King at the Control

Bass that hits your chest like a depth charge. Drums that morph mid-song from wooden thuds to metallic stabs. Reverbed horns that slash through the darkness like summer lightning and disappear just as fast. Mixes that balance dramatic flair with tasteful restraint. Debates rage on over who made the first dub record, but—on the evidence of this reissued 1981 LP—there is no question why Osbourne Ruddock was crowned Jamaica’s King of dub music.