Independant Intavenshan: The Island Anthology

Linton Kwesi Johnson

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 1998)
• Original Release Date: October 27, 1998
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B00000DC4T
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #124,634 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1998
The fact that 1998's highest-ranking reggae album is a reissue speaks more to the power of dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson than to the weak crop of contemporary reggae artists. Independent Intavenshan is a two-fisted blast of LKJ's smoldering patois poems backed by the liquid rhythms of Dennis Bovell's Dub Band. Including all four of LKJ's Island albums--Forces of Victory, Bass Culture, LKJ in Dub, and Making History--Intavenshan is a timeless, literate, and politically charged document. --S. Duda

Amazon.com
Virtually every track Linton Kwesi Johnson (a.k.a. LKJ) and Dennis Bovell's superb Dub Band ever released for the label is here, with nearly every poem followed by its dub, or instrumental, version. While the double set doesn't cover the rebel-poet-musician's non-Island early and post-1984 careers, it does a thorough job on the extended midsection. LKJ comes through as a meticulous, evocative master of telling detail who rarely slips into the pitfall of didactic rhetoric. The dubs, some of which were never released before or were remixed for this LP, are prime examples of a brilliant reggae invention: dub style. First, the music is pared down to the core, then it is reassembled and reoffered as a well-tinkered deconstruction of the original. LKJ's voice is reduced to instrument status in these dubs, and his sliced, diced, and slivered bits gain maximum impact from a new conciseness fleshed out by the listener's memory. --Elena Oumano

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars still-relevant non-rasta political dub-reggae!, December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This compilation flows as few compilations do. Island holds some of the credit for that, but the main credit should go to the originators of this sometimes-volatile, always enlightening music - LKJ and Dennis Bovell. LKJ wrote the words - declamatory but humanistic, with a deep regard for Jamaican self-determination - and Bovell made sure the voice and the lyrics were complimented and enhanced by supple and often sophisticated riddim tracks. Since all of LKJ's Island material is on here, the dubs of the original tracks flow "stream-of-consciously"; the album tracks usually were deconstructed by Bovell after the first few verses, making the dubs re-iterations and continuations of the themes. For the casual and the heavy reggae listener, the fact that these performances have only minute relation to Rastafarianism makes this set very refreshing and unique. (See also Yabby You's "Jesus Dread" on Blood & Fire records for a further example of great non-Rasta reggae and dub.)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LKJ...Dub...classic, November 29, 2000

By	M. Golosinski "rasputin7771" (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've dug LKJ for 15 years and this album nicely summarizes why. Powerful storytelling backed by an unstoppable reggae/jazzy sound. These are songs that only grow better with age--perhaps the definition of a classic. While I tend to agree with another reviewer who said that those listeners who don't especially appreciate version may find some of the dub cuts a bit redundant (maybe these folks are not smoking enough), for my money having the dub tracks alongside the A-sides simply creates a broader, deeper understanding of the poet and his poetry. Truly an album where the lyrics and melodies buttress one another in ways that never detract from the elegance and conviction of the songwriter.

It really doesn't get any better than this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, December 17, 2005

By	Douglas H. Watts (Augusta, ME United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the dub style originated and was perfected in Jamaica with Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, it's hard to argue that Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell and John Kpaiye hit a peak with LKJ in Dub. This CD gives each vocal song next to its dub version. This material continues to amaze, musically and lyrically. In an odd way, if Thelonious Sphere Monk wrote vocals and did them to his best songs, they would be like this. Linton is a Woody Guthrie.