Having taken The Collapse Of Everything and The Grand Designer EP through the Bandcamp Friday checkout and looking forward to a weekend of Sherwood infused sounds, on a whim I've created a 45-minute Dubhed selection of Adrian's previous work with other artists.
Some old, some new, some familiar, some less. All heavy duty and guaranteed to satisfy your dub palette.
1) Jungle (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)
2) Down In It (Singe) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): Nine Inch Nails (1989)
3) Death Of A Party (12" Death) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood): Blur (1998)
4) To Let Go (Adrian Sherwood ON-U Sound ReMix): R34L, Mark Pistel, Adrian Sherwood (2022)
5) What Silence Knows (Unreleased Version By Adrian Sherwood & Style Scott): Shara Nelson (1994)
6) Danger Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)
In case you hadn't noticed, Adrian Sherwood's fourth solo album, The Collapse Of Everything, was released into the world on 22nd August.
At risk of predictability, Sunday seems to be frequently my go-to day for sharing dub excutsions on this weaving path through the musical landscape.
Therefore, it would be remiss of me to pass up these converging opportunities to spotlight Sherwood at the controls, with the videos for the first four songs (so far) from the album.
Starting with Dub Inspector (track 2), back for the opening title track, then back on course for The Well Is Poisoned (Dub) and Body Roll. Considering how long Adrian's been at this music lark, his ability to carve out fresh dub soundscapes is undiminished.
Heck, even Brian Eno pops up with "guitar, vocals, effects" on The Well Is Poisoned (Dub), and there's some lovely sax and flute by Alex White from The Fat White Family on three of the four featured tracks.
The Collapse Of Everything Is available now on clear or standard black vinyl, as well as shiny disc and digital.
If you can wait, there's another Bandcamp Friday in a couple of weeks (5th September) if you would like even more of your hard earned wonga to reach Mr. Sherwood.
The album's closing piece, The Grand Designer, was also the title track of 10" vinyl and digital EP release in June, with three other non-album cuts (one featuring the late, great Lee 'Scratch' Perry). Again, worth every penny.
And, if you're feeling splendiferously frivolous, why not splurge on a couple of Adrian's recent remixes for other artists?
July saw Adrian's dub rendition of No Cigar by Shit Robot aka Marcus Lambkin, working with Joe Goddard and Al Doyle from Hot Chip and issued on the super hip DFA Records label.
The upcoming Bandcamp Friday will also mark the one-year anniversary of Echoes Of The Night, an EP by Pitch Black featuring four - count 'em, four - dubs by Adrian Sherwood, dating from (I think) 2020, all but one previously unreleased.
And I've not even mentioned the entire album of Adrian Sherwood dubs, Obscured By Version, brand new but delving into the archives of Dub Syndicate.
Back in April, I posted Under Dub Covers, a selection of reggae and dub cover versions and it was well received, so here's the follow up!
Fourteen tracks this time, a 50/50 split between reggae and dub, 60s-90s and 21st Century, but 100% certified excellent. Well, the tunes, if not the sequencing!
This week in 1985, I Got You Babe by UB40 "with guest vocals by" Chrissie Hynde first entered the UK singles chart at a modest #22. It was Top 5 a couple of weeks later and #1 a couple of weeks after that.
There was a dub version on the flip side but no extended version on the 12", so I've taken the liberty of creating my own edit for this selection. I've literally spliced the dub intro and outro with (most of) the vocal version. A dub sandwich, if you will, crackles and all.
1) Stoned In Love (Cover of 'I'm Stone In Love With You' by The Stylistics): Pat Kelly (1979)
2) It's Too Late (Cover of Carole King): Marcia Griffiths (1974)
3) A Wonderful Version (Cover of Louis Armstrong): Rhoda Dakar ft. Natty Campbell (2023)
4) Safe From Harm (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood) (Cover of Massive Attack): Horace Andy (2022)
5) Night Nurse (Dub With Vocal) (Remix By Mick Hucknall) (Cover of Gregory Isaacs): Sly & Robbie ft. Simply Red (1997)
6) To Love Somebody (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry) (Cover of Bee Gees): Busty Brown (1969)
7) The Model Dub (Cover of 'Das Modell' by Kraftwerk): Prince Fatty ft. Shniece McMenamin (2020)
8) Chase The Devil (Adrian Sherwood Dub) (Cover of Max Romeo): Dubblestandart ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Coshiva & Emch (2014)
9) I Got You Babe (Dub Sandwich Re-Edit By Khayem) (Cover of Sonny & Cher): UB40 ft. Chrissie Hynde (2025)
10) Long As I Can See The Light (Adrian Sherwood's Dub Lighting) (Cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival): Monkey Mafia ft. Shirzelle (1998)
11) Dock Of The Bay (Cover of '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of Tthe Bay' by Otis Redding): Dennis Brown (1972)
12) Everything I Own (Dub Version By Stewart Levine) (Cover of Bread): Boy George (1987)
13) All Shook Up (Cover of Elvis Presley): Jackie Edwards (1979)
14) Exodus (Dubvisionist Dub) (Remix By Felix Wolter) (Cover of Bob Marley & The Wailers): Tackhead (2011)
1969: The Upsetter: 6
1972: Superstar: 11
1979: So Proud: 1
1980: All Shook Up EP: 13
1987: Everything I Own EP: 12
1997: Night Nurse EP: 5
1998: Long As I Can See The Light EP: 10
2011: Exodus EP: 14
2014: Dubblestandart In Dub: 8
2015: Play Me / Sweet And Nice (Expanded Edition): 2
A few cover versions that didn't make today's final selection were produced by the legend that is Dennis Bovell. That didn't sit right with me so, as compensation, I've restored links to the two DB-themed selections that I've previously posted. With the above, that's pretty much four hours of dub nutrition!
