Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band

Easy Star All-Stars | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Easy Star
• ASIN: B001SZ28VK
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,880 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > World Music > Reggae > Dub

Track Listings

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Featuring Junior Jazz)

2. With A Little Help From My Friends (Featuring Luciano)

3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Featuring Frankie Paul)

4. Getting Better (Featuring The Mighty Diamonds)

5. Fixing A Hole (Extended Dub Mix) (Featuring Max Romeo)

6. She's Leaving Home (Featuring Kirsty Rock)

7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Featuring Ranking Roger)

8. Within You Without You (Featuring Matisyahu)

9. When I'm Sixty-Four (Extended Dub Mix) (Featuring Sugar Minott)

10. Lovely Rita (Featuring Bunny Rugs & U Roy)

11. Good Morning Good Morning (Featuring Steel Pulse)

12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

13. A Day In The Life (Featuring Michael Rose & Menny More)

Editorial Reviews

Following the widespread critical and commercial success of 2003 s Dub Side of the Moon and 2006 s Radiodread, Easy Star Records announces the Easy Star All-Stars complete reggae re-imagining of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album, titled Easy Star s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, is set for release April 14 on Easy Star Records and features guest vocals from an impressive list of reggae, dancehall and dub greats including Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Luciano, U Roy, Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat), Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, Max Romeo and The Mighty Diamonds. The first single, With A Little Help From My Friends, featuring Luciano, will be released as an iTunes exclusive February 10. It will be paired with a b-side dub version featuring the legendary U Roy.

Dub Side of the Moon, (Easy Star s reggae tribute to Pink Floyd s Dark Side of the Moon) is one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century and spent over five years on Billboard s Top Reggae Chart. Mojo selected the record as the second greatest cover album of all time. Radiodread, which tackled Radiohead s OK Computer, spent over 18 months on Billboard s Top Reggae Chart and earned praise from Radiohead themselves.

Of the decision to infuse reggae into the Beatles classic, producer Michael Goldwasser says We ve focused on re-envisioning concept albums as reggae and it s really important that the source material works as a whole and is not just a collection of songs. So, what better to take on next than the mother of all concept albums?

Goldwasser is once more the musical mastermind behind this album, having arranged and produced the music, assembled the musicians and guest artists and played guitar throughout. Goldwasser is joined by Victor Rice (bass), Victor Ticklah Axelrod (keyboards) and Patrick Dougher & Eddie Ocampo (drums, percussion). Members of the touring version of the Easy Star All-Stars also contribute, including Ras I Ray, Jenny Hill, Buford O Sullivan, Ivan Katz, Kirsty Rock, Tamar-kali, Junior Jazz and Menny More. In addition to producing six albums for Easy Star, Goldwasser has produced albums for Corey Harris, Hatikva 6 and others, and has had compositions featured in the motion pictures Failure To Launch and Woody Allen s Cassandra s Dream. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good but..., May 11, 2009

By 

Grunt Hog (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (Audio CD)

This album is pretty good for what it is, but I kind of wish they had taken the concept further.

Problem is that this disc still sounds too close to the original Beatles songs. I've heard those arrangements a million times, so I was hoping this album would deliver a lot more radically altered, dubbed-out re-interpretations of this material. It's as if too much reverance for the originals seems to have held these guys back from putting more of their own stamp on it. That's too bad.

I also have to compare it against the Easy Star's high-water mark, which was Dub Side of the Moon. That work sounded really different from the original, in part because dub music is so much more light-hearted and relaxed than the angst-ridden, dark Floyd music of the original. Here they are starting from an album that is already very light and sunshiny, so the addition of the dub elements do not sound so out of place. This, in turn, makes the dub versions less interesting, as there is less tension between the feel of the originals and what you are hearing in the cover versions.

Otherwise the musicianship, vocals and overall vibe make this a very very good tribute to Sgt. Pepper's and quite an enjoyable listen. Despite not meeting my personal hopes for this album, it is still a solid work.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remakes At Their Best: Easy Star All-Stars, April 14, 2009

By 

M. Nigro "Skepsis" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (Audio CD)

Another thoroughly successful album by the quintessential reggae infused remake band. With Pink Floyd and Radiohead remakes under their belts, why not The Beatles? Let me say they pull it off with the utmost professionalism. With guests like Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose, Bunny Rugs, and Ranking Roger, you really can't go wrong. It's a must have for anyone who has had the pleasure of listening to Easy Star All-Stars in the past. Some fans of The Beatles might be standoffish but I think with Easy Star All-Stars track record, this is a major success!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where There is Smoke There is Dub, April 24, 2009

By 

K. Carlyle (Middle America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (Audio CD)

After 5 straight years of charting success with `The Dub Side of the Moon,' the Easy Dub All Stars have returned from their highatus, this time turning their sights from Pink Floyd and dropping their magical mystery blend of rastadub on the Beatles. `Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band' hit last week and is quintessential summer party fare.