No Bed of Roses

by Chris NicksonDub Syndicate does what they do so well, a kind of massively messed-up and inventive roots reggae-dub mix mixed and dubbed by Adrian Sherwood. But where so much roots sounds like retreads, these guys always keep it fresh with little off-the-wall touches, like the processed piano intro to "Nothing Comes Easy" under the mad little vocal samples that coalesce into a beautiful track, as uplifting and spiritual as, well, "Uplifting" that comes before it. And it's always worth a listen as each cut takes a left turn into space, leaving the listener in uncharted sonic territory that's an absolute joy. That they make the best roots dub of their time is beyond question. That your head will emerge from one of their albums is a certainty -- they can even mess with the glorious vocals of Gregory Isaacs on the title track and make it sound right. Making it sound right is the key here; there's a logic to their interior journey through each and it makes sense in its own bizarre way. And they're not afraid of making statements, as they do on "Kingston 14" (and its version). Remarkably the versions are tamer, stripped of many of the effects -- and sound like they could have come straight from the '70s. To finish it all off they to offer a different, even harder and stranger mix of "Adam and Eve." Classic Dub Syndicate -- and for anyone who loves dub, that says it all.