Customer Reviews

Heavyweight Dub / Killer Dub

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When you hear "Inner Circle", changes are that you think of highly commercial reggae, such as their theme song "Bad Boys" which they made for a television program. Others will remember this band from their days with singer Jacob Miller, who unfortunately died much too early in a car accident. Few will remember them for their really killer dubwise albums. And that is really a shame, because this is a Heavyweight Killer Dub album that you'll bound to remember even after hearing it once. So much respect is due to Blood And Fire, for re-releasing another great CD!
Heavyweight Dub and Killer Dub were both originally released in 1978. One LP (as they were called back then) was mixed by the mighty Prince Jammy in King Tubby's studio's (Killer), the other one by Maximillian, a reasonably unknown engineer at Channel One Studio's. Further, there's an all star list of musicians who participated in this set of tracks.

It sure is heavyweight, and it sure is a killer! There are many really hard rocking steppers rhythms on this 19 track set, some dubs from well known tracks such as well, and everything is mixed very well too, I can't or won't say different. This is the kind of album that you play when someone asks you what's so special about all this "old skool" material. The riddims are very interesting to listen to, the mixes are intense, and the psychedelic sounds that make Dub what it is, are created the way they should be: by adding effects to instruments.

Although the two albums are mixed by different engineers in different studio's, they match each other perfectly. If I had to choose between them, I would favor the first album (Heavyweight Dub, by Maximillian), because it's mixed much more psychedelically. But really the choice is almost impossible. To have both albums on one CD makes the choice unnecessary anyway.

Doesn't this CD have any negative points? Yes, it does. The lack of vocals is a thing that really bothers me. Only in the last track can you hear some vocals. A little more snippets of Jacob "Killer" Miller's vocals would have been a welcome addition to this set. But perhaps it would then become "too heavyweight", and that's another CD.

When it comes to 'hard core' rockers dub it doesn't come ANY better than this. Bernard and 'Touter' Harvey were/are the original Rockers paving the way for the likes of Sly and Robbie years B4. The core of these tracks laid down for Jacob Miller, have been mixed and remixed and can be found underneath other Jacob albums and many other artists. With a real 70's feel this album is only going to be appreciated by the REAL dub collector. In this original series, of three albums, I have all three on vinyl on thier original Top Ranking labels and wouldn't part with them 4 any ammount of money, nuff said!

These reissues from the late 70's document a period in reggae music when Inner Circle were more popular in Jamiaca than Bob Marley and the Wailers. The cuts on this Blood & Fire release, originally from two long out of print LPs, are definately of high quality dub stature, but it was disappointing to hear so little of Jacob Miller's legendary voice. With that ignored it's a great dub album and - as a bonus - has been nicely repackaged by our friends at B&F. Any fan of Inner Circle, roots reggae of dub should investigate this release.

I can't beleive how raw and dreader than dread this Inner Circle album is!...Whaddya Know!...I never thought i'd ever use the words dread and Inner Circle in the same sentence! This album is as good as it is, in large part because of the production.This is actually two Cds. "Heavyweight Dub" was mixed at Channel One Studios by the Lewis Brothers and Maxie, while Killer Dub was mixed by the legendary Prince Jammy at King Tubby's Studios. Forget about "Bad Boys" and "Da Bomb"' and other such embarassments. This is as good as dub gets. If you're a dub fan, DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY THIS ALBUM!...Jacob Miller would be proud.

When it comes to 'hard core' rockers dub it doesn't come ANY better than this. Bernard and 'Touter' Harvey were/are the original Rockers paving the way for the likes of Sly and Robbie years B4. The core of these tracks laid down for Jacob Miller, have been mixed and remixed and can be found underneath other Jacob albums and many other artists. With a real 70's feel this album is only going to be appreciated by the REAL dub collector. In this original series, of three albums, I have all three on vinyl on thier original Top Ranking labels and wouldn't part with them 4 any ammount of money, nuff said!

...I pull out this disc, crank up the volume, and close my eyes. This album has heart and soul. It's lethal. This is deep DUB, some cream of the cream; and that's saying alot when you're talking about the superb Blood & Fire label.

This album is a mix of original skool dub and the newer techno Mad Professor type Dub.

The first track is as infectious as the Jah Shaka's music. The album altogether, is well made, though I think the style is more 1995 than 1999 Dub.

However so, the album is packed with the classical sampling of dance hall spins and deep bass with some nice sampling. Nothing as deep as Roni Size or 1.8.7. but on par with Abi Shanti I or Jah Shaka.

For those who love the Disco Dance hall Dub, go get this album!