Don Letts: The Rebel Dread @ Echo Beach

カリスマ的文化人、ドン・レッツがECHO BEACHのカタログの中からカヴァー曲などを選曲したコンピレーション・アルバムが発売！

パンクとレゲエの橋渡し役としてカルチャークラッシュを巻き起こし、名シリーズ『LATE NIGHT TALES』“夜聴きコンピ”のロングセラーでさらにその名を広めた重要人物、ドン・レッツ。そんな彼がセレクター、レゲエファンのみならず幅広い音楽好きからも絶大な支持を集めるレーベルECHO BEACHの膨大なカタログの中から選りすぐりの楽曲を選曲したスペシャルなコンピレーション・アルバムを発売!

レーベル名の由来でもあるMARTHA AND THE MUFFINS「ECHO BEACH」をはじめ、KATE BUSH、KRAFTWERK、JACOB MILLER、THE CLASHといった名曲を大胆にダブ・カヴァーしたECHO BEACHならではの珠玉の楽曲がずらり。カリスマ的な文化人としてカルチャーやトレンドを日々作り出しているドン・レッツならではの冴えわたる選曲はレゲエ、パンク、UK好きのみならず、UKのカルチャー、ファッションに敏感な人にも必見!限定プレス。

Don Letts has been a crucial link between punk and sound system culture since the 1970s. First known for blasting dub records at his London clothing store, then running a reggae club night called the Roxy, he directed several videos for the Clash, among many others, as well as The Punk Rock Movie (1978). He then spent much of the 80s in the original lineup of Big Audio Dynamite, which he co-founded with Mick Jones. During the 21st century, hes directed numerous music documentaries, including the Grammy-winning The Clash: Westway to the World (2000), and hosted a weekly radio show on BBC 6 Music. Hes released many compilations, usually focusing on classic reggae and dub, and also published an autobiography (2006s Culture Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers) and issued his debut solo album (2023s Outta Sync). The Rebel Dread at Echo Beach is Letts selection of tracks from throughout the 30-year catalog of Germanys Echo Beach label, which has always been dedicated to expanding the boundaries of dub. To this end, theyve often released dub-influenced covers or remixes of songs from other genres. This compilation is heavy on these types of revisions, which include tracks from the labels tributes to the Ramones and David Bowie, as well as other oddities like a spacy dancehall-ish interpretation of Elvis Presleys "Blue Moon." The Martha and the Muffins song that the label was named after appears in remixed form, and DubXanne (who first appeared with a Police dub tribute album) takes on Kate Bushs "Running Up That Hill" and Visages "Fade to Grey." The best of the cover versions seem to be saved for the end of the album, including Kid Locos dubified version of Kraftwerks "The Robots," Rob Smith of Smith & Mightys dub of Jacob Millers "Baby I Love You So" (the basis of Augustus Pablos groundbreaking "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown"), and Dub Spencer & Trance Hills rendition of the Clashs "Guns of Brixton," as dubbed by Manasseh. Other inclusions worth mentioning are a dub version of Booker T & the MGs "Time Is Tight" by a project called Dub Stax, Fila Brazillias megamix of tracks from the Blood & Fire catalog, and a Tubby-esque dub heavyweight from Letts himself titled "One People." Lee Scratch Perry also pops up, in collaboration with Ari Up of the Slits, who were briefly managed by Letts near the start of their career. Given the time frame during which the tracks on this compilation were recorded, much of this material has the glossy sheen of new-school digi-dub or dubstep rather than the smoked-out analog grittiness of vintage dub, which is appropriate for a label whose mission is to push dub forward. ~ Paul Simpson