EASY STAR ALL STARS
"Radiodread"
(Pinnacle/Rough Trade - 2006)The New York-based Easy Star-label and its "ALL STARS" succeeded very with their fantastic release 'dub side of the moon'. The album sold 90.000 copies worldwide til now but growing - for dub reggae relations it´s a megaseller. Now this album is followed by a worth successor: A reggae tribute to RADIOHEADs 'ok computer'!
That choice couldn´t be better barely: Nearly no other album in the last decade features similar tenses in between psychedelic strangeness and mass compatibility, with a spirit of rock in the background and lyrics speaking on main questions of our society.
The songs of the original are in a spiritual tense of desperation and hope, the inner vibes of the album make it conceptial.
'Radiodread' is definite not a remix album: In the same way as on the forerunner all parts of the tracks were recorded new and no samples were used at all. The tracklisting is same as on the original.
The 'All Stars' were supported again by nameful singers of the riddim scene. On every track performs another nameful singer/combo as HORACE ANDY, SUGAR MINOTT, TOOTS & THE MAYTALS, FRANKIE PAUL to name but a few.So the opener 'airbag' starts in a happy off beat style with a strong guitar and relaxed horns, brillant attended by the vocal style (his special he-he-he-he) of HORACE ANDY.
The high pitch of the voice on 'paranoid android' sought a woman and found it in KIRSTY ROCK. Wonderful ska parts work intensive against the desperate appeal of the track.
The melancholic and bluesy parts of 'Subterranean homesick alien' are supported by a wonderful melodica.
Brass licks lead into 'exit music', sung by SUGAR MINOTT brillant on the edge of Ska and Reggae in tempo and style.
You don´t believe how demonstrative TOOTS & THE MAYTALS transformed 'let down' totally into their own style. Great, and really a highlight as 'karmapolice' too in it´s transformation into riddims.After listening to these six songs every alert listener knows how intensive the crew worked on every song and about the brillant choose of the adapted singer on 'their' tracks.
Dub is not in front on every track, but working fine through all tracks of the album.
A special highlight for dub fans is the last track 'an airbag saved my dub' - an awesome version on 'airbag' and one of the two special dub versions on tracks.A genius sunshine on RADIOHEAD ;-)
The brillant thought in making of 'radiodread' was to listen quietly to a maybe philosophically masterpiece in popmusic, a 'babylon highlight', and to transform it on it´s best possible spirits with all the vibes dub and reggae longing into the world of riddims.
In this way a fantastic, crucial, brillant work!Bernhard Groha