No matter how far you look into the roots reggae of the 1970s, you are likely to find
Sly Dunbar on bass and Robbie Shakespeare on drums. Their credits include stints in Bunny Lee's
Aggrovators, Channel One's Revolutionaries, a number of dates at
Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark and
Peter Tosh's entire recorded output from 1976 to 1981. When the music mutated into dancehall they were at the forefront once again with their Taxi imprint. This 1998 set finds the drum and bass team coming full circle on a laid-back set of instrumental reggae. The music is further authenticated by the presence of guitar great Aston "Family Man" Barrett and keyboardist Ansel Collins (whose roots stretch even further back in the music's history). Though not of the caliber of the session work they performed during their heyday, the combo concocts some suitably heavy sounds here, particularly on the title track. The studio team of John Matarazzo (producer) and Logan Strand (engineer) simulate many of the dub effects of yore, while adding some glistening, modern sounds of their own. "Rootsman"'s bass and drum foundation drifts in and out of a light electronic haze that buzzes and bleeps. Beneath the astral synth lines of "Dreadzone" lurks Ansel Collins' simmering keyboard, longing for 1969. "Rudeboy Inna Ghetto" replicates the smoky atmosphere of
King Tubby dubbing a Bunny Lee rhythm.
Sly & Robbie (and their producers) have managed to successfully apply the studio technology of the late '90s to the music they pioneered decades earlier. That's no small feat, and though it's difficult to imagine opting for Babylon I Rebel over any number of dub counterparts from the late '70s, the music here rarely falters. It succeeds by basking in its relatively simple pleasures. ~ Nathan Bush