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| The Great Pablo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Augustus Pablo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 5 | Gun Trade | Dub version of Jacob Miller's "Fire a Go Burn" | |
| 10 | The Big Rip Off | Dub version of Jacob Miller's "Forward Jah Jah Children" | |
| 13 | House Raid | Dub version of Peter Tosh's "Funeral" | |
| 14 | Curly Locks | Dub version of Junior Byles' "Curly Locks" | |
| 15 | Road Block | Dub version of Bob Marley's "Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Road Block)" | |
| 20 | Eli's Move | Version of Yabby You | |
| 21 | Mr. Big | Dub version of Bob Marley's "Natty Dread" | |
| ? | Dub version of Junior Byles' "Irie Feelings" | ||
| ? | Dub version of Jacob Miller's "The Truth Has Come Again" | ||
| Notes |
| From the CD booklet: | |
| The term legendary is often bandied about in the music business - usually, it just means old! Few artists achieve that status within a few years of starting their recording careers - even fewer deserve it.
Yet Augustus Pablo, although he had only entered the recording studio less thn five years earlier, was already being spoken of in the hushed tones that denote the mystical status of legend by 1975. Few knew much about him. What pictures there were of him were grainy prints of this thin, bony youth who somehow already looked wizened, clutching a musical instrument that looked like a toy - indeed, was a toy in the wrong hands. Yet somehow, this skinny man generated such warmth and atmosphere from this instrument, the melodica, that the very sound of it, wailing over heavy dub rhythms, gave the music a whole new sub-division - the Far East Sound. And when he launched his own record label, Rockers, it gave the entire reggae genre a different name for the end of that decade. Pablo, born Horace Swaby in 1954, made his first records for producer Herman Chin Loy in 1970. Among them were the amazing East Of The River Nile (1971), which, from the opening, jazzy pentatonic scale, was unlike almost every other reggae record. Midway between funk and skank, it didn't sell amazingly, but within a few short years was changing hands for silly money. This remarkable track also appears here in its stripped down form, River Nile Version. Pablo didn't settle long with Chin Loy, and began to ply his trade among the numerous producers in Jamaica. His next port of call was Randy's studio, for whom he recorded his first major hit, Java (1972). Released on the Impact label, it was a strong enough seller to launch several other versions of the rhythm, including Dennis Alcapone's toasting cut Mava. Lee Perry placed Pablo on the rhythm that Junior Byles had a hit with (Fever), and Pablo's version, Hot and Cold (1973), suddenly brought out the roots potential in the backing track. That same year, Perry also used his melodica on the Gatherers' Words Of My Mouth, here in its instrumental version and credited to the Upsetters, Perry's band. |
Altough Pablo only makes a fleeting appearance, the
track is Pablo also worked with Bunny Lee on The Great Pablo
(1975) and My Desire (1974, originally recorded by John Holt
and also called Pablo's Desire), and when teamed with Big Youth
and Derrick Harriot's Crystalites band on Bass and Drum Version
(1973), proved unstoppable. African Queen (1973) is drawn from one of the very few sessions Pablo performed for Joe Gibbs. It's a version of the now long forgotten Mickey Lee's Hello My Little Queen. Pablo was teamed with mixmaster King Tubby in 1975, by producers Tommy Cowan and Warrick Lyn for the Ital Dub album, from wich we present a slew of classics. The Big Rip Off, Shake Up, Shake Down, Curly Locks (a cover of the Junior Byles classic), Road Block (a version of Bob Marley Three O'Clock Road Block), Well Red, House Raid (utilising Peter Tosh's Funeral as its backing track), Hillside Airstrip, Gun Trade, Eli's Move and Mr Big are all drawn from Ital Dub. It was a landmark album because it was the first time Pablo had worked extensively with King Tubby, soon to be his most important collaborator. Eventually Pablo grew tired of the freelance life, and launch his own sound system, Rockers, from which sprang a record company of the same name, soon to be joined by Rockers International, Pablo International and several other labels. His records, both under his own name, and those he produced for the likes of Horace Andy, Hugh Mundell and Junior Delgado amongst others, were acclaimed by roots reggae fanatics the world over. Pablo remained a mysterious figure, particularly for his many international fans, until 1987, when he embarked on a sporadic series of dates around the globe. Yet even though this higher profile made his face more well-known, he retainded his mystique, a musician operating on what seemed to be a higher spiritual plane that the rest. This compilation presents the best of Augustus Pablo's early work - the raw, vital records that first made him a name to watch, and which established him as a figure to revere in the reggae world. Pablo died in 1999, a victim of a nerve disorder. But unlike most much-loved acts who pass away in their prime, it didn't add to his legend. Augustus Pablo was already a legend from the word go. :: Ian McCann |
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