(This review, January 24, 1999)
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Sly and Robbie
Drum and Bass: Strip to the Bone by Howie B.
Palm Pictures/Rykodisc (c) 1999.
Written by: S Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, L Willis, H Bernstein, J Livesey, J Shaw
Drum Programming and Synpads: Sly Dunbar
Bass Guitar: Robbie Shakespear
Guitar: Llyod "Gitsy" Willis
Keyboards on "Softcore Surge": Steve Marsden
Programming: Jony Rockstar
Keyboards & Tuning: Jeremy Shaw
Additional Keyboards and Programming: Howie B.
Release date: January 12, 1999.
Track-Listing:
1. Superthruster (3:58)
2. Fatigue Chic (4:49)
3. Into Battle (9:44)
4. Ballistic Squeeze (7:52)
5. Drilling For Oil (8:50)
6. High Voltage Syndrome (6:00)
7. Psionce Merge (4:23)
8. Exodub Implosion (6:12)
9. Major Magic (5:34)
10. Softcore Surge (3:09)
11. Zen Concrete (5:48)
12. Stripped To The Bone (4:44)
Total Running Time: (71:01)
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Sly and Robbie's "Strip To The Bone" is one of the most subtle, yet
delicate reggae-dub albums to hit the streets in 1999. This full lenght
combines a series of instruments that invoke an experience defined as
soulful and funky, without losing its reputation of purely entertaining
tracks on this 71 minute excursion. Some believe that the title of this
release refers not to the style of music known as "drum and bass," but
rather the *guts* of the genre of the music Sly and Robbie play. The term
"drum and bass" was first used in dub-reggae, and since Sly & Robbie helped
invent it, they thought they would recapture the term. Howie B's dubbing
and processing is quite cool and gritty, but the overall effect is a
synthetic hybrid of jazz, soul, and funk that will leave a tingling
sensation after several repeats.
It's very difficult to pinpoint particular tracks that have an extreme
effect on the subconscious. The entire album is loaded with essential
beats. "Fatigue Chic" has one of the most complicated yet simplistic beats,
saturated with a bass-line meant to vibrate the soul. "Into Battle," an
epic in itself, tends to redefine the hypnotic tendencies leaving the
listener in complete bliss. A chilling reggae-dub melody floats in the
background while strange sizzling rhythms dislocate themselves in a
harmonious effect. The title track, "Stripped To The Bone" is an
intensifying, beat-driven plethora of structured sounds. The magnitude of
this dub-infected rhythm pushes the envelope that much farther. "Exodub
Implosion" is the result of guitar licks exploding, drum patterns drifting
in several layers, and a pulsing, free flowing bass line making its way
deep into your mind. Although there are many genre's colliding within each
other on this superb album, "Drilling For Oil" is one of my favorite
tracks. Combining looped effects, an intelligently drifting dance melody,
and odd twitches of syncopated beats, this track leaves a trail that only
Sly and Robbie can retrace.
Sly and Robbie's "Drum and Bass: Strip to the Bone by Howie B"
is out on Palm Pictures.
Pietro Da Sacco, Contributing Editor.
The Circular Cosmic Spot.
http://www.sdriver.com/spot
Special thanks to:
Andrew Duke, Jeff aka 'Endemic Distortion' and C. Twomey.