by Stephen Cook
One of the first and finest of the dancehall toasters, Lone Ranger came to prominence in the early '80s with a series of hits sporting vintage Studio One rhythms from the rocksteady and early reggae eras (this, of course, was a practice followed by a majority of dancehall singers and DJs during the first half of the '80s). Hooking up with producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd , Lone Ranger cut this debut for Dodd 's Studio One label in 1981. Featuring the big dancehall smash "Barnabus Collins" (this homage to the most popular vampire of the '60s features the well-traveled rhythm from Slim Smith 's late-'60s hit, "My Conversation"), On the Other Side of Dub finds the masked man in his inimitable bimming and ribbiting mode, deftly tossing off phrases full of wit and social observations. With regard to the dub end of things alluded to in the title, the album features a handful of dub versions of the toasts Lone Ranger delivers in the first half of the set. A tasty slice of early dancehall mike work.