Today's selection is by way of compensation to Ernie at 27 Leggies for last Sunday's crushing disappointment of posting a mixtape side titled Roots 'n' Culture that was completely devoid of dub and reggae.
No red herrings here, with plenty of bass-heavy rhythms amongst the genre-hopping bakers' dozen of tunes. At least one tune from each of the last six decades and, as far as I can tell, all appearing here (in these versions at least) for the first time.
Lee 'Scratch' Perry is hidden in plain sight, collaborating with Bob Marley on the opening song and reappearing as the Upsetter on the penultimate track.
There are a trio of tunes from 1982, quite by accident, featuring UB40, Rico ably accompanied by The Specials and one of the greatest voices of all time, Bim Sherman.
As you may have guessed, International Beat was a spin-off from The Beat, their debut album produced by none other than Ranking Roger.
There are a couple of covers, with Rico and The Special AKA taking on the title track of Japanese jazz musician's Sadao Watanabe's 1979 album Morning Island.
For Me You Are by Prince Fatty, Hollie Cook and Horseman has a rather more complicated history. The song was originally titled Bei Mir Bistu Shein and written by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda in 1932 for a Yiddish language comedy musical, I Would If I Could, performed by Aaron Lebedeff and Lucy Levin.
Five years later, Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin got their hands on the song, wrote English lyrics, Germanised the song title spelling and created a global hit for The Andrews Sisters with Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)
The name of Prince Fatty's 2012 remake is an approximation of the original Yiddish to English song title translation, To Me You're Beautiful.
Phew, history lesson over, time to enjoy the music!
In my final post of 2024, I have taken another look at the Dubhed Top 20 most popular posts. As with 2023's list, these are in descending order to manufacture some countdown tension, again with a few video inserts at various points. Or you can scroll down the page to see what's at #1...
The spread is more uneven is more uneven this year - January and October are the most popular months, April not far behind. March, June to August and, perhaps less surprisingly, December don't even get a look in at the Top 20. My Dubhed
selections feature in just over half of the Top 20, which is good to see.
January's birthday nod to Susanna Hoffs hit the mark and was well inside the Top 10 for most of the year, only dipping out when posts from the last few months starting climbing up. Jesse Fahnestock also scores a triple whammy, with Jezebell and 10:40 respectively.
Sadly, too many obituaries this year, the tributes to J. Saul Kane, Chris Cross of Ultravox and Keith LeBlanc being particularly well received, even though the news of their passing wasn’t.
And two comebacks also attracted a lot of attention, one very welcome (The Cure, crashing into the Top 10 in October) and one very much the opposite (#15 in November).
I'm delighted that this year's #1 featured what for me is the best album of the year, in any category or genre.
In
case you missed them first time around, click on the titles for the
original post. Dubhed selection links have also been restored, where
appropriate. When you get to #1, go and read my review of the album, posted shortly after I played it for the first time, then you'll understand why there was never any doubt in my mind. Happily, as the most visited post in 2024, it seems that you all agree.
Thanks so much for your support this year. I love writing this blog, but your comments, suggestions and gentle editing corrections give me the motivation to keep writing, keep wanting to do better and, in simple terms, give a shout out for all those talented people whose passion to create music inspires me every day.
Have a great New Year's Eve and best wishes for a brilliant 2025. I'll be here as usual tomorrow.
1) A Gift (Sounds From The Flightpath Estate) (6th April)
When I posted the Dubhed 2023 Top 20 on 2nd January, John Medd was quick to respond with a suggestion:
"I know it would be like knitting fog
but have you thought of condensing
the year down
not just into 20 posts, but 20 tracks
- segued into a
60/70/80 minute megagmix?
