Search and Destroy: King Tubby

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so go ahead and enlighten me .

― anthony, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh no... you enlighten ME. Who the fuck is [are] King Tubby?

― JM, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Fat BOys covering King Diamond?

― Mike Hanley, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Only have the one King Tubby release so far, Foundation of Dub (cred. to King Tubby and the Aggrovators, and available from Trojan) and it seems just fine. (In fact, allmusic.com has it as a pick.) Can't say much beyond that as of yet, but at least this post contains SOME information. You can see more info here but a lot of the records are unreviewed as yet.

― Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

a dub artist. I only have a couple of singles and i like them .

― anthony, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

SEARCH: "Rubba Words" from the Upsetters album "Blackboard Jungle" DESTROY: Dunno but he might have done wrong in the 80's...but that would be more down to eg. cheesy drum sounds than bad mixing.

I can see this question isn't going to cause much passionate debate...anyone want to own up to shooting Tubbs?

― pat kraus, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Can any dub aficianado highlight King Tubby's finest moments? The few recordings I own are majestic affairs, spacey and sparse, with the almighty bass reigning supreme. Dub got so talked-up late 90s perhaps a backlash is inevitable, but undeserved.

― Stevo, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Search - the Augustus Pablo rec 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown' , one of the v. best all-dub ALBUMS (along with 'Pick A Dub' by Keith Hudson, 'Blackboard Jungle In Dub' by the Upsetters and Lee Perry's 'Super Ape'.) The two 'Dub Gone Crazy' comps on Blood+Fire are a brilliant intro to Tubby's deep 'aquatic' sound, even though some of the credit should really go to master rhythm-maker Bunny Lee. 'Essential Dub' is a superb 'nice price' career overview that came out last year; it includes some of Tubby's earlier sides, the incredibly funky 'Sir Niney's Rock' and and even a proto-techno track from the mid-'70s! It also has helpful sleeve notes by Ian McCann.

Destroy - as with Lee Perry, the other great dub 'brand name', there are tons of dubious Tubby comps and 'superstar' sessions on the market that often have little connection to K.T. Buyer beware!

― Andrew L, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I can see this question isn't going to cause much passionate debate...anyone want to own up to shooting Tubbs?

"Search & Destroy" means picking out what's good and bad in their catalogue, not hunting down and killing the artist in question. I know, it's a stupid name. Blame the NME. Or was it Melody Maker? Or Tom for reviving it? Anyway.

― Nick, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Also (possibly): King Tubby Meets Rockers Inna Firehouse. I have this back-to-back on an ancient C90 with Meets Rockers Uptown. Except that I actually taped the same LP twice, once on each side, carefully naming one correctly, one incorrectly, and no longer know which of the two I failed to tape. I didn't actuall;y notice this for ages — and because it's dub (ie fragmentary lyrics at best), it's impossible to check by eg relatring title to chorus. It's great (twice over), but it could be either that's great!

Dub did become overhyped and also somewhat misperceived in the late 90s esp, but Tubby and Perry both = fab. Ditto Pablo.

― mark s, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There are a bewildering number of Tubby CDs available at the moment, and I haven't heard any I think are utterly duff, but obviously the quality of each is going to be rather dependent on the quality of the rhythms Tubby is working with / on. In addition to the LPs mentioned above, which are pretty much uniformly ace, a good place to start with Tubby is the "King Tubby's Special" double LP on Trojan. Partly because it's half Bunny Lee / Agrovators and half Niney / Observers, meaning a little more variety than one-producer jobs; partly because I like the vague double meaning of the title ("special? awww, I know he is"); partly because it's pretty much great all the way through.

I have some of his self-produced '80s material, (some of) which I really like but which isn't likely to be of much interest to ayone who's after roots dub.

― Tim, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have a couple of mega cheap compilations of his stuff. Essential Dub is awesome - especially for the £5 I picked it up for. It's got Sir Niney's Rock and a whole bunch of other decent stuff too. I've also got a comp called Crucial Dub which cost even less and is perhaps not quite as good but still has some nice moments on it.

Was Super Ape done wih King Tubby? I had no idea - can someone explain to me why on Super Ape there is a track called "Croaking Lizard" but I've also seen it credited to Prince Jazzbo. Why is there so much lack of documentation about this album? P.S. It's ace. Get it!

― dog latin, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My fault, DL - Tubby had nothing whatsoever to do with 'Super Ape', I just threw it in as another example of a great dub *album*, as opposed to dub comp/collection/whatever. Here's another one I forgot to mention earlier - 'Garvey's Ghost' by Burning Spear, dub version of the great 'Marcus Garvey' alb (you can buy 'em together on an Island reissue.)

― Andrew L, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Briefly to answer Dog Latin's question, issues of authorship in reggae just aren't as clear as they are in some other kinds of music, as a result of reggae's economics and of the structure of the creative process. At the middle of it all sits the producer, who is often some or all of: executive producer, director, writer, recording engineer, publisher, record company boss, owner of the recorded work. Many reggae records are issued under the name of whoever 'voiced' it when that person may have had little to do with making the record, with the exception perhaps of a toast, or singing over the rhythm (which of course may be re-used many times).

