Pick a Dub
Encyclopedia
Pick a Dub is a 1974 album by Jamaica
n producer
and musician
Keith Hudson
. Critically well received, it is widely regarded as an important work in the dub music
genre which evolved out of reggae
. Featuring remix
es of earlier material, it focuses on heavy drums and bass guitar
, with echoing vocals to underscore the intense percussive rhythm. Carlton
and Aston Barrett
and Augustus Pablo
contributed music, while vocal fragments include Hudson, Horace Andy
and Big Youth
. The album was originally released under the labels of Klik and Atra, with a 1994 reissue by Blood and Fire.
identified the album as "one of the first dub albums" and described it as a "must-have". Lloyd Bradley
, author of This is Reggae Music, suggests that along with King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
, Super Ape
and African Dub Chapter Three this album is "one of the supreme heavyweight champion dub sets." Including the album in its 2007 comprehensive series on "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die", The Guardian
indicated that "no other dub album can rival Pick-a-Dub's austere sonic qualities." In England's Dreaming, Jon Savage
gives the album his "vote for the greatest dub album ever." Piero Scaruffi
puts it at #6 on his list, indicating in his summary of the 1970s Jamaican revival in Britain that Hudson and Dennis Bovell
brought the form to "[a]rtistic peaks". Allmusic in its review characterized the album as "a seminal work, a landmark in progressive remixing" that is "arguably the crowning achievement of Hudson's career." While arguing by contrast for Hudson's later album Brand, the website brainwashed
indicates that Pick a Dub typically "ranks as the pinnacle of his dub releases".
" dubs, of earlier material. Though reworked and retitled, Hudson's tracklist recast earlier songs into new form. The classics "Declaration of Rights" and "Satta Massa Gana" were recut as "Black Right" and "Satia". The title track, "Pick a Dub", was a dub of Hudson's own composition "S.90 Skank", which had been a hit song for Big Youth
. The album focused on the heavy rhythms of bass guitar and drums, with snippets of otherwordly vocals. The Wire identified as among the album's strengths "[s]tuttering melodica, squelching keyboard and guitar chops and a mix which dropped instruments in and out of the
sound picture every few bars". Hudson did not use the processed sound effects that later became common in the movement, a lack cited as "refreshing" by Bradley, who noted that such early sets reflected "the remixer's art in its purest form". The overall effect of Hudson's music is described by brainwashed as "uniquely deep and gothic".
on drums and bass, with additional music supplied by melodica
virtuoso Augustus Pablo. Snippets of vocal tracks included material by Hudson, Horace Andy and Big Youth. It was originally released in 1974 on the Klik label prior to release by Atra. In 1994, it was reissued by Blood and Fire.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Keith Hudson
Keith Hudson
Keith Hudson aka the "Dark Prince of Reggae" , was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer.He is known for his influence on the Dub movement.- Biography :...
. Critically well received, it is widely regarded as an important work in the dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
genre which evolved out of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. Featuring remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es of earlier material, it focuses on heavy drums and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, with echoing vocals to underscore the intense percussive rhythm. Carlton
Carlton Barrett
Carlton "Carly" Barrett was an influential reggae drummer and percussion player. His musical development in the early years were with his brother Aston "Family Man" Barrett as a member of Lee "Scratch" Perry's "house band" The Upsetters. The brothers joined Bob Marley and The Wailers around 1970...
and Aston Barrett
Aston Barrett
Aston Barrett , often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican bass player and Rastafarian.-Biography:...
and Augustus Pablo
Augustus Pablo
Horace Swaby , known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He popularized the use of the melodica in reggae music...
contributed music, while vocal fragments include Hudson, Horace Andy
Horace Andy
Horace Andy is a roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", "Angel", "Five Man Army" and a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine"....
and Big Youth
Big Youth
Manley Augustus Buchanan , better known as Big Youth , is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his work during the 1970s....
. The album was originally released under the labels of Klik and Atra, with a 1994 reissue by Blood and Fire.
Critical reception
The album has been critically well-received and is regarded as important in Hudson's discography and in the genre of dub music. In 1994, The WireThe Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
identified the album as "one of the first dub albums" and described it as a "must-have". Lloyd Bradley
Lloyd Bradley
Lloyd Bradley is a British music writer.Born in London, Bradley discovered Jamaican music in his teenage years, while going out in the North London based sound systems and created his own named Dark Star System in the end of the sixties.He worked on several in their early years Q Magazine and...
, author of This is Reggae Music, suggests that along with King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown is a dub album by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, released in 1976. It features Carlton Barrett on drums, Robbie Shakespeare and Aston Barrett on bass guitar, and Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar. Pablo produced the album and played melodica, piano, organ and...
