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Dub This! By Owen Perry In 1996 mainstream America was introduced to Sublime and the soothing, smooth and charismatic voice of the band's lead singer Bradley Nowell. Their self-titled album went platinum. But months earlier Nowell had joined in the rock and roll clichˇ and died of a heroin overdose. While their two previously released albums and a few live and unreleased recordings still existed, it appeared that we'd seen the last of Sublime. But the spirit of the band continued when bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh formed the Long Beach Dub Allstars, a collaboration of Southern Californian easy-grooving skankers, DJs, and reggae legends. In the their first major label release, Right Back, the Allstars prove that even white boys can praise Jah through music. Theirs is a combination of ska and reggae rhythms, hip-hop beats, funky horns, and punk-rock guitars by the likes of fellow So Cal rocker, Fletcher Dragge from Pennywise. Vocals come courtesy of Opie Ortiz and Ras1, who both come very close to matching the vibe set by Nowell in the Sublime albums. Right Back also features a sampling of reggae's biggest stars such as Tippa Irie, Half Pint, Barrington Levy, and H. R. from Bad Brains. Fans must be warned that the Allstars are not Sublime, but the average Sublime fan will probably enjoy listening to the Allstars. However, I have come across hardcore reggae fans who hate Sublime because it is "too punky and too white," yet they love the Long Beach Dub Allstars. The songs on the album in whole, while being very reminiscent of Sublime songs, show a greater musical and material maturity. The group has strayed farther from their punk and ska roots and rely heavily on reggae sounds and vocal harmonies. Some melodies on songs like "Rosarito" and "My Own Life" sound like those that came out of the San Francisco Haight Ashbury days of the 60s and 70s, rather than the Orange County ska explosion of the early 90s. Right Back appeals to everyone from Rastas to punks to hip-hop fans to Deadheads. "Trailer Ras" gets to the albums theme of unity, love, and diversity saying, "well I've got friends black, white yellow, red, and brown." The lyrics on the album show a bit more maturity than the Sublime days, possibly due to Nowell's death. Ortiz sings in "My Own Life" about self control, "everyone around me crashing down from all sides/ and they say some things are never gonna change my life," the band members show a sense of their own mortality. In "Trailer Ras," Ras1 reminisces about his past adventures and misadventures. "well now when I look back/ over blue skies and smoke stacks/ it makes me laugh to think I've made it through," and in "Soldiers" he gives the advice "let me be the one to tell you/ to mend your foolish ways." The song "Fugazi" pays homage to the band of the same name and sends the message that Buzzsaw Haircut tends follow pretty closely: "you should never get your style from watching MTV/ all you get is fashion, no originality/ what clothes are they wearing or what drugs are they on/ if I drove a Mercedes would I be someone?" But don't get me wrong. These guys are still about skating, drinking, getting fat, and smoking weed and having a damn good time. "Rosarito" recounts a weekend tequila party in Mexico, and in "Sensi" Tippa Irie rants and sputters about the wonders of the Cannabis Sativa and praises Jah for making it. Perhaps the most touching moment on the album comes from the final track on which Barrington Levy sings a cover of the Sublime song "Saw Red," which Bradley Nowell sang as a duet on "40oz. To Freedom" with his former love interest, Gwen Steffani from No Doubt. In the mainstream music scene filled with supposed genre-merging bands such and Korn and Limp Bizkit, the Long Beach Dub Allstars present a true cross-genre masterpiece and a heck-of-a-good-time. Owen Perry is a freshman at Ithaca College. |