So in the case of "Croaking Lizard", yes it's a Jazzbo track but it's just as much an Upsetters track. There's not much to be gained by getting too concerned with who is credited with what in Jamaican music... often it's best just to trust your ears. When the same rhythm track gets passed around or sold between producers and re-re- used, things start feeling really quite complicated.

Incidentally, I don't really agree that "Super Ape" is a dub LP, but that's another issue. I haven't read 'People Funny Boy', the Perry biography which came out last year (I've read enough about Lee Perry to last a lifetime) but it is reputed to be exhaustively detailed. Perhaps you could find out more on "Super Ape" there?

― Tim, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I and I is thankin you sir. Meet me at Babylon an' ting.

Or something similar..

― Dog Latin, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I had an old Jamaican pressing of "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" - one of those ones where they allegedly ran a hot knife over some older record, and pressed the new record over the top of it. The grooves looked all dimply, but it played fine. Someone gave me fifty quid for it quite recently!!!! It was quite amazing spacey head music, and I'd recommend it to anyone. I've never heard another record by KT, tho'. I must go and get it on CD soon....perhaps I should heat it up with a blowtorch to get the same effect as the vinyl ;-)

x0x0

― Norman Fay, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

What did King Tubby do on the Augustus Pablo "Meets Rockers Uptown" album. I don't see him credited anywhere on the sleeve, and I always thought that was just an Augustus Pablo album that used Tubby's name as some kind of in-joke or something. I only have a little Tubby stuff, but "Rockers" does not sound like one of his mixes to me; not enough crazy phasing and so forth, too straightforward. So I always thought Pablo mixed it.

Probably best to start w/ the Blood and Fire comps; good tracks, they sound nice.

― Mark, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know - the sleeve wasn't very informative (and now I haven't got it anymore anyway) You may well be right re king tubby appearing in name only, but it's still a good dub rekkird IMO, er not that I'm very knowledgeable - it's dub, and I like it. I'll have to pick up some of the blood & fire comps U mention, tho' Any titles?

x0x0

― Norman Fay, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Mark, my copy of "Meets Rockers Uptown" credits Mixing Engineer: E. Thompson & King Tubby's; Mixed at King Tubby's. The LP has a whole bunch of different covers, I don't suppose many share identical information. Incidentally, I was looking at a Jackie Mittoo LP yesterday which seemed to have the typological distinction of *every single* name in the list of personnel involved (musicians, producer, Jackie himself) being misspelled. Fantastic.

"KTMRU" sounds like Tubby's to me, but then it was the first Tubby's record I knowingly heard, it probably would (it sounds more like Tubby than Errol Thompson to me). I think the absence of the crazier phasing and so on is more a function of its age... the crazier phasier stuff came a little later, no?

― Tim, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I guess the possessive on that "King Tubby" threw me; I figured it was just done at his studio. Like I said, I'm far from an expert on roots dub.

But yes, the Blood & Fire comps are "Dub Gone Crazy." A good place to start.

― Mark, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If it's "MEETS ROCKERS UPTOWN" then the first trck will start with someone saying "LION".

― pat kraus, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, oops...that last answer was addressed to Mark S.

― pat kraus, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Nick: I wasn't SUGGESTING that someone shoot Tubbs. I think you'd be about 12 years too late. Does anyone know who did, and why?

― pat kraus, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

Pat - my copy of "Meets Rockers Uptown" *doesn't* start with someone saying "Lion" - I guess there's likely to be different versions of it? (my copy = jamaican vinyl - credits, same as Tim's copy - but not a real old one)(i.e. from later than those weird recycled-looking ones)

― duane, Friday, 6 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

(& no I don't know who shot him, or why)

― duane, Friday, 6 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It was just a case of petty theft. I think the gunman grabbed some jewellry and a small amount of money. A damned shame.

― Johnathan, Saturday, 7 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
During the early 1970s, a maverick Jamaican producer known as King Tubby (who was also Glen Adams, the Upsetters' keyboard man embarked upon a series of pivotal recordings, ultimately creating a reggae offshoot called dub. First, he pared his forces down to a drum kit and bass and slowed the tempo until a bottom-heavy, primal heartbeat emerged. Over this framework, spare vocal and instrumental riffs anchored layers of echo and distortion, erecting atmospheric soundscapes bound for infinity. This classic album is a primer for how Tubby could temper raw power through a subtle, imaginative grasp of texture and dynamics. A potent rhythm team, including Robbie Shakespeare (one half of the famed Sly & Robbie combo) on bass, Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar, and a rough-and-ready brass section, surrounds the organ-piano and clavinet (mouth-blown keyboard clarinet) of Augustus Pablo with hip, stylish Kingstonian street-bred attitude. This reissue includes several tracks not included on the earlier CD release. -- Christina Roden

