No Bed of Roses

Dub Syndicate | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Efa Imports
• ASIN: B000174LLG
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,814 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "Private I" - A very unique dub piece, March 15, 2010

By 

HIP CAT - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Bed of Roses (Audio CD)

"Private I" is a modern-day dub piece. As expected of dub pieces, "Private I" has a heavy reggae influence which can be heard in the bass heavy "riddim", syncopated and staccato "skank" guitar, and steel drum accents that occur throughout the entire piece. Like most dub songs, Private I is instrumental. The piece is driven by a very unique saxophone part that is seductive not in the typical Kenny G. way but in a seductive snake charmer way. I was immediately hooked to this piece because of this saxophone part but found it monotonous after listening to it for the entire duration (about five minutes).
To keep the saxophone motif interesting, Dub Syndicate has used sound effects such as echo and reverberation that are typical of the dub style and a throwback to the "old school" effects used in the dub recordings of Lee "Scratch" Perry. The melody is also accented by abstract, waveform based electronic effects straight out of Eimert's Electronische Muzik studio.

"Private I" was released on the album No Bed of Roses in 2004 and is therefore free of noise, clicks and pops that can be heard on the multi-track tape recordings of early Dub music. However, Dub Syndicate retains the multi-track recording feel in this piece by applying a short and subtle delay-stutter effect to only the saxophone melody throughout. Not only does this effect keep the piece interesting, but also makes it seem like the saxophone melody was recorded independently on a damaged tape and then layered over the cleanly recorded "riddim" track. This stutter-delay effect is introduced about a third of the way into the piece and is very subtle initially, getting stronger with every subsequent repeat and finally escalating to the point where it sounds like a CD seek error. Because of this effect, the saxophone track often lags and temporarily falls off tempo from the rhythm track, which adds a musical conflict to the piece and may surprise the listener. However, Dub Syndicate merges the tracks together masterfully except at the end where the saxophone actually goes faster than the rhythm, a deliberate choice that I found a bit jarring.

Although Dub Syndicate adds effects to keep this piece interesting, there is no denying that it is repetitive and gets monotonous towards the end. Considering how limited the main theme is, "Private I" should not have been longer than three minutes. Dub Syndicate could have also expanded the piece by composing more variations to the saxophone theme. Also, a lot more could have been done with the syncopated guitar. Instead of having the guitar play the same Ab minor chord, Dub Syndicate could have added simple chord progressions and rhythmic variations such as those found in Bob Marley's "Stir It Up".

I would highly recommend "Private I" to any listener looking for casual study music or for a good introduction to dub music. Listeners are sure to be drawn in by the seductive saxophone melody, relaxed syncopated "riddim", and unique electronic effects.