Dub Syndicate - Tunes From The Missing Channel

1985, ON-U Sound Records Ltd, ON-U LP 38

A1: Ravi Shankar Pt.1
A2: The Show Is Coming
A3: Must Be Dreaming
A4: Over Board
A5: Forever More
B1: Geoffrey Boycott
B2: Wellie
B3: Jolly
B4: Out And About

This LP was a purchase I made about four years ago based solely on a friend's recommendation. Dub Syndicate are basically a project of producer Adrian Sherwood and Style Scott, former drummer with Roots Radics and Creation Rebel, plus of course a whole bunch of friends and session musicians. Stylistically, while it owes much to reggae and dub, this album back in the mid 1980s was pushing the envelope of the whole genre. Drums and percussion are featured prominently, which should come as no surprise seeing as one half of the nucleus of Dub Syndicate is a drummer.

Predictably enough, side 1 opener, "Ravi Shankar Pt.1" features a (faux) sitar melody line which sound surprisingly effective over a dub bass backing and what sounds like a motorbike being kick-started into action. "The Show Is Coming" features spoken vocals courtesy of Fats (so it says on the record cover) and has a much more urgent beat, a staccato bass guitar solo, and the repeated refrain "something nice is going to happen to your ears" which could be subtitle to this album. The next track, "Must Be Dreaming", slows things down again and showcases a lazy melodica courtesy of Doctor Pablo. "Overboard" is of a more experimental nature and features former Public Image Ltd member Jah Wobble providing one of his signature repetitive basslines plus he plays keyboards here too. For the most part Tunes From The Missing Channel is an instrumental record; other than the previously mentioned "The Show Is Coming", the only track featuring vocals is side 1 closer "Forever More", a stripped back dub affair which allows Bim Sherman's vocals to sit prominently in the mix.

Side 2 opens with Dub Syndicate's tribute to a legendary Yorkshire cricketer. "Geoffrey Boycott" is an uptempo little number with a simple but effective synth hook. "Wellie" (featuring a second ex-member of PiL, Keith Levene on guitar) is another synth-led piece which unfortunately makes no great impact on the listener, while "Jolly" at least manages to live up to its name being indeed a jolly little tune. I don't feel that side 2 really takes off until the final track, "Out And About", which manages to recapture the vibe established by side 1 before the whole record comes to an end.

I feel that Tunes From The Missing Channel is most definitely a record of two halves. You listen to side 1 and think, "Wow! that's amazing!", then flip it over to side 2... which isn't bad, but then again isn't astonishingly great or particularly groundbreaking. Additionally, on side 1 the tracks either segue into one another or else have no silence between them and so effectively create one seamless piece of music that takes up the entire side of the record. Side 2 has definite track breaks and it feels like these are the not-so-good tracks, those which may have been b-sides on a single record.

All in all, Tunes From The Missing Channel is a very enjoyable album for fans of reggae and dub music, but a couple of lacklustre tracks on side 2 stop it from being a truly great album. If only side 2 had been up to the standard of side 1 it could have been a classic!