Little John – Rubber Dub One

1986, C & E Records

Rubber Dub, I ‘Ello, Ba Bat A Babat, these are some of the words you must wrangle with as a reggae fan. Sometimes we know what they mean and sometimes we don’t. ‘Babat’ in particular caught my eye, the lyric goes “Babat a babat, idiot a idiot” and then there is nothing else in the tune that seems relevant. All I found online was a comment on a news story about a brothel being busted by police, and even then I am not really sure what to make of it. See below.

Fig. 1 – Madeeks shares his thoughts

Well whatever a babbat is, we know it can run gainst cratches. Troublemaker? Police? Fool? FORWARD a comment with your interpretation. Anyway “Rubber Dub One” is a great album. Little John first pays tribute to – get this – I Hello by Echo Minott with his song I ‘Ello ‘Ow Are You. Truth is stranger than fiction, especially in reggae. Did you know there’s a singer called Badoo who sounds just like Madoo but not quite as good? Well I Hello is tough to top, well iconic and well memorable, but so is I ‘Ello ‘Ow Are You. When we say that a riddim is ‘ready’ this is what we are talking about. A special mention to the snare on the ‘and’ of the four that comes in at 0:40 and seriously drives the tune forward. Little John may not be the most musically diverse singer out there but if a riddim is ready he can certainly make a banging and pinging tune upon it.

The second track I Love You Oh Girl is unfortunately a blunder, even to the point of being worth skipping, being a poor reinterpretation of All I Have To Do Is Dream. See Dream Dream Dream by Pliers if you still believe there is potential for that tune in digital dancehall stylee. Piece Of Me brings the quality right back up to the bar. It is hard to put my finger on what it is musically about this piece of him that makes it so memorable and brilliant, but what is certain is that it is one of the purest and best representations of Little John’s trademark style, on a unique and easygoing riddim. It is everything you could ask for. In Ba Bat A Babat the horns make their first mark as Little John declares that he can sing, and in What We Are Fighting For the horns peak as Little John sings. Few horn parts are as impressive or engaging as the Midnight Rock (Jah Thomas) productions from the early 80s but here is one to match that standard. When I hear those horns I make strained faces at myself in the mirror; it’s a pleasant thing to do. On top of the musical excellence I love how What We Are Fighting For showcases how little it takes for a vocalist to be in total agreement with their riddim. Whether the riddim was made for the vocal or the vocal was made for the riddim, either of these approaches is better than neither, and when you break it down there are no gimmicks or tough decisions from a songwriting point. B section has suspension, A section is sparse, tension is built with fills and cadences, instrumentation changes when Little John goes into his ‘bridge’ type section, and excitement grows as the horns make syncopated punches in the later parts of the tune. All simple and sensible ideas and the result is brilliant. Tunes like these are not to be missed by fans of Little John’s more famous works.

My picks: I ‘Ello ‘Ow Are You, Piece Of Me, Ba Bat A Babat, What We Are Fighting For
Bim count: 0