, Super Ape
Super Ape
Super Ape is a dub album produced and engineered by Lee "Scratch" Perry, credited to his studio band The Upsetters.In Jamaica, the album was released under the name Scratch the Super Ape in July 1976 on Perry's own Upsetter label...
and African Dub Chapter Three this album is "one of the supreme heavyweight champion dub sets." Including the album in its 2007 comprehensive series on "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die", The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
indicated that "no other dub album can rival Pick-a-Dub's austere sonic qualities." In England's Dreaming, Jon Savage
Jon Savage
Jon Savage , real name Jonathon Sage, is a Cambridge-educated writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming, published in 1991.-Career:...
gives the album his "vote for the greatest dub album ever." Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
puts it at #6 on his list, indicating in his summary of the 1970s Jamaican revival in Britain that Hudson and Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell is a reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer. He was a member of the British reggae band Matumbi, and released dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the pseudonym 'Blackbeard'....
brought the form to "[a]rtistic peaks". Allmusic in its review characterized the album as "a seminal work, a landmark in progressive remixing" that is "arguably the crowning achievement of Hudson's career." While arguing by contrast for Hudson's later album Brand, the website brainwashed
Brainwashed (website)
Brainwashed is a not-for-profit online music publication offering news and reviews of eclectic music. Over fifty people contribute to the archives of Brainwashed. Brainwashed hosts websites for many bands, artists and record labels...
indicates that Pick a Dub typically "ranks as the pinnacle of his dub releases".
Music
Pick a Dub consisted of remixes, specifically primarily instrumental "riddimRiddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm," but in dancehall/reggae parlance it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song. Thus, a dancehall song consists of the riddim plus the "voicing" sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure may be taken for...
" dubs, of earlier material. Though reworked and retitled, Hudson's tracklist recast earlier songs into new form. The classics "Declaration of Rights" and "Satta Massa Gana" were recut as "Black Right" and "Satia". The title track, "Pick a Dub", was a dub of Hudson's own composition "S.90 Skank", which had been a hit song for Big Youth
Big Youth
Manley Augustus Buchanan , better known as Big Youth , is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his work during the 1970s....
. The album focused on the heavy rhythms of bass guitar and drums, with snippets of otherwordly vocals. The Wire identified as among the album's strengths "[s]tuttering melodica, squelching keyboard and guitar chops and a mix which dropped instruments in and out of the
sound picture every few bars". Hudson did not use the processed sound effects that later became common in the movement, a lack cited as "refreshing" by Bradley, who noted that such early sets reflected "the remixer's art in its purest form". The overall effect of Hudson's music is described by brainwashed as "uniquely deep and gothic".
History
The album was recorded with Carlton and Aston Barrett of Bob Marley & The WailersBob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae, ska and rocksteady band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963. Additional members were Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Cherry Smith and Aston and Carlton Barrett...
on drums and bass, with additional music supplied by melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
virtuoso Augustus Pablo. Snippets of vocal tracks included material by Hudson, Horace Andy and Big Youth. It was originally released in 1974 on the Klik label prior to release by Atra. In 1994, it was reissued by Blood and Fire.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Keith Hudson- "Pick a Dub" – 2:38
- "Black Heart" – 2:40
- "Michael Talbot Affair" – 2:54
- "Don't Move" – 2:43
- "Blood Brother" – 2:54
- "Dreaded Than" – 2:02
- "In the Rain" – 3:13
- "Part 1-2 Dubwise" – 3:17
- "Black Right" – 3:11
- "Satia" – 3:06
- "I'm All Right" – 3:02
- "Depth Charge" – 2:43
Personnel
- Dennis AlcaponeDennis AlcaponeDennis Alcapone is a reggae DJ and producer.-Career:Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services...
– liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:... - Aston BarrettAston BarrettAston Barrett , often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican bass player and Rastafarian.-Biography:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Carlton BarrettCarlton BarrettCarlton "Carly" Barrett was an influential reggae drummer and percussion player. His musical development in the early years were with his brother Aston "Family Man" Barrett as a member of Lee "Scratch" Perry's "house band" The Upsetters. The brothers joined Bob Marley and The Wailers around 1970...
– drums - Steve BarrowSteve BarrowSteve Barrow is a British reggae historian, writer and producer.In 1993 he co-founded Blood and Fire, a UK based record label specialized in reissuing older Jamaican music...
– liner notes - Phil Hale – photography
- Keith HudsonKeith HudsonKeith Hudson aka the "Dark Prince of Reggae" , was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer.He is known for his influence on the Dub movement.- Biography :...
– arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, drums, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Kevin Metcalfe – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Augustus PabloAugustus PabloHorace Swaby , known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He popularized the use of the melodica in reggae music...
– melodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...