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After years of being a key — if maverick — player on the Jamaican music scene, producer/singer Keith Hudson signed with Virgin Records in 1976. His debut Too Expensive was a flop and proved to be his last with the label.

His follow-up, Rasta Communication (1978), is considered a neglected roots gem that harkened back to his moody masterpiece Flesh of my Flesh Blood of my Blood (1974). Rasta Communication's dub counterpart, Brand, has recently been re-released by Pressure Sounds.

Listening to Brand there is almost an organic feel to the drum and bass. The pumping motion of the rhythm is irregular but natural. His oft-debated genius not only as a singer shines through on songs like the spacey "Darkness Dub." The melodica and vocal pleading of Hudson on "Highter Hights" create an easy melody with ripples of echo effects and reverb. The vocals are often used more as a percussion instrument than to relay a melody.

"National Item" and "National Anthem" share more than rhythms: They both emphasize the bass progression but express through different mediums. "My Eyes Are Red Dub" is one of the most subtle yet powerful tracks on the album. With the bass hiding in the background, the drums take the front seat, and the vocals rise in and out like a puff of smoke. The vocal version is included as a bonus track after the original 10 tracks. "My Eyes Are Red" is Hudson's ballad of love yet pain — a sort of conflicting meaning, which is the legacy Hudson has left behind.

Pressure Sounds always includes in-depth liner notes in their releases. With Brand, Steve Barker and Harry Hawke delve into the events leading up to Hudson recording this album, though information on the actual recording seems to be lost.

While Brand is a good set of tunes, the other recent Pressure Sounds reissue Nuh Skin Up (orig. 1982) works more cohesively as an album and experience. Hudson's goal was to create albums and not just collections of singles.

The phrase "Nuh Skin Up" was a popular Jamaican term something being normal, but Hudson again proved his music was far from standard with the outing, the dub take of 1979's From One Extreme To Another.

Hudson sort of crafted a layering effect where certain instruments intertwine and intersect. The last track, "Bad Things Dub (version 2)" expresses this concept perfectly with synthesizers and keyboards in constant motion. The first version of "Bad Things Dub" is basically stripped down to drum and bass but the vocals gently sift through with heavy doses from the echo chamber.

This album creates melody upon melody in a very earthy sort of way. Keith's vocals tidbits thrown in on Nuh Skin Up represent how he became part of the aesthetic value itself. His words still left as an artifact for the future a resemblance of the past. "Words Dub" is a chilling heavy riddim with a sort of haunting melody that hangs in the air. Hudson wails to "keep those dreadful words," but they seem to shatter in pieces before they are even spoken. The counterpart is "Dreadful Words Dub," in which the band Soul Syndicate finds a groove and stays on it for minutes; the bass is hefty and stout. The title track is as powerful as any Tubby dub — but what makes it stand apart is that it hardly stays in one place at any time. Hudson is almost schizophrenic in his mixing and it leaves your head spinning. Nuh Skin Up is a dub testament to creativity and the power of rhythm.

Both of these Hudson albums are essential — not only for dubheads, but to reggae fans in general — and serve as entry points to the often under-appreciated "Dark Prince of Reggae."

A likkle more:
The past few years much of Hudson's catalogue has become available including the seminal dub lp Pick A Dub (1974), which was reissued by Blood and Fire. Basic Replay has reissued Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood,an essential Hudson album. Trojan has anthologized some of Hudson's early work with two-disc Hudson Affair and Entering the Dragon (which has more b-sides and rarities). All are necessary.

– Bobby Bobson
bobby@dcsoundclash.com

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