Declaration of Dub

Album Review

The long-awaited Declaration of Dub is the dubwise companion to the Abyssinians' classic album Satta Massagana, an archetypal roots-reggae document featuring nothing but the deepest, darkest and dreadest riddims churning beneath the supernal trio harmonies of Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Lynford Manning; the lyrics are all standard Rastafarian fare, dealing with African repatriation, sociopolitical observations and the goodness of Jah. The dub version focuses on the instrumental grooves, while the group's vocals float wispily in and out of the mix. Though the title track is presented here in an unnecessarily slick-sounding "New Version," most of the tracks benefit greatly from the attention of Karl Pitterson and Bunny Tom Tom, who strip the instrumental tracks down to their essential elements, isolating and fortifying the groove. This is an outstanding dub album and should be considered an essential part of any roots reggae collection.