Search - Ub40 :: Present Arms in Dub

UB40: present arms in dub

Heidi M. Hawkins | Bellingham, WA: City of Subdued Excitement | 06/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"hardcore dub fans may have a hard time taking ub40 seriously, with their heavily commercial sound of the past decade or so. however, when they first started making records, they did their share of more roots-oriented reggae, including some fairly high-quality dub experiments. this recording dates from that era (1981). only 8 cuts makes for a short recording by today's standards, but the low price offsets that. the packaging is minimal, but it's a decent recording. ub40 fans who don't know about the earlier era of recordings may like this, but if they're not schooled in dub, may miss the vocals and commercialism initially. i bet it grows on you, though!"

Artistically awesome

J. Brady | 10/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"once again UB40 has proven to be outstanding with beats that make you dance and lyrics that make you sing along! UB40 has taken REGGAE and added a new flair with a little bit of JAZZ and it is simply awesome!!! This is a definite must have for all UB40 listeners."

Rubba Dub Dub

J. Brady | PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States | 08/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"UB40 obviously were listening to a lot of Lee Perry ( or smoking a lot of herb - maybe both ) when they recorded this one. No vocals to be found here, no traditional song structure. Loads of echo-laden synth effects and syn drums. Awesome heavy dub grooves. This is much better than I thought it would be, and I can't recommend it highly enough. For fans of dub reggae in the vein of Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby, this is a must have. For those who disregard UB40 as watered down commercial pop/reggae, this will come as a pleasant surprise."