SLY AND ROBBIE-SYNCOPATION.

dereksmusicblog ♦ October 4, 2011 ♦ 5 Comments

SLY AND ROBBIE-SYNCOPATION.

A while ago, I was crate digging when I came across an album by one of the most famous rhythm sections in reggae music, Sly and Robbie. The album was Syncopation, released in 1982, and was produced by one of the most famous producers Joe Gibbs with Errol Thompson engineering the album. Having long been a fan of their music, and already owning a number of their albums, I decided to take the plunge and invest some money in an album I wasn’t familiar with. Having bougt the album, I looked forward to hearing some of their trademark rhythms on an album that is a mixture of dancehall and dub music. Safe in the knowledge that with Sly and Robbie providing the rhythms, Joe Gibbs producing the album and Errol Thompson on engineering duties, I hoped for a musical feast. Before I tell you whether this is what I enjoyed, or whether it was more famine than feast, I’ll tell you about Sly and Robbie

Over the years, Sly and Robbie had been the go to rhythm section, for various producers who wanted some great rhythms on their productions. Their work, either as musicians or producers, features on an estimated 200, 000 recordings. This is an astounding number of recordings and demonstrates how talented the duo are. Drummer Sly Dunbar first met Robbie Shakespear in the mid-seventies. Before this, Sly was the drummer for Skin, Flesh and Bones, while Robbie was the bassist for the legendary band The Aggrovators. When they met, they realized that this was indeed a meeting of minds, with both men having similar tastes in music and theories in music. This duo would go on to transform reggae music, and later, work with some of the biggest names in music.

One of the first ways they changed reggae was the introduction of a style of music with a harder beat called Rockers. This style of reggae replaced the popular one drop style of music. In the early eighties, the duo were involved in two things that helped change reggae. The first was the introduction of the rub a dub sound, and the second the introduction of computers and technology in the music making process. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell made the duo the heartbeat of the Compass Point All Stars, based in Nassau, Bahamas. It was there that they produced records for divas Grace Jones and Gwen Guthrie, as well as Joe Cocker. By the nineties and into a new century, they continued to innovate, combining genres, like dancehall and Latin music, while they collaborated with hip hop, electro and pop stars alike. Like the eighties, they were still producing and playing on a multitude of tracks, with their collaborations ranging from reggae royalty including Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru and Dennis Brown to artists ranging from Bob Dylan, Serge Gainsbourg and Carlos Santana. Even until recently, Sly and Robbie continue to record, produce and tour, and are still at the cutting edge of music working with a wide rage of artists on singles and albums alike. One of the albums Sly and Robbie recorded was Syncopation, their 1982 album, which having discovered crate digging, I put on expecting a musical feast. However, was it a musical feast or famine I discovered when I played the album?

Syncopation opens with the title track Syncopation which opens with a jarring almost discordant blast of a synth. Thankfully, after that, things improve, with the sound heading in a much more melodic direction, driven along by song subtle rhythms from the hardest working rhythm section in reggae, Sly and Robbie. They’re assisted by a brass section, who subtly punctuate the track while guitars and synths augment the sound. Throughout the track, the synths squelches and reverberates, not really adding anything to the track. If anything, it’s presence draws your attention from the rest of the track, which is pretty good, albeit it’s not the sound you’d expect to hear on a reggae album. There’s an experimental sound to the track, thanks to the duo’s fascination with the synths, and the rawness I prefer isn’t present. Having said that, it’s a good, but not great start to the album, with Sly and Robbie subtle rhythms and the brass sections contribution, being the best thing about the track.

Free Ticket To Ride sees Sly and Robbie pay homage to The Beatles, reinterpreting Ticket To Ride. The track begins with synths, bright chiming guitars, metronomic crisp drums and a strong bass line. When the vocal briefly enters, only to disappear, but reappear, it’s slightly weak, but melodic. During the track, the guitar playing is excellent, soaring and chiming, with some quick crisp solos filling out the sound. Meanwhile, the rhythms stronger than on the opening track, what I’d expect from Sly and Robbie. However, for me, the track doesn’t quite work. Part of the problem is the vocal, which is slightly weak, and doesn’t suit the arrangement, and the track itself. Here, the vocal almost seems an afterthought, and would’ve been better left of the track, with this being an instrumental. As for the song itself, I don’t think that the track works as a reggae track, it just doesn’t sound right. That’s a pity, as there are some decent rhythms and great guitar playing on the album.

After two somewhat disappointing tracks, I’m beginning to hope that the album will improve, with Earthscan the next track. Immediately, when the track opens, things are looking promising. Crisp, drum beats, percussion and a deep, booming bass line are accompanied by the brass section who create a joyous upbeat, feelgood sound. Synths make their presence felt, but don’t dominate the sound, occasionally squelching and slithering over the top of the arrangement. Effects are subtly used, delay being Joe Gibbs weapon of choice. Thankfully, this is a much better track, the rhythms are far better, the quicker tempo has a joyous, upbeat sound which has an infectiousness. Earthscan it seems, is Sly and Robbie atoning for the two previous mediocre tracks. Hopefully, the rest of Syncopation will be more like this.

