EASY STAR ALL-STARS: DUB SIDE OF THE MOON (PINK FLOYD)

Dub Side of the Moon could be safely recommended to anyone who likes reggae, but curious Pink Floyd fans will likely either be satisfied with the novelty or completely repulsed. Whatever the case, it delivers what it promises, and mostly does a good job of it. The beginning shows a promising reggae rendition of "Breathe," sounding exactly as I expected it would, if not better, whereas "On the Run" is left almost as is. "Time" has tons more lyrics, which are usually sped through, in lieu of a guitar solo, and the group makes great use of vocal improvisations and those major-seventh chords. However, the transition back to "Breathe (Reprise)" is very shoddy. I was curious to know what they'd do to "The Great Gig in the Sky." It turns out they took this mournful piece of piano and funeral wailing and spun it on its head, giving it a proper reggae groove, making it a hot and urban, almost sexualized piece- I like it for completely different reasons than I like the original. "Money" also features more vocals instead of guitar soloing, as well as a few minor changes. "Us and Them" is as smooth as the original, but carries a funky beat- it's "chill." "Any Colour You Like," however, is a lame disappointment- a pale, empty version of the original that relies on Caribbean percussion to carry it, and that nasally noise that fills in for the wah guitar is a joke. "Brain Damage" is likewise difficult to enjoy because of the dragging rhythm and vocals. The group changed up the rhythm on "Eclipse," and even though it doesn't work (there's no build or climax as with the original), it's probably better than the disaster it could have been. The bonus tracks are throwaway pieces with weak instrumentation and typical reggae rhythms; perhaps they were meant to somehow extend the value of the disc, but unfortunately they are redundancies. A few original tracks would have been far better (or maybe not- "Step It Pon the Rastaman Scene" is pretty awful).