The British connoisseurs and purveyors of classic reggae, have unearthed yet another sublime collection of roots music, this time with the 1977 King Tubby-mixed LP, ‘Yabby You Meets Michael Prophet’ with vocal and dub. Blood and Fire’s previous thirty-seven reissues have all been outstanding and collectible and upon listening to ‘Dub It To The Top,’ the fine consistency and high quality of reproduction continues. Producer, Vivian “Yabby You” Jackson’s earlier work with his band, ‘The Prophets’ has already been compiled in a B&F 2-CD set entitled, ‘Jesus Dread,’ yet it is this later work that bites a little harder.

Mixed down by King Tubby and Prince Jammy, ‘Dub It To The Top’ enters into the rockers and steppers arena with seven additional b-side dubs from Yabby’s 45’s output of the time and a choice 12” dub (“Steppin High”) featuring the late tenor sax player Tommy McCook. Robbie Shakespeare’s chugging bass lines and Sly Dunbar’s echoing drum licks crash throughout the CD and the subtle horn, percussion and guitar phrases add plenty to the stimulating dub experience. Backed by The Revolutionaries, the set kicks off nicely, with three of Yabby’s versions of the ‘Shank-I-Shek’ riddim (here entitled “Zambia”) the last featuring a lyrical toast by Jah Walton (now Joseph Cotton).

Michael Prophet was an up-and-coming singer at the time and his sufferers-style vibrato weaves in and out of the rest of the mixes beautifully. If there was ever a more perfect soundtrack to the dub sound of this period, this is it. Not only that, it is the perfect compliment to herb.



 by Trevor Holland, ReggaeWriter.com
 E-Mail: reggaewriter@mindspring.com