Hymning the power of reggae, over a re-licked, surging Conquering Lion, with worrisome Tubbys bass. The dub is here.

The great singer addressing false authority, apartheid and the squandering of black lives. The rhythm is Tubby’s ace, ominous, digi re-working of Yabby You’s Conquering Lion.
Dubplate business from Dub Store in Tokyo.

Two goes, both brilliant, featuring ace trombone. The first take carries the swing, with its wailing, soul-jazz organ more to the fore.

A rollicking organ-and-drums grounation workout.
Plus Ken Boothe taking liberties with Nat King Cole’s Hazy Lazy Crazy Days Of Summer.

The first Premature is by Thomas Boutwood, from South London. Veolia is hazy, nervously minimalist synth hypnosis; Droid is a knees-up, industrial-techno frightener.

This rare roots outing by the lovers specialist is a sweet, heartfelt tribute to the great JA revolutionary. A Lloyd Parks production, with a proper dub.

A fine trombone instrumental — fruity, old-school, wistful — backed with a lovely detournement of Rosemary Clooney’s massive country smash, Beautiful Brown Eyes. Lloyd Charmers business.

Ace early Tubbys digi — stripped and moody — with fine, amusing vocals.

Tough, dismissive, soundboy digi. A King Tubby dubplate from 1986.

Irresistible reggaeficatory bazookaings of Manu Dibango’s Soul Makossa, upping the old-school funk, and garbling extra mamas.

Carlton Barrett at the Black Ark in 1975, on a spare Upsetters rhythm, with Pablo playing clavinet. Lovely stuff.

Riveting roots harmony reasoning over a spare, brooding dub, produced by Sly & Robbie at Channel One in the early 80s, and previously only released on dubplate.
A must.

No less than an alternate take of the almighty rocksteady classic from 1968. Backed with a Tommy McCook instrumental featuring organist Winston Wright.

Tremendous, tormented, abject vocal to Melody Maker, with a heavy dub — for the label Hudson co-ran with Gleaner journalist Balford Henry.
Via the safe hands of Dub Store in Tokyo.

Killer.
Typically masterful, ultra-soulful singing, over a sparkling rhythm. It’s the last gasp of the swinging sixties; geezer is hurt but randy. His missus has scarpered, so the coast is clear for some of this in-ting debauchery he’s been reading about in the papers.
With a trombone-led moonstomp on the flip.
This first hit for Keith Hudson’s new label is a stone-cold re-wind in perpetuity. So play it back, Jack. Hook back on the track with a double attack.

Two fine sides of expert, Curtis-inflected soul-reggae.

This classy lovers was Sharon’s breakthrough, fronting the Now Generation band for Geoffrey Chung in 1973, in an achingly regretful Armstead / Ashford / Simpson song about female disillusionment (laid waste by Cilla Black the previous year).

Two excellent, righteous vocal cuts to a tough, downtempo, rootical rhythm, in a brief respite from dancehall at Tubby’s HQ.
Latest in Dub Store’s lip-smacking series of Firehouse dub plates.