Arguably the very first dub album (the case can be made for a few other 1973 releases), "Java Java Java Java" remains an underappreciated item in the history of the subgenre. Rarely mentioned in the same breath as other pioneering dub efforts like Lee Perry's "Black Board Jungle" or Keith Hudson's "Pick A Dub", this album is even regarded by some befuddled reviewers as nothing more than a collection of straight instrumental tracks. It's difficult to account for this viewpoint, but I suspect that some people--even those who consider themselves aficionados--don't really know what they're listening to, or what to listen *for*. Not only is "Java Java Java Java" a fully-fledged dub album: it's a terrific one, stylishly produced and free of the excesses that sometimes bedeviled the subgenre as it progressed into the late '70s. The first half of the album is fairly conventional, test-driving dub's technical possibilities; on the remaining five selections, engineer Errol Thompson paints with a bolder aural brush, adding surreal shimmering effects to one track ('Black Man's Dub') and gorgeously exposing the bare bones of another ('King Babylon Dub'). A top-shelf array of musicians, too, from Tommy McCook on sax to Tyrone Downie on organ...and, of course, Augustus Pablo on melodica.

i don't know how the original vinyl sounds like - but on this pressing it's bit "fuzzy" --- great riddms !

Great Dub LP reissued in high quality!I've just compared this to the VP Pressing from 2011. VP Records really has NO idea how to properly master vinyl, the sound is really badly distorted on the bass and the vocals (especially on Ordinary Version Dub). The Get On Down reissue might be pricey but sounds really great.

I don't have a copy of the 89 version but I just looked up some tracks on youtube. I don't think that's a reissue at all.These titles are not on the original Java Dub LP:Java (Original Version) Wackie Fence Skank, Mava, Kelly's Place & Station No. 9 are deejay tunes, no dubs. (But very nice!)These titles appear on the original LP:Java-Java, Nebuchannezar, E.T. Special, Extra-Ordinary DubCouldn't find any information on the rest, either renamed or different tracks.

Would you happen to know what the difference is between the '89 pink cover version and the 2016 one? It seems to be a different track-listing, though it is listed as a reissue.

King Babylon Dub also has terrible distortion that is evident on the digital and analog pressing. Thought I had a damaged speaker but the defect is present in the recording or master tape or vinyl copy. Splendid album.