Dennis Bovell
★★★★ The Dubmaster: The Essential Anthology
Two-disc scoop of Barbados-born UK reggae titan’s vast output as player, writer and producer.
His cameo in Steve McQueen’s film Lovers Rock affirmed Dennis Bovell’s pivotal role in the Black British cultural experience. Now The Dubmaster emphasises the unorthodox vision Bovell has brought to reggae, notably his foundational role in lovers rock, but also the under-acknowledged heft of his band Matumbi. The scope is impressive: 24 vinyl tracks, 38 on CD, divided between Bovell’s own music and productions for others (including Errol Dunkley’s sublime A Little Way Different), dub wizardry a constant. Naturally, Janet Kaye’s DB-penned/produced Silly Games is here, and lovers lovers can smooch on to Marie Pierre’s Our Tune, plus Bovell’s own take on Caught You In A Lie, a 1975 single where Matumbi backed Louisa Marks. Matumbi’s dread skills, meanwhile, are all over roots cuts like Blood Ah Go Run. The notable absence of material from his association with Linton Kwesi Johnson must surely beg a sequel.