The Invention and Reinvention of Big Bill Broonzy

Abstract

ing down Perry’s version of “Pop Goes the Weasel” with the bass, high in the mix – a trademark of dub – and a counter melody on the sax playing the familiar melody of the tune. “The bass line guides the track, but the guitar and sax punch through the song to set the framework and give the dub life” (50). In Chapter 5, under Rhythmic Interplay, Abbey observes how King Tubby in “Young Generation Dub,” strips the guitar and piano from the mix while increasing the volume of the horns, which “are used on the upbeats in between the main melody line” (83), allowing the bass to drive the song. Such a consistent structure runs the risk of growing predicable and tedious, but I found that it helped me to focus on the subtleties of the songs, particularly if I listened to the track as I read. In this way, the book serves as a primer to dub, in general, and these important albums, in particular. I do have a quibble with the book. In one way or another, Abbey repeats that “the end goal [of dub] was to make money” (xviii), or, put another way, a dub album “was an attempt to make money off the reuse of tracks” (42). The problem is not just with the repetition, but Abbey never develops this theme. What were the economics of dub, at least in Jamaica? What were the recording costs? How much did the producers/engineers earn from releases? I wonder, too, how much could have been profited from an album like Java, Java, Java, Java with only 1,000 initial pressings? Though dub found audiences around the world, it has never been more than a niche genre. I found these constant reminders, with no development, distracting and irrelevant to a book largely focused on sound and social context. However, the strengths of the book outweigh this relatively minor weakness. Distillation of Sound is well thought out and well researched. Abbey draws from established cultural and music theorists (e.g., Raymond Williams, Simon Frith); Jamaican music scholars (Marvin Sterling, Michael Veal); published interviews (with Erroll Thompson, Dennis Bovell); and his own interviews with producers (Lee “Scratch” Perry, Adrian Sherwood, among others), sound system operators (Tony Myers), and Jamaican cultural and music scholars (Donna Hope, Sonjah Stanley Niaah). In short, Distillation of Sound serves as a reader’s guide to a genre that has been incredibly influential despite its relatively small following. Anyone interested in dub would do well to seek it out.