This excellent set collects 22 tracks that eminent dub master King Tubby mixed for producer Niney the Observer's record label. Throughout the 1970s, Niney was one of Jamaica's leading producers, scoring hits with the likes of Gregory Isaacs, Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, and Dennis Brown, and his association with King Tubby only increased his profile. A Tubby remix of a Niney production is a double dose of thunder--on top of Niney's fine studio musicians and already-innovative production, listeners are barraged with Tubby's classic treatments, heavy on thunderous bass grooves, shuddering rhythms, and echo-filled atmospheric effects.
Tubby's dub sides are deservedly revered, often equaling or surpassing the original songs in quality. What makes this 2003 set of particular interest is that most of the material--which includes alternate takes of album tracks, rare B-sides, and dub mixes from the vaults of Niney's label--had not previously been released. Tracks 3-12, in fact, were lost mixes originally intended to be an album; they were found in King Tubby's vaults and are released here for the first time.