Linton Kwesi Johnson: LKJ In Dub, Vol. 3 CD review (Orlando Weekly)

Linton Kwesi Johnson has garnered serious respect among reggae aficionados both as a stirringly political poet (”Inglan is a Bitch” stands as an excellent chronicle of a Jamaican immigrant in Ol’ Blighty) and as a consummate master of dub. It’s a tricky balance, in that Johnson must simultaneously stand on his ability with words and on his ability to work without them. “LKJ In Dub,” Volume 3 continues a series that began in 1980 and, inasmuch as dub whittles reggae down to its barest, most primal essence — the beat and the bassline — Johnson pushes dub even further. Recorded in Switzerland, this collection is a perfect distillation of dub’s power: achingly sparse and profoundly deep.

First appeared in the Jan. 2, 2003 issue of Orlando Weekly.

Buy this CD at Amazon.com.