PRINCE JAMMY-OSBOURNE IN DUB.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 12, 2011 ♦ 1 Comment

PRINCE JAMMY-OSBOURNE IN DUB.

Regular readers to this blog will have gathered that I’ve quite a wide musical taste, because previously, I’ve written about different types of music, everything from indie, blues and soul, to house, rock and reggae. One other type of music I’ve written about before is dub reggae, and today, I’m going to write about one of Jamaica’s most prolific dub mixers and producers, Prince Jammy, and his 1983 album, Osbourne In Dub. It’s an album I’ve loved since it was released, and one I’ve heard more times than I care to remember. In this article, I’ll tell you about Prince Jammy’s career, and why Osbourne In Dub is such a good dub reggae album.

Prince Jammy was born Lloyd James in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1947. Before his involvement with the Jamaican music scene, Prince Jammy earned his living by fixing electrical equipment for local people. This he did, from his mother’s house in Waterhouse. His other sideline was building amplifiers and sound-systems. Towards the end of the 1960s’ Prince Jammy decided to build his own sound-system. However, by the early 1970s’ he decided to leave Jamaica and headed to Canada, where he stayed until 1976.

When he returned from Canada in 1976, he decided to set up his own recording studio. He opened the recording studio at his in-laws house in Waterhouse. Some of his first recordings were with Yabby You, a reggae singer and producer, who became popular in the early 1970s’.

Prince Jammy’s next big break came when one of King Tubby’s team left, and headed to New York to work. King Tubby decided that Prince Jammy was the man to replace New York bound Phillip Smart. This opportunity allowed Prince Jammy to work with some of Jamaica’s biggest producers and musicians. One of those was the legendary record producer Bunny Lee, who King Tubby worked closely with. During his time with King Tubby, Prince Jammy concentrated on making dub music. This continued until the end of the 1970s’.

Towards the end of the 1970s’, Prince Jammy started to produce records in his own right. One of the first albums he produced, was Love Crisis, the debut album by Black Uhuru. When the 1980s’ arrived, Prince Jammy came into his own, becoming one of the most important, and innovative producers on the island, producing many dancehall records. In 1985 Wayne Smith’s single Under Me Sleng Teng, was a huge hit, and gave Prince Jammy the biggest hit of his production career. That single featured the first ever digitally made, rhythm hook, which demonstrated how far technology had progressed. He had always embraced technology in his studio, and since then, Prince Jammy is credited as being the first digital rhythm used in reggae music. This would lead to what became the modern dancehall era. 

During the 1980s’ and 1990s’, Prince Jammy’s music became the sound of Jamaica. Both his productions, and sound-systems, were at the forefront of Jamaican music during this period. He has worked with the great and the good of reggae music since his early days in music. It seems he has worked with every artist you can think of. It would be easier trying to work out who he hasn’t worked with. Even now, he is still working as a producer, and still works with some of Jamaica’s most popular artists. 

Having told you about Prince Jammy’s career, I will tell you just why, Osbourne Dub is such a good album. Osbourne Dub begins with Loving Tonight. Drums roll, echo transforming their sound slightly, an organ melodically meanders. The sound is dub delight, subtle and understated. It doesn’t punish your speakers, rhythms emerge, a melody plays on the keyboard. Various percussive sounds emerge, a guitar plays, all the time, things entering the mix, and combining masterfully. It’s the perfect track to start the album. Although subtle, it holds your interest and has an infectious quality.

When Reggae Stylee begins, immediately you notice the sound is louder. The drums crack, loud and crisp, space left between each beat. So regular is the beat, you await the next one, and welcome its crispness and spaciousness. Behind the drums, percussion plays, then, later on, an organ plays, hiding behind the drums, never quite getting its chance to shine. A bass plays, subtly, it too, leaving the drums to dominate the track. Unlike Loving You Tonight, if you turn the volume up here, your speakers will groan, in protest at the ferocity of the drums. Reggae Stylee however, is a great track, I love the drum sound, and how everything shows deference to its force and prominence in the track.

Straight away when Dance Dub starts you realize that the sound has a more subtle sound than the previous track. There is also much more going on, more instruments can be heard, and this produces a very different sound. It’s a track that ambles along, it’s in no rush. As the track starts, drums and keyboard play, a guitar plays. Drums sit way at the front of the mix. They’re loud, crisp and have just a tiny bit of echo running through them. They don’t overpower the rest of the track, they play nicely behind the drums, their sound shines through, playing their part in what is another triumph for Prince Jammy.

Jah In Dub has a very different sound, from the others on the album. A brass section accompany the drums, which sound duller on this track. They lack the crispness than on other tracks. It’s no bad thing, the more subdued sound. For one thing, it’s much easier on the ear. It has a lovely repetitive hook, that lures you in, and before you know it, you’re hooked. During the track, the brass section and drums dominate, the bass section lacking the shrillness you sometimes here on some dub records. Here they’re almost sweet, in tune with the dullness of the drums. On top of that, a bass plays, plodding along, a backdrop that can’t be ignored. Mainly, it’s just drums and brass taking turns to shine. Quite simply, Jah In Dub is one of the album’s highlights, its infectiousness impossible to ignore. 

