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Rating: Basement 5! Damn!
Make sure you find this record, and then hurry to thank me!
The Basement 5 formed in London in 1978. After several vocalist changes: Winston Fergus first, Don Letts then (you know Don Letts, right?), and finally Dennis Morris... it will be his hoarse voice that you'll come to appreciate on this record; on drums, Richard Dudanski, former 101ers, Bank of Dresden, Tymon Dogg & The Fools, The Raincoats, Public Image Ltd, Cristo e La Madonna, on guitar a certain J.R., and finally on bass/double bass a phenomenon, one Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams. This band sought to blend the rampant London punk trend with exquisitely reggae/dub sounds... and they succeeded perfectly. Their lyrics tackled topics such as unemployment, strikes, racism, and the poverty of the working class in Thatcher-era Britain. One of their early performances was at the Rainbow on Christmas Day of 1978, where they opened for Public Image Ltd. (and that says it all!)
The record is a sort of compilation, released in 1992 by Island Records. It contains both the 5 tracks from "In Dub" (1980, also for Island Records and produced by Martin Hannett, no kidding!) plus another 9 tracks. It is practically the summary of this meteoric group's entire career, (excluding their self-produced debut single "Silicon Chip/Chip Butty") which unfortunately doesn't go beyond 1980.
It starts with the punk of "Riot"; immediately Morris' Jamaican accent suggests that we're not in front of an ordinary punk rock band. Punk-reggae... Reggae surfaces more in the following tracks: "No Ball Games", "Hard Work", and "Immigration" (perhaps the best track on the record). Upbeat drumming, deep dub bass, guitars, and vocals that seem to scream and shout for help. No doubt it's reggae! But it's a kind of reggae never heard before... The blend with punk is perfect. Next, "Last White Christmas", decidedly more punk than the previous ones, probably the most famous and well-known song of our dear ones. "Heavy Traffic" retains the punk of "Last White Christmas" (even though the word "punk" starts to feel more and more limited). "Union Games" (another highlight of this record) "Too Soon" and "Omega Man" keep the bar high and beautifully close this little gem: with guitars that almost scratch (... and I'd like to ask Tom Morello a question), irresistible basslines, and Morris' voice getting more and more muffled.
The last five tracks ("Paranoiaclaustrophobia Dub", "Work Dub", "Games Dub", "Immigrant Dub" and "Holocaust Dub") are nothing more than dub versions of some of the songs reviewed above (as already mentioned contained in "In Dub", see above)... a worthy conclusion.
What can I say... I can't certainly claim to have listened to all the music in the world, but rarely has a band struck and thrilled me like Basement 5, rarely have I heard such spot-on and overwhelming fusions. It's a shame they didn't continue making records!
An essential record for lovers of the "genre"... and beyond!
A blast!
Here are some YouTube links
"Riot"
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