All Customer Reviews
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Are these people kidding?!?!?!?!?!!, March 23, 2005
Reviewer:
DC "Ras Smoke" (Big Bear Lake, ca. U.S.) - See all my reviews
Clavinet, flute?!?!?!?!? Augustus Pablo plays the Melodica people! And to say the album has "no names" on it! Maybe no names as far as pop music is concerned. Pablo and King Tubby are 2 of the most influential Reggae\Dub artists dead or alive!!!!! Comparing them to Bob Marley is equally as ignorant! Please review only items you have half a clue about!!! Thanks

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Essential, December 13, 2004

Reviewer:
T3 (At the edge of the road) - See all my reviews

I don't know what this reviewer is talking about "...also known as Glen Adams Upsetters keyboard player...". King Tubby is Osbourne Ruddock ONE of the originators of the style weh call 'rub-a-dub' alongside Lee "Scratch" Perry and another lesser known producer whose name evades me. For real the reviewer don't know what the bumclat she is talking about! very pretentious to think she can talk some bull-isht and get away with it! Augustus Pablo plays the melodica primarily, which is a children's instrument, a small keyboard which has a baffle and a mouthpiece to generate the tones. Clavinet is a floorstanding keyboard instrument which generates sounds similar to an electric guitar, and on some Jazz fusion records occupies the space of an electric guitar i.e. Herbie Hancock "Headhunters".
Christina Roden, you suck. Amazon.com please remove this dubious and inacurate review please!

― Amon (eman), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 03:04 (twenty years ago)

!!!

For real the reviewer don't know what the bumclat she is talking about!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 03:28 (twenty years ago)

King Tubby (who was also Glen Adams, the Upsetters' keyboard man

???!?!!??!?!??!???!??!!?????!!!!!???????!?!?

― Amon (eman), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

Via WFMU, "Tons of King Tubby 70s & Reissue Dub Discs. And all Cloud Links Actually Work [MP3s]:"

http://is.gd/SDoiGB

― cops on horse (WilliamC), Saturday, 21 September 2013 18:13 (eleven years ago)

Wow! Thanks WilliamC

― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Sunday, 22 September 2013 07:29 (eleven years ago)

Is there as good a one stop 2cd set as the old Trojan set In Fine Style around now. I think all the Trojan sets from that time have been deleted haven't they? So am wondering if whoever's handling the Trojan catalogue at the moment has anything comparable.

― Stevolende, Sunday, 22 September 2013 09:28 (eleven years ago)

Meets Rockers Uptown is needed as well as that. Yabby U and Dub Gone Crazy on Blood and Fire also great.

― Hinklepicker, Sunday, 22 September 2013 10:34 (eleven years ago)

Blog already taken down, dang.

There is a huge amt of Tubby on Spotify, though.

― cops on horse (WilliamC), Sunday, 22 September 2013 14:02 (eleven years ago)

Love this stuff so much, but I could easily be fooled into buying sets with the same 20 or 30 tracks scrambled up in a different order.

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 22 September 2013 14:19 (eleven years ago)

one year passes...

Father of Dub 3-CD set (2009, Delta Leisure Group) = reasonable place to start or one of the many bullshit Tubby comps out there? Thx.

― alpine static, Monday, 9 February 2015 20:45 (ten years ago)

lol this thread is terrible and not informative at all

that set looks all right to me

― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 February 2015 21:12 (ten years ago)

Tubby did so much, it's kinda hard to call any particular compilation representative. My first starting point was coincidentally the source of contention upthread - Augustus Pablo's "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown", which is definitely a great album, albeit not as flashy with the production and editing tricks that would come to characterize his career. My personal favorites:

- "King Tubby Meets Jacob Miller", especially https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Ia9yan5mA. Whole thing has a great sound and beautiful analog synths all over it
- "Dub From the Roots"
- Yabby You/King Tubby's "King Tubbys Prophesy of Dub"
- "Freedom Sounds in Dub". Freedom Sounds was such a great label, and this is Tubby working over some great cuts from their catalog.
- Jah Lloyd/King Tubby "A Double Helping of Jah Lloyd and King Tubby"

― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 February 2015 21:24 (ten years ago)

xp: if you're paying close to the $8 ernie b is selling that set for, then yes I think that's a great deal. if you buy more Tubby later, chances are you'll end up getting some duplicate tracks (though this is nearly unavoidable in reggae ime).

Οὖτις's recs are all excellent too.

― rob, Monday, 9 February 2015 21:28 (ten years ago)

I say things are great a lot apparently

― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 February 2015 21:33 (ten years ago)

It's 7.99. Getting it. Thanks y'all. More in a bit.

― alpine static, Monday, 9 February 2015 21:46 (ten years ago)

nine years pass...

So I've picked up the "Dub Gone Crazy" and "Dub Gone 2 Crazy" comps as well as the "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" LP. Absolutely love it all. What should I check out next?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 22 February 2024 04:30 (one year ago)

^ All great! I'd add "Rockers Meet King Tubby In A Fire House" and "Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby’s In Dub Conference, Volume One"

― nerve_pylon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 04:41 (one year ago)

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