King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (song)
| "King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown" | |
|---|---|
 Dutch single cover | |
| Single by Augustus Pablo | |
| from the album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown | |
| B-side | "Baby I Love You So" |
| Released | 1974 |
| Genre | Dub, reggae |
| Length | 2:58 |
| Label | Mango |
| Songwriter(s) | Augustus Pablo |
| Producer(s) | Augustus Pablo |
"King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" is a dub instrumental track by reggae musician Augustus Pablo, first released under the title "King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown" as a single in 1974 on Island Records sublabel Mango Records.[1] It is a dub version of the Jacob Miller song "Baby I Love You So", also produced by Pablo.[2][3]
Island issued it as a single again in 1975 in the US, Canada, UK and Netherlands. As "King Tubby's Meet Rockers Up-Town", it was also released in Jamaica in 1975 as the B-side of "Baby I Love You So". With the title "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown", it was later included on the 1976 album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown.[4]
At a time when other dub musicians emphasized bass lines and drums, Pablo and sound engineer King Tubby accentuated the melodica melody line in this cut using four-track recording technology.[5] Musicology professor Michael Veal wrote that the track's appeal stems partly from "Pablo's dynamic backing rhythm, built from an insistent, eighth-note bass pattern anchoring a I minor-IV minor chord sequence".[6]
Critical reception
[edit]AllMusic claimed that the song is "widely regarded as the finest example of dub ever recorded".[7] The Guardian wrote: "Miller's impassioned voice drifts in and out like a haunted soul in a psychic cul-de-sac, tormented by the remarkable barrage of Carlton Barrett's doubled-up drumming and Pablo's mournful melodica".[4] It was listed as the third best song ever recorded by Mojo.
In 2021, it was listed at No. 266 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[2]
"Baby I Love You So"
[edit]"Baby I Love You So" is the vocal song on which the dub version "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" is based.[8] It is sung by Jacob Miller and was produced by Augustus Pablo.[9] AllMusic called it "a masterpiece" and wrote: "It says much about King Tubby's genius that his phenomenal dub of this number would eclipse Jacob Miller's own sublime vocal version".[10]
British band Colourbox released a cover of "Baby I Love You So" as a single in 1986. It is a dub remix itself, but with the vocals, sung by Lorita Grahame, fully in place.[11] It peaked at number four on the UK Indie Chart and was ranked number 12 by New Musical Express on their critics' list of the best singles of 1986.[12][13]
Other use
[edit]The track was featured on the reggae radio station K-Jah West in the soundtrack of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in October 2004.
References
[edit]- ^ Watson, Michael (21 November 2014). "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Jacob Miller". Midnight Raver. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014.
- ^ a b "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Embley, Jochan (28 April 2020). "WFH album of the week: King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown". The Standard. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ a b "1000 albums to hear before you die: Artists beginning with P". The Guardian. 21 November 2007.
- ^ Hardy, Phil (2001). The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music (3rd ed.). Faber & Faber. p. 750. ISBN 9781849720922.
- ^ Veal, Michael (2013). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780819574428.
- ^ Anderson, Rick. "King Tubby's Meets Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 764–765. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ Anderson, Rick. "Who Say Jah No Dread - Jacob Miller | Review". AllMusic.
- ^ Greene, Jo-Ann. "Baby I Love You So – Jacob Miller – Review". AllMusic.
- ^ Leland, John (September 1986). "Singles – Stealing the show". Spin. p. 36.
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits: 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
- ^ "NME's best albums and tracks of 1986". New Musical Express. December 1986.