Personnel: Winston "Bo-Peep" Bowen, Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont, Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan (guitars); 'Deadly' Headley Benett, Herman Marques, Dean Fraser (saxophone); David Madden, Bobby Ellis (trumpet); Vincent 'Trommie' Gordon, Calvin Cameron (trombone); Gladstone Anderson, Ansel Collins, Theophilus Beckford, Winston Wright, Errol "Tarzan" Nelson (keyboards); Bertram Ranchie McLean, Errol "Flabba" Holt, Robbie Shakespeare (bass guitar); Lowell "Sly" Dunbar, Fish Clarke, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Mikey "Boo" Richards (drums); Noel "Scully" Simms, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson (percussion).

One can usually rely on the Heartbeat label to provide plenty of detailed information within their splendid releases, but the two-CD Roots Man Dub set is surprisingly lacking in background information. There's an interesting, but irrelevant, interview with Alvin "GG" Ranglin and nothing about Dudley "Manzie" Swaby, but for the trainspotters, both discs' riddims and providence are liberally supplied. So, what's up with this set? In 1979, Ranglin released the Roots Man Dub album on his GG's label, comprised of ten titled and two untitled tracks drawn from a variety of sources -- singles from GG's, Swaby's Ja-Man and Manzie labels, and the Hookim brothers' Hit Bound label among them. The common denominator is the Revolutionaries, who provided all the riddims. The album has now been superbly remastered and featured in full on disc one. The final three tracks and all of disc two are comprised of previously unreleased dubs, again drawn from a variety of labels' releases and featuring both Ranglin and Swaby productions. The set doesn't identify which are which, and only a few dates are provided, but it's obvious which numbers were recorded in the roots era, with the superb riddims supplied by the Revolutionaries, the Roots Radics, and GG's All-Stars. The first disc is by far the most sumptuous in sound, awash in rich, organic dubs that are laced with melodies and virtually vocal-free. In contrast, the second disc features "dubbier" dubs, all more rhythm-driven, reverb- and echo-laden, and with snippets of vocals (mostly from George Faith and Tony Tuff) feeding throughout. Played back to back it's difficult to believe they're from the same producers, and one is tempted to credit Ranglin with the first disc and Swaby with the second, but one would be wrong. Instead, the shift in sound presumably reflects the shift in styles between the mid-'70s and early '80s. A fabulous set and a boon for reggae fans, but like so many dub albums, Roots Man Dub leaves one desperate for more background information. ~ Jo-Ann Greene

The Wire (p.73) - "This is real connoisseur's stuff, no gimmicky, wild dubbing, just tunes the way they should be."