Customer Reviews

Skanking With Pablo

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This, my friends, is one of the finest collections of Augustus Pablo melodica instrumentals ever assembled, though it should NOT be mistaken for a set of "greatest hits." "Skanking With Pablo" often has a much looser, folksier feel than Augustus Pablo's dense, heavy dubs and dubbed-out instrumentals. A big concern with Augustus Pablo collections is that they can overlap with other collections, and sometimes you'll even see the same track given different names and resold...you'll find little of that here, as most of these tracks were pretty darn rare prior to this release. Happily, this set is more carefully annotated than just about any other Trojan Records set you'll find (or Pablo set for that matter), it gives a Pablo biography, dates of recordings, producers for the recordings, and enlightened and enthusiastic track-by-track commentary. So, basically, this is something that one might not always expect from Trojan Records; a labor of love.

For starters you'll find several previously rare tracks, and there will be little repetition with other Pablo discs. Sound quality is good by Trojan standards, with the more rare tracks tending to have the poorer sound. Several of the tracks are dubby, but most are on the instrumental tip, which really allows Pablo's melodica playing to show through. Pablo's visionary genius with regards to overall sound and mood shines through as well, even though he was working for other producers. The truth is, Pablo had a lot of say in what was going on with producers such as Herman Chin Loy and Lee Perry, and was often more of a co-producer for some of these works.

Every tack is a killer on this set, and the sequencing flows so very nicely that it is one of the rare collections that I like to listen to straight through. One of the things that stands out about this collection is the mood of the tracks (recorded from 1971-1977). Sandwiched between the dense, far-east funkiness of the opening tracks, and the swirling vortex of psychedelia created by the last three Lee Perry-produced tracks, is music which really lives up to the "Skanking" title. These are some great, summery Pablo masterpieces, with Pablo creating mesmerizing and irresistible melodica melodies over funky roots rhythms. Also there is no drum-machine or synth around to ruin the mystical, natural roots mood of the music. The vocal track "I Am Alright" with Gregory Isaacs turns out to be a real treat as well.

In my opinion, "Skanking With Pablo" is one of the top Augustus Pablo collections ever assembled, and should be equally appealing to newcomers and seasoned fans.

Final Verdict: TOPNOTCH ESSENTIAL SKANK and NO FILLER.

While the remastered CDs of Pablos' classics "King Tubby Meets
Rockers Uptown" & "Original Rockers" are produced with a heavy
bass thump, "Skanking With Pablo" is mastered with a bit less
heaviness on bass...therefore it comes across as more mysterious
and mystic sounding. So it depends on your mood. If you want
to hear Pablo with thunderous rootsy bass, listen to those first two CDs; but if, say, you don't want to disturb the neighbors, or it's early in the morning and/or you're looking for a mellower, mystic
mysterious (but no less rootsy!) vibe, then "Skanking With Pablo" is A+ top-shelf all the way. An absolutely wonderful CD.

Like the previous reviewer I don't know much about reggae, but I love this CD. The melodica is a pretty trippy instrument, and it has a very mellow vibe. This collection is both enjoyable and fascinating. Mostly instrumental, it's very laid back. The sound quality isn't always flawless, but these are old tracks and any defects don't detract overall. Buy this and you won't regret it.

This album is an excellent introduction to Augustus Pablo's works, featuring some traditional reggae and dub reggae, with a bit of an eastern sound. Includes several of his more well-recognized works, , as well as some more obscure tracks. Sound quality is excellent.