Push the boat out,
make two sides of 40/45
mins
and whack it out as a C90!"
I replied, filed it away and then pulled it back out of the drawer when I started this post. 21/22 tracks segued into an 85-minute mix. You can split it in half and fit onto a C90, if you don't mind some spooling at the end of Side 2.
This selection is dedicated to John Medd (thanks for the suggestion, hope you're doing well) and Swiss Adam (not least for his contribution to this year's #1).
And to everyone else, whether you're a fellow blogger (active or lapsed), commenter or silent visitor - not forgetting those lovely bots in China and South Korea - thank you again!
1) Three Rings: 10:40 ft. Emilia Harmony (2024)
2) 1000 Fahrenheit (Welsh Version): The Wedding Present (2014)
2) Same for J. Saul Kane's brilliant Bomb The Bass megamix from 1988.
3) I still haven't actually bought or listened to The Cure's new album from start to finish, but I have dipped into the concert for BBC Radio 2. Isn't it wonderful?
4) You'll quickly twig that A.N.T.S. by Adam & The Ants is set to the tune of Y.M.C.A. by The Village People. And why not?
5) Jesse Fahnestock is not paying me to get maximum exposure in the annual Dubhed Top 20, honest.
6) Jesse's contribution as 10:40 to Sounds From The Flightpath Estate was released as a standalone single in the summer, which is why it's included here. The album in general was only available as a limited edition double vinyl, which sold out in (excuse the pun) record time.
7) In March 2020, during the COVID lockdown, Andy Bell was taking song requests to perform and post on YouTube. Andrew Weatherall had passed mere weeks before, and @supawide45 suggested Andy have a go at Smokebelch II in tribute to The Guv'nor. Which he did, commenting, "Makes me want to actually record an acoustic arrangement of it!"
In March 2024, after a close-to-the-wire completion and submission, Andy's recorded version of Smokebelch II was released as the closing song on Songs From The Flightpath Estate. As it was perhaps always meant to be.
I've not included Andy's 2024 version, as it's place is on the album that Swiss Adam and his Flightpath Estate colleagues poured their hearts and souls into creating.
Instead, I've taken Andy's lockdown sketch, itself barely half a minute, looped and re-edited it a bit, then spliced with a section of Andrew, Jagz and Gary's Beatless Mix of Smokebelch II from 1993. It's an amateurish edit, but I think it (just about) works.
Continuing with yesterday's extended 12" tip, here's seven songs stretched out into discomixes and dub excursions by some of the finest producers ever to step on this planet.
I'd love to say that my shelves are crammed with well-loved and oft-played reggae and dub 12" vinyl. Sadly, not the case. Thankfully, so much has been released on CD and digitally in the last two or three decades that I've been able to regularly satisify my voracious appetite for the music and the artists and producers that created it.
Another hour long selection, the shortest version on here clocking in at eight and a half minutes, the longest just shy of nine and three quarters, all solid gold. And a reminder of when UB40 were really good.
I usually list the EP or album that the song originally appeared on. This time, I've listed the compilation that I first discovered the version on. Physical copies still out of print in many cases, but possibly slightly easier to track down...and afford.
Enjoy!
1) Prophecy (Discomix By Lloyd Coxsone): Fabian (1977)
2) Know Love (Discomix By Lee 'Scratch' Perry): The Twin Roots (1977)
3) Pure Ranking (Discomix By King Tubby): Horace Andy (1979)
4) Liberated Woman (Album Version By Mad Professor): Ranking Ann (1982)
5) Rasta Train (Discomix By Lee 'Scratch' Perry): Raphael Green & Dr. Alimantado (1977)
6) All I Can Say (Album Version By Bullwackie): Love Joys (1983)
7) The Earth Dies Screaming (12" Version By Ray 'Pablo' Falconer): UB40 (1980)
1982: A Slice Of English Toast: 4
1983: Lovers Rock Reggae Style: 6
1997: Good Vibes: 3
2005: Trojan Roots & Culture Box Set: 5
2012: Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Friends: Disco Devil: The Jamaican Discomixes: 2
2014: 12"/80s New Wave: 7
2015: Island Records Presents Reggae Discomixes: 22 Essential Extended Mixes: 1
In case you missed it, Lee 'Scratch' Perry's final album - and last recorded performance in his lifetime - was released earlier this year.
King Perry was issued on Tricky's False Idols label and the album represents Perry's desire “to do something new, something different but still with a dub framework”. Working with producer Daniel Boyle, the 12-track album includes guest appearances from Greentea Peng, Fifi Rong, Marta Zlakowska, Rose Waite and a memorable performance from Shaun Ryder on Green Banana.
