A pair of rare dub albums – back to back in a single set, with bonus tracks too! On A1 Dub, Blacka Morwell serves up some massive dub – working at Channel 1, for an obscure album on Trojan Records – but maybe coming across with some of the richness of the Island Records generation! There's a fullness to the sound that's wonderful – top-to-bottom completely solid, and often highly focused on the rhythms, but also always using one key instrumental element on each cut – a bit of organ here, a weeping guitar there, or even an odd sonic element – always given center stage in the spotlight, and set apart from the rest of the mix in a really great way. Titles include "Downtown Rebel", "Well Crucial", "Different Style", "West Side Ranking", "Pressure Rock", "Blackboard Jungle", and "Waterpump Skank". Next is Cry Tuff Dub Encounter 4 – from Prince Far I & The Arabs – an almost seamless set of dub instrumentals, recorded at Channel One in 1981 – the underground Jamaican groove, but maybe given a slightly better sound quality overall – that good mix of indie and professional that was the Trojan Records calling card as the 70s moved on! A crisp upfront production style separates this one from some of its dub predecessors – but the record has a great analog dub sound, with many effects and instruments echoing in and out of the mix. Titles include "
Lion Stone", "Foundation Stepper", "Sound Gesture", "Destruction Sound Battle", and "Stone African Ground". And if that's not enough, the whole thing features a whole CD of bonus material – rare tracks taken from the 12" Attack series by Trojan Records – with cuts that include "Jammin For Survival" by Jammy's At The Controls, "Bali Hi Special" by The Sowell Radics, "Fuss & Fight Dub" by Eddie Fitzroy, "Ball Of Fire" by Bim Sherman, "Stand & Look Dub" by Fat Man All Stars, "Caring For My Sister" by Scientist & Roots Radics, "Won't You Come On (dub)" by Witty's All STars, "Babylon Wrong Dub" by Ashanti Waugh, and "Cool Pon Your Corner Version" by Barry Brown.