A baker’s dozen of rare or unreleased dub instrumentals by Augustus Pablo at the height of his powers, mixed at King Tubbys.
First the set of Prince Philip dubplates from Digikiller, stateside; now this from Only Roots in France.
Biff!... Baff!
Knockout stuff.

A stupendous haul of sound-system specials and inspired experiments conjured from some of the greatest reggae rhythms of all time, from the inner sanctum of King Tubby’s studio in the mid-seventies (where Philip Smart was second engineer).
Seething with lethal touches of Tubby; dotted with head-spinning walk-ons for Hugh Mundell, Johnny Clarke, Jacob Miller and co; steeped in the genius of young Augustus Pablo, Smart’s childhood friend.
A staggering turn-up. Utterly crucial.

Good advice, beautifully delivered by the pair who had appeared as pre-teens ten years earlier in the film Rockers. Later known as Bitter Roots.

Ravishing vocal harmonies over magnificent Augustus Pablo rhythms, with the Black Ark in the mix.
Only Jah Jah know but schoolfriends Carlton Hines, Paul Mangaroo and Dave Harvey professionally named themselves after their local soundsystem in Mountain View, which in turn copped the moniker from the Tetrarchic rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, in the third century.

Dense dubs of the Pablo scorcher No Entry.
Heavy heavy heavy.

Ace vocal excursion on Augustus Pablo’s monumental 555 Crown Street rhythm, from 1979.
Notwithstanding his unforgettable Fuckerys A Gwaan, that’s gotta be Jah Bull’s finest moment, on the flip.