As Chopping Dub starts, drums play, they’re given plenty of echo, though not too much to destroy their sound totally. It’s subtly done. An organ accompanies the drums, its sound a nice contrast. For the first time on the album, the effects are let loose properly, and as the track progresses, they’re used to almost mangle the sound. Almost but not quite. The sound and effect is impressive, a treat, again, dub delight. I sit back and savor the moment. This is dub heaven. Brilliant. Don’t spare the echo. This to me, is how the effects should be used. It’s like a masterclass in how to use the mixing board, and effects in particular. In a word, masterful.

Having to follow Chopping Dub is no easy thing, however, Pumping Dub has a good attempt. Sound effects are heard as the track begins, the bass plays, its sound throbbing, drums join in, the sound chugging along. A piano plays, sounding bright, in contrast to the dullness of the drums. Its like light and shade. Deep in the depths of the track plays the bass, a menacing presence, adding even more darkness to mix. Percussion tries to lighten the sound. It becomes like a contest, which is too close to call, so I think we’ll call a draw. Although very different from the preceding track, Pumping Dub keeps up the high standard of music on Osbourne Dub, with an intriguing dichotomy of a track.

Drums play slow and spaciously, a piano plays brightly at the start of Double Trouble. Again it provides a contrast between the dullness of the drums and the light, bright, sounding piano. Between the two instruments, the basis is there for a good track. Add in a bass, some percussion and use a bit of subtle echo and the track is progressing. That’s what Prince Jammy has done when he produced the album. It’s effective and pleasing on the ear. He doesn’t complicate or clutter the sound with a multitude of instruments. Quite the opposite, it’s almost as if less is more. What he’s ended up with, is an outstanding track, one that benefits from an almost understated arrangement.

See No Evil begins a with a guitar solo, an unusual start to a dub track. It’s joined by the drums, pumping away, gradually getting louder, fighting their way to the front of the mix. The guitar drops into the mix, soaring high, then, suddenly disappearing, only to reappear. During the rest of the track it almost disappears leaving drums and piano to take centre-stage, with the drums becoming the star of the show. With the addition of the guitar, this track is quite different from others on the album, one that I love, with the guitar transforming the track from a good one, to a great one.

The drums roll quickly right at the start of Pure Is the Soul, but quickly the pace drops. It would be impossible to keep that up during the track. However, the drums are still loud, very loud and crisp, and dominate the sound. Behind them an organ meanders slowly, picking out notes slowly. Percussion is loud and crisp. It almost assaults your ears, so loud and prominent it is. A bass and guitar plays, their sound subtle, almost disappearing behind drums and percussion. Having said about the volume of the drums and percussion, it doesn’t detract from the quality of the track.

Osbourne In Dub closes with Rise Up. The track starts with keyboards and drums. Keyboards pick out a melody, drums crack, space left between the beats, which the keyboard fills. Overall, the sound is mainly drums and keyboard. Other instruments join the fray, providing the backdrop for Prince Jammy’s drums and keyboards to shine. Here, the keyboard plays well, the tempo upbeat, the sound bright. Like many other tracks on the album, the drums sit right at the front of the mix, their sound dominating the soundscape. Rise Up demonstrates how a track dominated by two instruments can combine to produce a good track.

That is the story of Osbourne In Dub, one of Prince Jammy’s best albums. The album features some highly talented musicians including Robbie Shakespear on bass and Sly Dunbar on drums. Prince Jammy’s production on the album is brilliant, it’s subtle throughout the album. Not once does he overdo the use of effects. Each of the tracks is the highest quality, there are no poor tracks on the album. It becomes difficult to find a new superlative to describe the quality of each track. The funny thing is, that many people are unaware of Prince Jammy and his music. They’ve heard of King Tubby, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Bunny Lee, but are unaware of Prince Jammy, and his music. When they hear his music they’re pleasantly surprised. It seems to me, that he is almost one of dub’s unsung heroes . Maybe, this article will go some way to rectify this, and that after people have read this article, they’ll want to hear some of Prince Jammy’s wonderful music. 

Should you wish to buy this album, it is now available as part of a four disc box set, entitled Evolution of Dub Volume Six Was Prince Jammy An Astronaut? It features four of Prince Jammy’s albums. Osbourne In Dub is one of them. The others are Crucial In Dub, Kamikazi Dub and Uhuru In Dub. They’re three other great albums and this box set will let you hear some of Prince Jammy’s best albums, including the excellent Osbourne Dub. Standout Tracks: Loving Tonight, Jah In Dub, Chopping Dub and See No Evil.

PRINCE JAMMY-OSBOURNE IN DUB.