Impact Allstars

Impact All Stars - Randy’s Dub (1975, Impact)

By the time these tunes were mixed, Errol Thompson had moved on and Karl Pitterson was now handling the engineering duties at Randy’s with Clive Chin. These mixes have a hard edge – there is a lot of echo and reverb as well as very sharp contrasts between the high and low ends of the sound spectrum. Many of the songs feature a boisterous harmonica which, in the re-issue notes, is mysteriously credited to an American named ‘Chicago’ Steve. The band here is primarily Skin, Flesh & Bones, although both the Wailers and In Crowd provide rhythms as well. A terrific re-mix of Carl Malcolm’s ‘Miss Wire Waist’ makes for a great album opener, and a cut of Winston Morris’ ‘What a Situation’ is another highpoint. Pitterson also demonstrated that he is capable of a bit of studio play as there are some false starts and the last song on the album includes the startling sound of tape being rewound near the end. In 1998 Blood & Fire re-issued this album as ‘Forward the Bass: Impact All stars – Dub from Randy’s 1972-1975’. This was a flawless and breathtaking package that brought to light some much-neglected material. The CD included a handful of extra cuts dating back to the Errol Thompson period including two mixes of ‘Java’, the aforementioned dialog version of ‘Ordinary Man’ and another positively outlandish mix (sound effects, warbling variable speed sounds, sharp tape stretching sounds) of the that rhythm. To call this release vital for dub fans would be an understatement.