood friend and critically acclaimed reggae producer Clive Chin. The album boasts an impressive list of session musicians including Ansel Collins on keyboards and Lloyd Parks and Aston Barrett both on bass guitar. The album was one of the first to showcase Pablo's unique use of the melodica.
Red Sea is a studio album by Augustus Pablo released in 1998, containing material recorded between 1970 and 1973 and was produced by Herman Chin Loy. The music on the album is among the earliest instances of Pablo's revolutionary use of the melodica as a viable musical instrument. Chin Loy is often credited as being an influential figure in the discovery and nurturing of Pablo's talent.
"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.
Basque Dub Foundation, more often known as B D F, started in the early 1990s as studio project by Iñaki Yarritu, a London-based reggae musician originally from the Basque Country. Iñaki moved into music production in the late 1980s, having been previously involved in Reggae since the late 1970s as a radio DJ, journalist and promoter. In their early days BDF toured as a sound system, supporting Mad Professor in the first dub sessions to take place in Spain.
The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style is a 1983 compilation of singles tracks released by Big Youth on his Negusa Nagast label dating back as far as 1973. It followed the similarly-sourced Some Great Big Youth collection. Both albums were released by Heartbeat Records.
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.
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.
His Majestys Dub is a 1983 dub album by King Tubby and Prince Jammy, sometimes credited to Prince Jammy v King Tubbys. It featured Carlton Barrett and Sly Dunbar on drums, Robbie Shakespeare and Aston Barrett on bass guitar, and Ansel Collins on keyboards, among other personnel. The album was produced by Jah Woosh and engineered by King Tubby and Prince Jammy, along with Maxie and frequent collaborator Errol Thompson. The album was recorded at Randy's in Kingston, Jamaica.
Pick a Dub Keith Hudson.
Augustus Pablo, Glen Brown, Joe White and Rue Lloyd are the melodica virtuosos featured on a recent retrospective collection issued in the UK...