While not as well known as the titans of dub reggae like
King Tubby and
Lee Perry, or as respected as second-tier wizards like
Scientist and
Yabby You,
Errol Thompson cooked up some magic when he paired with
Joe Gibbs in the 1970s. Working together as
the Mighty Two, they were responsible for a huge number of reggae hits as well as the series of dub albums collected here. Recorded between 1974 and 1979 and credited to
Joe Gibbs & the Professionals, the recordings are an excursion into heavy rhythms, stripped-down tracks, and booming bass shepherded by the steady hand of
Thompson. He doesn't go in for the woody mysticism of
Perry or the ghostly sparseness of
King Tubby. His productions, especially on the earlier albums, lean more towards the melodic and robust. He doesn't always subtract instruments or leave long stretches of space; instead, he lets the song play out in recognizable form. It helps that he was working with hits plucked from
Gibbs'
Studio One label; it's hard to make dub magic out of inferior source material. Despite
Thompson's seemingly simple technique, he was something of a joker, adding odd sound effects like doorbells or barking dogs at random times and on later records going off on weird tangents like dropping in synths borrowed from
Giorgio Moroder or devoting entire tracks to disco, like the fun and funky "Bionic Encounter." By the time of 1976's
African Dub Chapter Two,
Thompson was making music on par with the biggest names in dub. When
African Dub Chapter Three was released a year later, he was coming close to surpassing them. Tracks like "Freedom Call" and "Angolian Chant" have all the power of
Tubby's best work while bobbing and weaving like
Perry at his slipperiest. Along with the original albums issued at the time is an eighth one made up of singles released throughout the last half of the decade. It all adds up to a truly magical listen and does well to spotlight one of the forgotten greats of the genre;
Gibbs' name might be on the cover, but it's all
Errol Thompson on the inside. Listening to the set from beginning to end is a fascinating journey that gives one a ringside seat to
Thompson's growth as a producer and the evolution of dub itself from stripped-down instrumentals to an anything-goes art form all its own. ~ Tim Sendra
