The main problem with making a dub cover version tribute to the Police is the question of what to actually do that the originals didn’t already do. The Police were steeped in reggae and dub and it was always quite dominant in what they recorded, particularly in their most commercially successful mid-years. This collection of electronic dub features many of the tracks from that era – ‘Walking On The Moon’, ‘Roxanne’, ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’, ‘Message In A Bottle’ etc etc. For the most part, the dub is neither exploratory nor adventurous. Fairly straight up digidub underpins sound-alike guitar stabs and acoustic drum flow. Some interest is brought out by the vocal performances – Eased on ‘Roxanne’ gives and earthy growl, Big Youth toasting on ‘So Lonely’ – but even then, they are undermined by saccharine female backing harmonies.
This isn’t a particularly bad release – it’s all produced with pristine precision and floats along pleasantly. But there’s a reliance on the kind of dub that’s contemporary to the original songs, with the mid-80s plastic synthetics that might suggest. The liner notes were what I found of most interest, with an extended essay from Bart Plantenga which gives great history and in depth analysis of the politics of The Police’s use of dub aesthetics. The actual album presented features only in a tiny conclusion to the essay. A couple of quotes found there give backhanded insights into the music. Firstly – “Amazingly, they did not use any samples from the original recordings. Everything was replayed…I find this hard to believe. Some of the vocals and guitar licks sound so…authentic.” Then – “an earnest and respectful remashing of Police hits.” That pretty much sums things up – the album works well as background, but it’s hardly essential and don’t expect to be overly challenged.
Adrian Elmer
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