Version 2 Version
Following the career of bassist/producer/label owner Bill Laswell is an expensive proposition--he releases several albums each year that range from experimental to world music to electronic to jazz to dub. While that kind of output means there are quality control issues, when Laswell teams up with fellow bassist Jah Wobble for their A Dub Transmission collaborations the goods are always great. The two dub fiends sound like the mutant children of King Tubby as cavernous bass relentlessly grinds forward, keyboards (by P-Funk's Bernie Worrell) and guitars swirl like wisps of smoke, and beats (by Karsh Kale and Abdou Mboup) never exceed a the heart rate of a person at rest. The six tracks slip by in the blink of the eye even though the shortest track is six minutes long and the other five are more than eight. Hypnotic and modern,Version 2 Versionis a rich kaleidoscope of sound and vision that ranks up there with Laswell's most imaginative work.--Tad Hendrickson