We are living in a golden age of reissue and archival vinyl releases. Pop, rock, jazz, R&B, and soul have been the dominant genres. Unfortunately, other than Bob Marley, reggae artists have been somewhat neglected. One recent release may remedy that.
Sufferer Sounds, a collection of music that reggae wunderkind Dennis Bovell was involved with between 1975–1980, was recently released. Bovell was a musician, an engineer, and a producer and is most known for being one of the key exponents of dub reggae, particularly his work with dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. He was also involved in another reggae sub-genre called lover’s rock. In addition, he produced the punk group The Slits, UK post-new wave group Orange Juice, reggae artists Steel Pulse, and African music legend Fela Kuti.
Dub was a sub-genre of reggae that ended up having a huge impact on the second wave of British punk artists, particularly on the Sandinista album and period from The Clash and John Lydon’s (Johnny Rotten) group after the Sex Pistols, Public Image Limited (P.I.L.), which on its first three albums also included Jah Wobble and Keith Levene. That trio on those first three albums was heavily influenced by dub.
The various tracks on this double album represent the many musical hats Bovell wore and how he used these various projects to work with a wide variety of musicians in many different reggae styles with dub most of the time being the primary foundation.
In addition to some of Bovell’s own recordings, which include the Dub Band, Dennis Bovell Dub Band, and Bovell with Janey Kay, other artists such as Dennis Matumbi, Pebbles, Cosmic Idren, Dennis Curtis, Africa Stone, Errol Campbell, Young Lions, Angelique, and DB at the Controls are represented here.
There are five A-sides, eight rare B-sides, and two deep album cuts. The tracks here are drawn from such record labels as Tempus, Arawak, More Cuts, Rama, Micron, Discovery and Extinguish. The double vinyl album package has extensive liner notes on the two record sleeves, including an interview with Bovell, and comes in a PVC wallet.
The sound on reissues can be hit or miss, and sometimes even records cut from the original master tapes with the best mastering can sound harsh, dull, or over-remixed. One of the things that makes this compilation set so perfect for vinyl is how immaculately these original recordings were made. Crisp rhythms, sinewy guitar, and the trademark deep, echoey dub bass make these tracks a mind-blowing studio tour-de-force that is rich, organic, and quite heady. These albums were surprisingly mastered in Berlin and not Jamaica.
This set is a reminder of the power of reggae music, which since as far back as the late 1980s, has unfortunately suffered from lack of exposure, relatively few new up-and-coming artists and, as stated above, neglect from record labels on the reissue front.
Chris Blackwell funded Island Records in 1959 and sold the label to Polygram in 1989. It is now part of Universal, who owns the company, and who are sitting on a treasure trove of some of the greatest reggae recordings ever made. While the CD era was a time of lots of reissues, the vinyl reissue era is long overdue for some reissues, perhaps, especially from Island Records. Hopefully, soon come.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