Flirting In Space has a similar upbeat, bright and joyful sound to the previous track. if anything, the rhythms are stronger, crisper and much more powerful. Drums crisp, crack, reverberating, while the bass is prominent, slow and moody. Accompanying them, are bright, chiming guitars, which produce a melodic sound. It’s assisted by an organ which contributes a light, bright sound, while percussion is sparsely interjected. No effects are deployed, which is no bad thing, allowing the listener to luxuriate in some excellent rhythms, and an arrangement that’s bright, melodic, and hugely enjoyable. After two great tracks in a row, I’m almost willing to forgive Sly and Robbie for the two unsatisfactory tracks that opened the album.

Listening to Space Invaders takes me back to 1982, the year this album was produced, and when games like space invaders were the cutting edge of technology, the latest thing. Looking back, games like that haven’t aged well, but has this track? A soaring, screaming guitar is accompanied by squelchy, synths that reverberate, the brass section and some strong rhythms. The drums are still crisp, cracking powerfully, while the bass is dark and quick, producing a heavy sound. Space Invaders chugs along, a melange of guitar solos that wouldn’t sound out of place in Guitar Hero, joyful interjections from the brass section and a rhythm section that provide the track’s heartbeat. Even the synths sit well in the arrangement, with a less is more attitude taken by Joe Gibbs. Here, Joe doesn’t deploy his effects box much, but still produces another great track, which features some amazing guitar playing.

After a less than promising start to Syncopation, things have taken a turn for the better. However, always in the back of my mind is the thought that, lurking round the corner, is a car crash track. Hopefully, that’s just the pessimist in me, and that Nighthawk will be another good track. As the track opens, a piano, powerful rhythm section and multitude of beep and squeaks from a synth make their presence felt. It’s an intriguing combination, with a deep, quaking bass and metronomic drumbeats, supplemented by various sound effects, crackles, beeps and squelches thanks to they synth. This is a very different sounding track, with the power of the rhythm section sitting well with what were space age sounds in 1982. Unlike other albums which feature similar synths, this track has aged well. It doesn’t sound dated, or of its time. Instead, it’s like an acid house track, with the resulting squelches, squeaks and beeps having a sound that’s endearing and stood the test of time well. Add in some subtle effects and I’m hooked by Nighthawk. By the end of the track, I’ve come to the conclusion that this quite different sounding track, is one of the album’s highlights.

A melodic piano, squeaky synth and rhythm section open Laser Eyes, a track that sees just a modicum of delay used to transform the sound. Here, Robbie’s bass playing is excellent, slow, dark and moody, while Sly’s drumming is slow, crisp and powerful, augmented by percussion. Delay and echo are used carefully, with care being taken not to destroy the sound, just transform it slightly. Meanwhile, a piano drops in and out of the arrangement, its sound bright and melodic, a contrast to drums cracking like pistols. Here, the rhythm are strong and powerful, while guitars chime and a keyboard interjects. Its sound is a mixture of light and darkness, with the darkness tending to dominate. Having said that, it isn’t a gloomy sound, there is a melodic side to the track, in among some pulsating and sharp rhythms. However, what makes the track for me is Sly and Robbie, one of the greatest rhythm sections in reggae music, their contributions make this another great slice of dub reggae.

Syncopation closes with Flight To Nowhere which opens with bouncy drums, a joyous brass section and Robbie’s bass sometimes slow and dark, other times quick, fast and weighty. Always, his playing is accurate and sparse. Effects are used quite heavily here, echo and delay being Joe Gibbs choice of weapon. It’s a track of contrasts with the bass providing a dark, moody sound and the drum sound dulled by effects. Percussion and brass section deliver a brighter, upbeat sound. During the track, an organ plays, with effects stifling its contribution, and its beauty not shining through. When effects are deployed, it dulls the arrangement down, giving it a lovely dubby sound. My only quibble with the track is the ending. One minute the track is meandering along, the next, it grinds to a sudden halt, and Flight To Nowhere, is going nowhere indeed. However, that only detracts slightly from what is otherwise, a wholly satisfactory slice of dub.

SInce I bought Syncopation some years ago, my opinion of it hasn’t changed. It’s an album that gets of to a really mediocre start, with the opening two tracks just not up to the standard I’d expect of either Sly and Robbie or Joe Gibbs. Somewhere along the line, the quality control has gone awry. After, the first two tracks, I was beginning to think that Syncopation was going to be a pretty poor album. Thankfully, Sly and Robbie quickly got things back on track after that, with the other six tracks on the album being much better. The album was produced at a time that Sly and Robbie were incorporating computers into the music making process, and it seems that synths were very much flavor of the month. During the album, they used synths, but thankfully, didn’t overuse them, because after a while, that would begin to grate. Like most of Sly and Robbie’s music, the rhythms are strong, as you’d expect from one of the best rhythm sections in reggae music. Joining them on the album, were some talented musicians, and of course Joe Gibbs, one of reggae music’s best know producers. Together, they helped make this a good album. It isn’t a great album, merely a good album. Sly and Robbie have produced many great albums during their long career, but this isn’t vintage Sly and Robbie. Having said that, if you’re a fan of Sly and Robbie, you may enjoy the album. Should you decide to buy this album, it’s available as part of The Evolution of Dub Volume 4 box set on Greensleeves Records, along with three albums by Joe Gibbs. This is a cheap way to buy four dub albums, and will allow you to make your mind up about how good an album this is. Standout Tracks: Earthscan, Flirting In Space, Nighthawk and Laser Eyes.

SLY AND ROBBIE-SYNCOPATION.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dejZ6rkq7R8