East of the River Nile
The late Horace Swaby, a.k.a.Augustus Pablo, was one  of the canonical figures of Jamaican reggae and dub music. From the moment he  emerged on the scene as a teenager with his hit single "Java" to the classics he  cut with his influential Rockers band and label, Pablo made the melodica, an  obscure mouth organ of European origin, an indispensable part of the reggae  sound. That instrument's piercing and poetic strains made this memorable  out-of-print-classic, originally released in 1977 and rereleased in honor of its  25th anniversary, a marvel of sound and soul. Recorded in Lee Perry's legendary  Black Ark Studio and mixed by the Scientist of SoundKing Tubby, Pablo--who  also plays keyboards--is backed by a first-rate band that includes Robbie  Shakespeare on bass, drummer Aston "Family Man" Barrett, and guitarist Earl   "Chinna" Smith. Pablo and company deliver a nondub instrumental album that  serves as the syncopated soundtrack of the Rasta nation. Who could forget the  minor-key Afro anthems "Chant to King Selassie I," "Natural Way," and  "Jah-Light"? Along with shout outs from Perry, the Orb, and others, the CD also  includes six bonus tracks and a never-before-heard version of the title cut. All  told, Augustus Pablo's "Far East sound" is still with us.--Eugene Holley,  Jr.