YABBY YOU Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Pressure Sounds' latest release takes us back to 1976 and "Wall Of Jerusalem", a soulful reggae album by The Prophets that included production from both Yabby You (the band's lynchpin and lead vocalist) and dub mixer King Tubby. The album is something of a roots classic, with Yabby You's seductive, soul-fired vocal numbers being joined by delay-laden heavy dub revisions by King Tubby. You'll find the original set on LP 1, with the second being dedicated to alternate versions, previously unreleased tracks recorded in the same period, and alternate dubs that have lain dormant in Yabby You's archives for the best part of 40 years.

Review: Pressure Sounds latest essential reissue breathes new life into Yabby You and the Prophets' brilliant 1975 album Conquering Lion, an early roots reggae gem that has long been a favourite of knowledgeable reggae heads. The first record naturally showcases the original EP, offering us a chance to savour such classics as 'Run Come Rally', the intoxicating and pitched-down brilliance of 'Conquering Lion' and the shoulder-swinging skank of 'Jah Love'. The second record, meanwhile, gathers together rare dubs, versions and alternate takes not featured on the original LP. It's almost worth buying the reissue for this alone; 'Tubby's Vengeance', 'Anti Christ Rock' and 'Warning (Dub)', in particular, are spectacularly good.

Review: The Vivian Jackson label has locked in this crucial reissue of a roots classic from Yabby U, a late Jamaican artist and producer who released it originally back in 1977. 'Chant Down Babylon' is a warm one with lazy and rolling drums and natty acoustic guitar riffs with Jah worshiping vocals and Babylon yearnings that unfurl up top with a real smoothness. On the flip, you will find the 'Chant Dub Mix' which removes the vocal chantings and allows the hats to hiss and the snares to take off like UFOs while the fleshy low end is couched in oodles of reverb.