There are a bunch of remixes available separately too, from Dubkasm, No. 1 Special, Daddy G v Robot Club and Tricky himself. Tricky also co-produces a couple of tracks and appears with Marta on the penultimate song Future Of My Music.
In a sad irony, King Perry's final song Goodbye features the last vocals that Scratch recorded before he passed away in August 2021. It's all the more touching in this context.
King Perry is available on vinyl, CD and digital formats and one to add to the list for Bandcamp Friday.
Here's an eclectic 90 minutes of songs, remixes or acts featuring either '1000' or 'thousand' in the name. What was a little surprising was just how many examples are bouncing around in my collection. Even my shortlist contained roughly twice as many songs as made the final selection.
Those of you who follow the excellent 27 Leggies and in particular Ernie's African Odyssey will have been hugely disappointed by the difficult decision to exclude the mighty King Ayisoba from this week's stop off in Ghana, such was the embarrassment of musical riches emanating from the country. Rest assured, his majesty makes an appearance here, with one of the songs that Ernie originally posted and part of my introduction to the Ghanaian great.
The selection closes with a two-hander from XTC and The Coral and I don't think I could have picked two better songs to wrap up.
Viel spaß mit meiner tausendsten beitragsauswahl, meine Freunde!
1) 1000 Miles: Ride (1994)
2) Rilly Groovy (S1000 Mix By Spencer Williams & Mike Koglin): Beautiful People ft. Jimi Hendrix (1992)
3) Furious Angels (Rollo's Thousand Volts Mix): Rob Dougan (1998)
4) 1000 Miles Away: Hoodoo Gurus ft. Vicki Peterson (1991)
5) One Thousand Miles An Hour: Stereolab (1995)
6) 1000 Faces: Gonzales (2002)
7) Through It Poured The Next Day, I Never Noticed The Rain (Single Version): One Thousand Violins (1986)
8) One Thousand Tears Of A Tarantula (Album Version): Dengue Fever (2005)
9) One Thousand Years: TUU (1993)
10) Swords Of A Thousand Men: Tenpole Tudor (1981)
11) 1000 Dollar Car: The Bottle Rockets (1994)
12) Son Of A Thousand Fathers: Prince Fatty & Mutant Hi-Fi (2011)
13) 1000 Miles: Dirty Three (1996)
14) Blue-Eyed Pop (S1000 Mix By Spencer Williams & Mike Koglin): The Sugarcubes (1992)
15) 1000 Can Die: King Ayisoba ft. M3nsa & Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2017)
16) $1000 Wedding: Gram Parsons ft. Emmylou Harris (1974)
17) A Girl Like You (1000 Times) (Remix By Howard Gray): The Wolfgang Press ft. Claudia Fontaine (1992)
And if that's not enough for you, there are thousands of others that could have made the cut.
Contributing today's cover photo, I bought the 12" of I Feel It/Thousand by Moby in the 1990s. I remember reading in Mixmag or DJ magazine at the time that the song achieved a Guinness World Record for having the fastest BPM tempo of any released single, peaking at approximately 1,015 beats per minute.
None of which means the song is any good, of course. Rather than subject you to the full version, here's two minutes of Moby "performing" Thousand at the Electric Daisy Carneval in (I think) 2015. Health warning: strobe lights, plus a bald, pasty-skinned man topless and puffing his chest out to the largely indifferent masses. The fireworks are lovely, though.
Someone else who's still rocking the hairspray and lippy like it's 1985 is Robert Smith of The Cure. Here's A Thousand Hours (and bonus At Night) performed last October in Los Angeles. The venue is the Smoothie King Center, presumably named after a US company/sponsor but was there ever a more appropriately named venue for ol' Bob?
Back to 1994 and The Fatima Mansions live on stage 1000%, again cutting away to some fairly blank faces. Phillistines! I saw Cathal Coughlan and crew at The Fleece in Bristol around the same time and it was one of the most blistering, incendiary gigs I've been to. A greatly missed creative genius.
You get some strange stuff on You Tube, don't you? I love The Beloved and I really like the song 1000 Years From Today. One fan has taken this one step further and created their own video. Not the mental image I had when listening to the song previously.
I have one song by Lia Ices aka Leah Kessel, courtesy of a Mojo magazine cover mount CD. A bit of an insult really, given that she's released four albums since 2008. Luckily for Lia, the one song is called Thousand Eyes so it gets a mention here. Not a fan-made video, although it's cut-and-paste job shamelessly stealing from Bollywood.
And for those of you who on seeing the post title and theme have been shouting "Where's Slough's finest, Thousand Yard Stare, for feck's sake?!" at the screen ever since, I think it's about time you got your comeuppance.
