TURNTABLIST

DIPLO'S MAJOR LAZER is amusing in that Saturday morning cartoon way. Fun with cornflakes. His work on M.I.A.'s sophomore release, KALA, on the other hand gave my mind blisters. But this leaves me feeling cautious for all the wrong reasons.

What does DIPLO do here other than select some choice cuts?

This is being crazy hyped all over the network hoping to crossover into uncharted pop territory.

Is it just me or is DIPLO shooting blanks here! I mean the chosen tracks are already known killers...it's like he's aiming with the safety still on.

Sweet LORD of MERCY... check those names!

Now this CD from TROJAN plays out like a musical massacre. "CREATION REBEL" is a crime scene with DJ SPOOKY"S fingerprints all over the mix. The record company man claims Trojan Records: re-mixed, re-visioned, re-versioned for their 40th anniversary.

Under the influence of heavy DUBS!

A split second into this CD and your ear's will tell ya something ain't right, not that there is anything wrong going on here; it's that DJ SPOOKY takes the all too familiar and makes something new to discover. Sure the idea for this CD was probably a marketing ploy but Mr. Spooky doesn't operate here as just another paying gig, he turns it into a labor of love. 

A quick note about TROJAN RECORDS...The main bulk of their catalog is back issued Ska, Rocksteady and early Roots. Their big pay day is the tapes of Bob Marley and the Wailers that Lee "Scratch" Perry secretly delivered to 'em.  

A quick note about DJ SPOOKY aka THAT SUBLIMINAL KID, real name Paul D. Miller... he takes TURNTABLISM way beyond merely spinning choice records. Sure he is no stranger to the club scene, but he is one of the few that is viewed as a valid composer. He peers group includes several AVANT GARDE and JAZZ musicians as well as the usual HIP-HOP suspects. 

Honestly, when I treat myself to vintage MARLEY and the WAILERS, I usually spin SPOOKY'S version of MR. BROWN for starters. Actually, two takes, one apparently wasn't enough. His first version amps the organ riff for maximum creepy effect with BOB'S haunting vocals echoing in and out of the thick as sugar-cane syrup mix. Tons of reverb! The second which comes toward the end is of the disc is an stripped down acapella mix that's even more creeped out. It buries the organ riff six feet under in the mix with BOB and PETER'S voices floating like DUPPY SPIRITS over a grave. 

DJ SPOOKY borrows the RIDDIM from one tune and then he'll drop an entirely different set of vocals on top. This musical slice and dice is performed as seamless as cosmetic surgery! Need proof...check the remix of BOB MARLEY'S SOUL REBEL. It's simply fucking cool. 

SPOOKY isn't afraid to give some of genres most massive classics a fresh spin around the old retirement home. DAWN PENN'S one hit wonder NO-NO-NO is given it's third chance at life (she charted with that big tune in the late 1960's and again with it in the early 1980's). He sets fire to BARRINGTON LEVY'S ganja anthem UNDER MI SENSI till the smoke pours out your speakers. He puts an open flame under WAYNE SMITH'S ganja anthem UNDER MI SLENG TEN till your eyes bloodshot red. I think the mix would make original producer KING JAMMY smile. SPOOKY takes the extremely riff heavy AUGUSTUS PABLO rocker EAST OF THE RIVER NILE and works it out till it's solid muscle. This disc also gives SPOOKY the honor to lay down some musical tributes to a couple of his heroes that hide behind the mixing boards, MAD PROFESSOR and SCIENTIST. 

SPOOKY has U-ROY chanting introductions. He has TAPPER ZUKIE inciting the people. And he has Dub Poet MUTABARUKA dropping information. Twice, SPOOKY utilizes MUTABURKA'S willfully spoken words. At times his mixes are heavily psychedelic, tastefully dance grooved or mentally disturbed. That is a good thing! The bands laying down these RIDDIMS for the most part, are THE UPSETTERS and THE OBSERVERS. Another dusty relic is MICHAEL ROSE, I'm guessing before he joined BLACK UHURU. Does SPOOKY'S mixes defile the originals? Nah, SPOOKY raids TROJAN'S vaults with reverence for its' past. The verdict? 5 out of 5.