KING OF THE MELODICA

There's reggae, and there's dub, and then there's Augustus Pablo, a vibe all his one. He could be the best known melodica player ever, and his King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown album is definitely one of the most significant reggae albums of all time. Think of it as reggae's Dark Side of the Moon. Though they differ in genre, they hold the same stature as absolute icons. What I like? Speaking strictly from an aesthetic perspective (because I love graphic design, both good and cheap ass), I love the fact that an classic, of any genre, was originally released with a so-horrid-it's-good LP cover. Your everyday Joe would take one look at it (below) and just move on to the next bin. Yet, a reggae fiend salivates when they see that cover. That's how good it is. (You ought to just buy it.) I think whoever reissues it next (because it's been reissued with different covers several times), ought to have a cover contest. Release it on vinyl with the package it deserves, the whole sheebang.

Here's a cross section of his career, including the "King Tubbys..." title track, and (right in the middle of all that below), the King Tubbys LP. There's a ton of other stuff too (10+ LPs). Oh yeah, he was born Horace Swaby, June 21, 1954, and died May 18, 1999. (Lengthy bio linked below.)

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets the Rockers Uptown mp3 at Nintendo Planet Video
Augustus Pablo - Straight to Ethiopia mp3 at Mixtape Riot
Augustus Pablo - Chapter 2 mp3 at Siblingshot On the Bleachers
Augustus Pablo - Tubby's Dub Song mp3 at Siblingshot On the Bleachers
Augustus Pablo - Ragga mp3 at File Den
Augustus Pablo - Java mp3 at Rraurl.com.br
Augustus Pablo - Slave Masters' Execution mp3 at Pfftp
Augustus Pablo - Cassava Piece mp3 at Pampelmoose
Augustus Pablo - 1-2-3 Version mp3 at B3ta Cr3ation
Augustus Pablo - East of the River Nile mp3 at Zachi Team Tree Tops
Augustus Pablo - Dread Eye mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Augustus Pablo - Black Gunn mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Augustus Pablo - Please Sunrise mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Augustus Pablo w/Lee Perry & the Wailers - Satisfy My Soul Dub mp3 at 99.media.v4 This one takes a while to download, but it's worth it.
Full LPs:
Augustus Pablo - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown at Satta Massagana (via Easy Share)
Augustus Pablo Meets Lee Perry at Black Ark at You and Me On a Jamboree (via Z-Share)
Augustus Pablo - 5 more LPs at You and Me On a Jamboree
Augustus Pablo - 3 more LPs and a 4 LP box set at Satta Massagana
Video:
Augustus Pablo - Rockers Rock (live) at YouTube
Augustus Pablo - Rare acoustic footage at YouTube with vocals by Hugh Mundell and Augustus Pablo on guitar and melodica.
Augustus Pablo - Frozen Dub (live) at YouTube
Augustus Pablo - Java (live) at YouTube
Read:
El Rockers - Augustus Pablo fan site (Excellent)
Augustus Pablo at Wikipedia
Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown at Wikipedia
Augustus Pablo - Bio at Reggae Vibes
Related:
Earlier reggae posts here