Cry Tuff Dub Chapter 1

Prince Far I | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Pressure Sounds
• ASIN: B0007TFIBU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,575 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"Cry Tuff Dub Chapter 1" is hailed as one of the best Dub albums ever made. Produced by Prince Far I, aided and abetted by Adrian Sherwood. Far I’s rhythms were always powerful and formed the backdrop to some of his most popular Deejay hits. He always used Jamaica’s top session musicians and "Cry Tuff Dub Chapter 1" is no exception. Sly Dunbar and Flabba Holt provided the rhythm section.

Sadly Prince Far I was murdered in Kingston, Jamaica in 1983, another victim of Kingston’s political violence, allegedly for painting out political slogans painted on the wall of his home. However the strength and vitality of his music lives on and Pressure Sounds is proud to present the re-release of this classic album with its original sleeve and never before seen pictures of the Prince in the accompanying 8-page booklet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars * Not Bad, But Not My Cup of Tea *, February 2, 2006

By 

Jasper (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cry Tuff Dub Chapter 1 (Audio CD)

There is no doubt that this is a quality dub set, but it has never done much for me personally. Adrian Sherwood mixed these tracks in England as a teenager, adding effects, and even recording some new tracks (as was revealed later). What emerges is a rich, though distinctly non-jamaican sound. Unfortunately Sherwood's inexperience shows here every bit as much as his obvious talents do; He goes way overboard on sound effects, especially the "pop, pop pop" bubbling sound which is all over multiple tracks. Also, Sherwood's mixing, despite the distorted sounds, is fairly basic. I do appreciate that Sherwood took some risks, but to me the end result, though sometimes quite trippy, often sounds amateurish. Just compare this mixing to the mixing by King Tubby on a disc like "Freedom Sounds In Dub"; Tubby deftly reshapes the tracks at every level to create astonishingly powerful and nuanced sound sculptures. Here, Sherwood sounds more like what he was...a kid playing around (which he himself has admitted to). Another difference is that Sherwood deals much more with overdubs, whilst most 70s Jamaican dub was mixed 'live' on the console as the multitrack tape ran, and in Tubby & his protege's case, mixed with handmade electronics.

Some people absolutely love this disc. I think the main difference is that some people are into a post-Jamaican dub mixing style that is heavy on overdubs and manipulations of a sort that were not being made on the equipment of the classic Jamaican dub masters, and that some people are into the tough, deeply spiritual, sculptural dub style of the classic Jamaican dub. It also has to do with context; Sherwood's dubs seem to take place in a childish sound universe free of any context, whilst Tubby, Jammy, Lee Perry et al seemed to produce dubs closely related to the spirit and passion of the original Rasta source material. In the end, Cry Tuff 1 feels empty to me, even though it's packed so full of sounds and effects as to evoke feelings of claustrophobia.

For me, Prince Far I's Cry Tuff 2, which was masterfully mixed by Prince Jammy, is far superior to this. Cry Tuff 2 can be found on the topnotch Frontline release "Dubwise," which I highly, highly recommend. For those interested in post-Jamaican dub mixing, and some whacky sound-effect overdubs, I think they *may* like Cry Tuff 1 a lot. It's all a matter of personal taste, of course.

There is some cool, trippy stuff here, but it heads too far from the majesty, nuance, and shear dread-ness of Jamaican mixing for it too hold my attention for long. Whether or not it's your cup of tea should be a consideration before you pay a premium price for 38 minutes of music, whatever it is.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest Dub Records of All Time!!!!, August 3, 2005

By 

Gaberman (Southern Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cry Tuff Dub Chapter 1 (Audio CD)

Do you like Augustus Pablo's "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown"?

Do you like On-U Sound and the work of Adrian Sherwood?

Are you a fan of Dub Music?

If you answered yes to any of these questions and you have the money, buy this record NOW!!!

There is very little if any of Prince Far I's thundering voice on these cuts, so don't expect that. But do expect some of the deepest, wildest and most mind altering dubs that you have ever heard.

This album was out of print for a long time. I used to hug myself with glee knowing I had a copy of it when you couldn't get it. I put it on a CD-R combined with Pablo's "Rockers Uptown" and it is one of my most listened to CD's.

I don't know what else to say. But someone had to get a review onto this release, letting the uninitiated know of it's glory.

Enjoy.