The Prophets: King Tubby’s Prophecies Of Dub Vinyl LP The Prophets

One of the rarest dub LPs of all time finally back in print! NOT to be confused with King Tubby’s Prophecy Of Dub released a few years before this, also produced by Yabby You (if you’re familiar with Jamaican music you already know this sort of ambiguity is par for the course). Prophecies Of Dub was actually engineered by one of Tubby’s lesser-known assistants, Pat Kelly. But since it was dubbed at Tubby’s Waterhouse studio and the sound of Tubby’s mixing desk was so unique and iconic at the time, this record, and many others like it, bears Tubby’s name (Kelly was fully credited on the back of the record, but Tubby’s name on the front is what sold records in 1976). Kelly’s approach to the dub is a little less heavy-handed than that of Scientist, Jammy, or Tubby himself; the space echo is used sparingly and tastefully, and generally in a more atmospheric sense compared to the aggressive, shrill, disruptive sound of Tubby’s effects (which, don’t be mistaken, we can’t get enough of). The delay sound deployed here sounds like waves crashing on rocks, slowly and gently eroding the Earth, or maybe I’ve just been staring at the ocean blue cover for too long. Pat Kelly was a real music lover too, and although you might recognize these riddims from songs by Linval Thompson, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy and more, there’s almost no dubbing of any vocals whatsoever, with Kelly choosing to concentrate solely on the musicianship of The Aggrovators who laid down the original tracks. Our faves: “Earth Fear,” “Babylon Red,” “South West Block,” “Tradition Skank,” “Passing Through,” “Bad Man Stank.” Twelve tracks altogether, housed in full color sleeve with extensive liner notes compiled from recent interviews with Yabby You and Pat Kelly (who knew Tubby had a killer jazz record collection!), poly-lined inner sleeve and resealable outer sleeve. Recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• first-ever official reissue of rare 1976 dub LP
• music label: Pressure Sounds 2019

reviewed by Billington Lambs 03/2020