Sly & Robbie, Stepper Takes the Taxi

Reggae Dub is that old style tradition--what labels like Trojan generally did with their "B" side 45s. The vocal version would be the "A" side, then the flip side would feature the instrumental tracks from the song, with some echo and maybe a touch of the vocals thrown in. If the groove was a good one everything worked out great. Apparently it came out of what reggae DJs would do with the spins in the clubs...

Sly is drummer Sly Dunbar; Robbie is bassist Robbie Shakespeare (and he is a mother). Sly & Robbie have gone back to that dub tradition and made a whole CD of new dubs in the old style--great grooves back-to-back--and actually according to the press sheet some old dubs are mixed in there, too. The album is called Stepper Takes the Taxi (MVD Audio 5846A). It stars a cat named Stepper, aka Giullame, who plays sax and sounds cool--not like he's a new Trane or anything, but his horn parts are hip. The mix is done by one Fabwise, a dubmaster on the rise. It all works.

Great music comes in lots of forms. This is great reggae dub that clicks perfectly. Bass players, listen to what's going on in that department. There are some very hip bass tracks here. The rhythm sections cook and the horns give out with sheer hipness. So get this one and it will put you in a fantastic mood!