Prince Lincoln Thompson And The Royal Rasses - God Sent Dub - Deluxe Edition (2023)

In a short space of time, Burning Sounds has reissued four Prince Lincoln Thompson LPs. After first having re-released the remastered version of the 1979 LP Humanity, they followed it up with Ride With The Rasses on red vinyl, Natural Wild on green vinyl, and Experience..! on yellow vinyl. Natural Wild, a 8-track LP from 1980 that was recorded at Island’s Basing Street Studio in Notting Hill, London, and produced by Prince Lincoln Thompson and hit making British musician/singer Joe Jackson. Prince Lincoln Thompson used musicians like Mikey “Boo” Richard (drums), Bertram “Ranchie” McLean (bass), Ansel Collins (organ, grand piano), Aswad’s Tony ‘Gad” Robinson (synthesizer) and Radcliffe “Dougie” Bryan and Willie Lindo (guitar). Tracks produced by Joe Jackson feature musical backing by the members of his band. Natural Wild isn’t one of Prince Lincoln Thompson’s best albums, but this doesn’t imply at all that this LP is not worth giving a listen.
Back in 1980, Chris Lane and Andy Gierus secured studio time to record dub versions of the tracks of Natural Wild and release them as an LP. However, when they arrived at the studio, they found out that they only had a mere two hours (instead of four) to remix the tracks, which meant that they had to work fast and improvise. Due to the lack of time, they couldn’t adequately check or adjust all of the tracks, resulting in a few errors and glitches. Chris Lane later attempted to conceal or amend the mistakes with cutting and pasting. The LP was released in a simple white sleeve without credits. Only 300 copies were printed and mainly sold to dub music enthusiasts in London. After this projects Chris Lane went on to have a fruitful career in the reggae scene, while Andy Gierus shifted his focus to new wave and synth-pop music.

The reissue of Burning Sounds comes in two flavours. The LP version (including informative insert) with the original 7 tracks, while the CD version adds 6 alternative mixes and an informative booklet. The alternate mix of Smiling Faces was apparently damaged to the extent that it was unrepairable. To begin with, it’s important to note that this album has been remixed by a young and relatively unexperienced Chris Lane in collaboration with veteran engineer Andy Gierus. Despite having little or no prior experience in mixing and remixing, Chris has managed to create an exceptional project. The remixed tracks are reminiscent of the classic roots dub style from the 1970s, characterized by the restrained use of effects. The tracks possess an almost natural feeling of pure class, and never grow old. Admirable! We appreciate the inclusion of vocal elements in the album, which is pleasingly evident. The vocals are enhanced with suitable echo and delay effects. The bass takes center stage and is instrumental in propelling the songs forward with unwavering momentum.
The alternative remixes are somewhat similar to the original dub mixes, yet they possess a slightly more audacious and imaginative quality.