by Rick Anderson
One of the quietest but most exciting developments in reggae music since the turn of the new century has been bassist and producer Ryan Moore's decision to branch out from his usual solo work -- creating one-man-band instrumental dub albums of spectacular quality -- and work as producer and accompanist to some of roots reggae's top talents, including Black Uhuru alumnus Michael Rose. The only thing surprising about this album, a dub version of the Warrior release from 2006, is the fact that it took a year for Moore to mix and release it. As one might expect, though, it was well worth the wait. Moore has the good sense to leave generous swaths of Rose's vocal in the mix, and on tracks like &Zion Dub& and &Long Time Dub& that voice floats in and out in a ghostly manner, while the instrumental backing tracks (provided by such A-list sessioneers as Sly Dunbar, Earl &Chinna& Smith, Dean Fraser, and Moore himself) echo and decay around him. It's a rare producer who can both channel the sounds of 1970s Jamaica so accurately and also maintain the modern listener's interest, but Moore has been doing just that for more than twenty years now. Vintage reggae fans shouldn't hesitate to snap this one up, along with its companion vocal album.