Horace Andy's Dub Box: Rare Dubs 1973-1976

Considering the high quality of Horace Andy's canon, to speak of any one period as his best is absurd, yet still the songs the singer cut for Bunny Lee in the mid-'70s are undeniably superb, and remain fan favorites. Many of these singles were re-recordings of Andy's earlier Studio One hits, among them "Skylarking," "Money Is the Root of All Evil" (it's title shortened to "Money Money"), and "Just Say Who," all now driven by the fiery backings of the Aggrovators. During this period, Lee was making ample use of the talents of King Tubby, handing the remixer a plethora of platters to work his magic on, including, of course, Andy's. Fourteen of the resulting simmering, sizzling versions are gathered up here on Rare Dubs. The dubmaster's work is phenomenal, while his acolytes Prince Jammy, Scientist, and Prince Philip Smart, who occasionally took a hand at the controls, are already showing their skills. Vast, booming beats, thundering basslines, vocals and chords echoing into the distance, guitars and keyboards slicing through the thick, dense atmospheres, all merging into the ether to make this album dub at its mightiest. A spectacular set of riddims deconstructed and rebuilt into fiercesome aural assaults, a tribute to all involved.