It is hard to believe that Bob Marley has been gone for over 30 years. He is one of those artists whose material has kept on being released in as many combinations as possible with varying degrees of results. Every once in a while, however, someone has a unique idea or some new material surfaces, which brings is to In Dub Vol. 1.
Bob Marley was a practitioner of reggae music and was one of the artists that enabled that music form to achieve mainstream acceptance and huge commercial success. His albums, before and after his death, have sold tens of millions of copies and continue to be popular three decades after his passing.
In Dub Vol. 1 was originally released during 2010 as a digital only issue on iTunes. It has now returned in a CD and vinyl form. The original intent was to gather dub versions of many of his better known songs into one place. Many of the tracks were originally released as B-sides of singles or extra tracks on 12-inch singles. Outside of their digital availability, over half the tracks have never been available on a CD or vinyl album.
The only negative about the release is the lack of information about the tracks. There is little context or recording information, which would have been very welcome. On the other hand, the sound is clean and crisp, plus the material is a fine addition to Marley’s legacy.
The highlight of the set is a new dub version of the popular “Lively Up Yourself,” which has been retitled “Lively Up Your Dub.” The track is exclusive to this new format.
Tracks such as “Is This Love Dub,” “Forever Loving Jah Dub,” “Crazy Baldhead Dub,” “Waiting In Vain Dub,” “One Love/People Get Ready Dub,” and “She’s Gone Dub” all take his music, strip it to basics, turn up the bass and drums here and there, and remix everything into unique combinations.
In Dub Vol. 1 is a good idea that works as it presents a different take on the music of Bob Marley. It provides a unique but very good listening experience for aficionados of his music.