(Sunday Best/Shock)

Not as on target as some were hoping for

Though he’s been involved in the dance scene as a promoter, DJ, remixer, and hard party animal since the mid-80’s, Barry Ashworth’s main vehicle for original music, the Dub Pistols, haven’t been all that prolific – this effort was three years in the making and is only their third album in a decade. That and its release on Rob Da Bank’s specialist label augurs well for its contents, as does the presence of collaborators like ex-Specials Terry Hall, Rodney P and Blade. The Dub Pistols make much of their music being an intersection of hiphop, reggae, ska, punk and dance, but they overplay it here with three very obvious covers that add little to the originals - The Stranglers’ Peaches, The Specials’ Gangsters and Blondie’s Rapture. One more cover, Lou Rawls’ You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine, gets a kick along by using a John Holt reggae sample of the same song. Of the original material, there’s the old school rap feel of Cruise Control and the more gangsta tone of Something To Trust, but it is the dub- and reggae-oriented pieces that work best. Even so, the flaws on this set don’t make it as satisfying as it could have been.

**½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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