U Brown - Still Chanting Rub-A-Dub (Irie Ites Records)

‘Rub-A-Dub School’, which could easily be considered the album’s unofficial title track, hits the mark straightaway. Built on the same riddim Irie Ites used for Linval Thompson and Trinity’s ‘Tune In’ (Black Crucial, ‘Mr. Vincent’), the song is particularly memorable for featuring the unmistakable voice of the late, great Frankie Paul.

Teaming up with the aforementioned Trinity, U Brown delivers ‘Hard Road’, two the hard way over a vintage-sounding riddim crafted by Roots Radics. Linval Thompson joins the mix on ‘Original Ganja Man’, a deejay rework of the title track from Thompson’s ‘Ganja Man’ album released earlier this year.

If ‘Can’t Keep A Good Man Down’ featuring Cornell Campbell sounds familiar, it’s because this track previously appeared on Trinity’s ‘Eye To Eye’ album from 2013 as ‘Jah Jah Man’. In essence, it’s an updated version of Cornell’s 1976 classic, ‘A Poor Jah Jah Man’. Similarly, Irie Ites revamps Naggo Morris’ 1980 hit ‘Su Su Pon Rasta’ (Joe Gibbs Music) into ‘Labba Labba (Mouth)’.

‘Rootsman Party’, one of the few solo performances from U Brown, is one of the absolute highlights on ‘Still Chanting Rub-A-Dub’. Featuring a reimagined version of the riddim behind Scientist’s ‘Steppers’ or ‘Straight To Jammy’s Chest’ by The Ligerians (also heard in Solo Banton’s ‘In This Time’), this track is a must-listen.

Eek-A-Mouse also makes a star turn on ‘Whip Dem’, proving he’s in top form. The album concludes with ‘Ruff Ina Dis Ya Time’, a collaboration with Al Campbell, offering a stellar deejay version of Campbell’s ‘Jah Love Conquers All’, set to the Ina Struggle riddim by Irie Ites.

‘Still Chanting Rub-A-Dub’ is a masterclass in reggae craftsmanship, highly enjoyable and brimming with top-tier talent.