St. Catherine in Dub 1972-1984 captures a snapshot of a special place and time musically, as well as a particular musical equation involving dub producer Rodguel “Blackbeard” Sinclair and his backing band, the Ring Craft Posse. The where, when, and who of St. Catherine in Dub 1972-1984 result in a delightful collection of 14 previously unreleased, newly remastered dub recordings named after various sections of St. Catherine, Jamaica. These dubs may or may not already be familiar to you; for instance, the opening dub, “West Bay,” is a version of Burning Spear’s “Joe Frazier.” Then again, unless you’re a real wiz about ’70s reggae, chances are you probably won’t know many, if any, of these versions.

Blackbeard’s production is top notch, as well as the mix, which is provided by Jah Thomas.  And the Posse?  Amid the numerous bands that made the ’70s such a golden age for reggae, with the blossoming of both roots and dub styles, the Ring Craft Posse stand tall, alongside other such luminous bands as the Aggrovators, the Revolutionaries, the Upsetters, and the Roots Radics. The band backed Blackbeard for a long and illustrious stretch of time, from roughly the early ’70s until the mid-’80s, and recorded a wealth of tracks at his Mr . Tipsy studio.  Definitely a band to look for if you’re into ’70s roots-dub reggae, the Ring Craft Posse are comprised of drummers Sly Dunbar and Mickey “Bo” Richards, bassists Robbie Shakespeare and Lloyd Parks, keyboard/organ/pianists Winston Wright, Ansel Collins, Herbert Herbie Harris, and Robbie Lyn, guitarists Willie Lindo, Winston Bopee Browne, and Dwight Pinkney, and a horn section including Bobby Ellis, Roland Robinson, Dean Fraser, and David Madden.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is one of the very best dub albums I own, and may be one of the best ever.

RING CRAFT POSSE | ST. CATHERINE IN DUB


Ring Craft Posse – Westbay
Ring Craft Posse – Garvey Meade
Ring Craft Posse – Passage For T
Ring Craft Posse – Cumberland
Ring Craft Posse – Caymanas Park
Ring Craft Posse – Waterford
Ring Craft Posse – Edgewater
Ring Craft Posse – Bridge Port
Ring Craft Posse – Braeton
Ring Craft Posse – Portsmouth
Ring Craft Posse – Independence City
Ring Craft Posse – Naggo Head
Ring Craft Posse – Westchester
Ring Craft Posse – Southboro

Producer : Roy Sinclair

Backing Band : The Ring Craft Posse
Drums : Sly Dunbar & Mikey Boo Richards
Bass : Robbie Shakespeare & Lloyd Parks
Guitar : Willie Lindo & Bo Peep & Dwight Pickney
Keyboards : Ansel Collins & Herbie Harris & Robert Lynn & Winston Wright
Horns : David Madden & Bobby Ellis & Nambo Robinson & Dean Fraser

Studios :
Recording : Mr Tipsy’s

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