Music On Vinyl save the day with this nice-sounding repress of one of the rarest dub LPs of all time by Michael Campbell aka Mikey Dread, who moved from a humble engineer position at the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation to hosting the island’s first ever reggae-focused show: “Dread At The Controls.” The country soon fell in love with Campbell’s broadcasts which focused on homegrown roots reggae and rocksteady sounds, a favorable alternative to the rest of the station’s programming which consisted strictly of foreign pop music. Soon Campbell started producing records, mostly in a rub-a-dub style with zany sound effects and his signature chatting style sampled all over them. Dread At The Control Dubwise was recorded at the legendary Channel One studios, ground zero for some of the heaviest rhythms coming out of Jamaica in the late 70s and early 80s, and absolutely bangs with an all-star rhythm section including Sly & Robbie, Augustus Pablo, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Ansel Collins and Campbell’s masterful hands on the boards, with characteristically head-scratching song titles to boot, some of which seem to be aimed at his colleagues and bosses at the JBC (“Assistant Director,” “Props-Man Style,” “Floor Manager’s Theme”). Dub heads will recognize these as alternate mixes of the same riddims laid down for Mikey’s African Anthem LP, but they take on all new forms here, featuring some of the most imaginative mixing ever cut to tape, often with only the bass and drums surviving from the original versions. Check out Campbell space-echoing the hell out of- well I don’t know what it is, exactly- on “Floor Manager’s Theme.” “Kasha Herb Rock,” “International Field Marshall,” “Fast Forward Dub” and “Props-Man Style” are other standouts. Previously out of print for 40 years, this edition comes on 180g red colored vinyl, limited to 1000 individually-numbered copies; recommended.

• 180g red colored vinyl
• individually numered + foil-stamped
• limited edition of 1000
• music label: Music On Vinyl 2019

reviewed by him downstairs 07/2019