Hold On, I'm Drummin'

Celebrating Sly Dunbar aka Lowell Fillmore Dunbar, 10th May 1952 to 26th January 2026.

As promised in Tuesday's post, which immediately followed the sad news of Sly's passing, I've spent the time since working on a Dubhed selection, which I present today in tribute to the great man.

The thing, Sly contributed to so much incredible music, of which a mere fraction sits in my collection, physically or (mostly) digitally, that fourteen tracks and roughly an hour cannot be anything other that my personal reflection on why there is - and will never be - anyone quite like Sly Dunbar.

I had the same dilemma when compiling a tribute selection for Sly's partner and lifelong friend Robbie Shakespeare, when he died in 2021. 

Whereas that mixtape drew on the vast range of artists that they produced and/or performed with, today's selection sticks to releases by Sly & Robbie, although collaborations are inevitable, as evidenced by the tracklist below.

Again, it's only fourteen songs, so the selection can't even hope to span the whole of Sly's working career. Half the songs cover the 1970s and 1980s; the rest stretch from the 1990s through to 2021.

Echoing a comment by The Swede earlier this week, Western society these days is prone to chronic overuse and misapplication of words like legend and icon. Both can be readily and appropriately applied to Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.

There's still so much of their music out there for me to discover, though with the sadness of knowing that it's now a finite amount. Something to treasure with every listen.

1) Side Walk Doctor: Sly & Robbie (1979)

2) Spray Belly: Sly & Robbie (2014)

3) Argentina Dub (Dennis Bovell Meets Sly & Robbie): Sly & Robbie ft. Ken Boothe (2021)

4) Politicians: Sly & Robbie (1984)

5) Livin' It Up Dub: Horace Andy + Sly & Robbie (2006)

6) Yes, We Can Can: Sly & Robbie ft. Bernard Fowler & Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper (1987)

7) Rastafari Prophecy: Horace Andy + Sly & Robbie (2006)

8) Keep That Night: Sly & Robbie (1992)

9) Exodub Implosion: Sly & Robbie (1999)

10) Make 'Em Move (Remix By Paul 'Groucho' Smykle): Sly & Robbie (1985)

11) Space Invaders: Sly & Robbie (1982)

12) Liquidator Dub: Sly & Robbie (2002)

13) Dirty Harry: Sly Dunbar (1979)

14) Dub To My Woman: Sly & Robbie (1982)

1979: Disco Dub: 1

1979: Sly, Wicked And Slick: 13

1982: Dub Rocker's Delight: 14

1982: Syncopation: 11

1984: Hot Dub: 4

1985: Make 'Em Move EP: 10

1987: Rhythm Killers: 6

1992: Remember Precious Times: 8

1999: Drum & Bass Strip To The Bone By Howie B: 9

2002: Sly & Robbie Meet Bunny Lee At Dub Station: 12

2006: Livin' It Up: 7

2006: Dubbin' It Up: 5

2014: Underwater Dub: 2

2021: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics: The Dub Battle: 3

Hold On, I'm Drummin' (1:04:36) (GD) (M)