Roots Manuva

The perfect candidates for a dub album, rapper Roots Manuva and his alter-ego, producer Lord Gosh, prove they've got plenty of incredible productions up their sleeves, barely a year after Run Come Save Me earned plaudits as the best British LP of the year. Dub Come Save Me balances remixes of tracks from the album with altogether new songs, leading off with "Man Fi Cool," a glittering electro dub that's as impressive as anything he's done in the past. Shortly after comes "Revolution 5," yet another track it's hard to believe was ever left behind, the supernatural pairing of Roots Manuva with another of the deepest rhythmatic rappers in the business, Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. The dub versions are just as incredible, with a parade of speaker-rattling productions ("Highest Grade," "Styles") and a rubbery remix of "Dreamy Days" by another top British iconoclast, Super Furry Animals. Roots Manuva comes roaring back, though, with a synth-monster named "The Lynch," the perfect bed for another great performance. Fans of the single "Witness (I Manifest)" can rest assured that it's present here as well, in a suitably deconstructed dub that closes out the album. It's the rare dub/remix album that even comes close to the original; Dub Come Save Me nearly trumps the last one. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide