Manteca
2000
The Melodica King
About This Album
With Shanachie records maintaining a catalog of classic Augustus Pablo titles like King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown and King David Melody, and the release of Island's Classic Rockers, this collection from lesser-known label Ocho seems likely to fall through the cracks. Indeed, a title like Dub, Reggae & Roots From the Melodica King may seem unlikely to shed new light on an already renowned Jamaican producer. Yet what may first appear to be another attempt to repackage Pablo's music to capitalize on the uninitiated is in fact a fantastic collection of some of his best early material. While there is a small degree of overlap with previous releases, many of the cuts offered are decidedly more difficult to track down. Great care has been taken with the running order as dubs or alternate mixes typically follow more familiar versions. So Jacob Miller's "Baby I Love You So" is given a superb melodica reading on "Cassava Piece," and the guitars of "Give Praise" slip, slide, and get submerged under water on "Silent Satta." In the hands of lesser producers, listeners would be forced to scour the results in search of insignificant variations.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,6,7,9,10,11,13,14,16,17,18,19 and 20)

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