Gregory Isaacs is most known for his vocal works as a reggae singer, with recordings stretching back to the 1960s and worldwide acclaim through releases on Trojan, RAS, Front Line, and other noteworthy labels. However, back in 1978, with a little assistance from reggae royalty King Tubby and Prince Jammy, Isaacs produced this masterpiece, perhaps my own personal Holy Grail of classic dub.
Songs from Slum In Dub have popped up on dub compilations for years, and on the comps I own with songs from Slum always ended up being my favorites, but the actual album of this has eluded me for years. I was completely stunned to simply find it inconspicuously sitting in a record shop bin in NY on a recent trip. It's that familiar routine: there's some running mental list of records that seem to be nothing but elusive and so many bins end up being checked when away from home that the expectations are next to zero. Now I'm more than thrilled to know it is now being widely distributed again thanks to Mr. Isaacs' own African Museum label.
As aforementioned these songs always stood out above the rest on dub comps: deep and dirty sounds were soaked with soul and almost completely void of vocals. Bass and drums groove along with the rhythm guitar while a keyboard instrument (melodica or organ) takes the lead. More than likely there's somebody present whose primary function is to trigger echoed delays on the right instruments at the right times. The sound is hypnotic and its effects are euphoric. Slum is fourteen tracks of gems like this that I wish went on much longer.
There's magic is in the simplicity of playing, as it's a jam but not by a collection of soul-less music school students showing off. It's restrained, and this is a talent that so many youngsters—even those on tour with people like Mad Professor at the dials—fail to possess. It makes Slum In Dub an album to come back to over and over again as both a listening and a learning experience.
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