Tribute To The Speaker Box... The King Tubby Mix Vol. 1

It’s been a while since I’ve touched on dub but there is no one more deserving of mention and respect then the master himself King Tubby. I could probably go on for days writing about the importance of Tubby… not only in relation to Jamaican music but also to recorded music as a whole. So instead of waxing eloquently for a few hours I’ve borrowed the entry from Wikipedia that succinctly sums up what he did…

“King Tubby (born Osbourne Ruddock, January 28, 1941 – February 6, 1989) was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby’s innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the role of record producer to the creative height previously only reserved for composers and musicians, would prove to be highly influential across many genres of popular music. He is often cited as the inventor of the concept of the remix, and so may be seen as a direct antecedent of much dance and electronic music production.”

I could also go on for months creating mixes of his music… but because time is limited I present to you a 15 track Tubby mix for you to enjoy. I kept my effects to a minimum because with Tubby at the controls there is little need for sweetening. And of course, I haven’t even scratched the surface of what Tubby created so I foresee us revisiting him again in the future.

Here’s what’s in the mix…

From the album King Tubby Studio Verses Channel One Studio released on the Shelly label circa mid to late 70s and the track called “Channel Feel This One.” “Desperation Dub” is the second track and is available on the album called Sweeten Dub a collection of tracks from 1978-84 and available on the Orange Street label. The third song is called “Love And Peace” and comes from the excellent Blood & Fire release King Tubby’s Prophesy Of Dub which features the production of Yabby You and of course the King as mixing engineer. For the fourth track I was originally planning on posting the track called “King Of Kings In Dub” from an awesome album called Surrounded By The Dreads At The National Arena but while listening to the track I remembered a mash-up I had downloaded which features King Tubby alongside Macy Gray, of all people, and has been titled “Inna I & I Try” by a DJ/remixer whose name I haven’t been able to track down. Now I’m not familiar with the original song so I can’t compare it to the real version but I’ve played it for those who know the original and they were impressed so it must work pretty well. I just know that I really dig this mash-up and this is as good a time as ever to throw it in somewhere. Besides it really does serve as a fitting modern day tribute to the remixing skills Tubby pioneered and are being utilized today by the new generation of remix artists. The fifth track, “Shaolin Temple” is from the Auralux CD Barrington Levy In Dub (The Lost Mixes From King Tubby’s Studio) – it’s a nice combination of heavy Roots Radics riddims with Tubby’s mixing wizardry. Coming up next is “Love Of Jah (Version)” from B&F’s Yabby You CD set Jesus Dread and again a real winning combination of talent. The seventh track is called “Dreams Of Dub” a nice Ali Baba version which comes to us from the Sly & Robbie CD called King Tubby’s Dance Hall Dub. Next is one of my all-time favorite reggae tracks and it is called “Roots Of Dub” from the LP called appropriately Roots Of Dub from 1975 and on the Total Sounds label. The ninth track is “Six Million Dollar Version” and is available from another excellent Blood & Fire CD called Dub Like Dirt which was released in 1999. “Sensi Dub Part 2” is next from the album called Sensi Dub Vol.2 which features Lee Perry & The Upsetters, as well as Tubby with Sly & The Revolutionaries and was released in 1989 on the UK based Original Music label. The eleventh song in our mix is called “Bosrah Dub” and is the dub version of Prince Allah’s “Man From Bosrah” and was produced by Tappa Zukie and mixed by Tubby – I’m not sure of where it’s available because I got this one off a CDR that a friend sent me a couple years ago. “Morwell’s Star” is the twelfth song and again appears on a yet another Blood & Fire release called Dub Me featuring Morwell Unlimited and King Tubby’s. The thirteenth song is “Madhouse Dub” lifted from the album Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby’s In Dub Conference Vol. 1 and on the Moodisc label. “Coral Dub” is up next, again featuring the Roots Radics and from the Trojan Records CD called King Tubby’s Hidden Treasure and produced by Jah Thomas. Finally, the last track in the mix is called “Melodica International” featuring Glen Brown & King Tubby from still another Blood & Fire release! This CD is called Glen Brown & King Tubby – Termination Dub (1973-79) and this is a great tune to wrap it all up!

If we’ve learned one lesson today it is… If you want to hear more King Tubby head right over to Blood & Fire and buy ‘em up! Thanks to them for making available so many treasures that may have tragically been lost!

Here's the mix!