Easy Star All-Stars

Dub Side of the Moon (Easy Star Records ES-1012, 2003)

I first learned of this project while interviewing Eric Smith of Easy Star Records in late 2001. When he told me the label was planning to do a reggae remake of Pink Floyd's perennial bestselling rock album Dark Side of the Moon, I was intrigued, but not to the extent I knew some people would be. Though I was (and am) quite fond of the music and attitude that comprised the Pink Floyd original, I certainly didn't count myself among its more rabid fans. I never even owned a copy, but given how omnipresent the album was at parties, on the radio and in college dorm rooms, I didn't need one.

Still, whether your affection towards the original is casual or hardcore (or if maybe you're just a fan of solid reggae), you're likely to be floored by how well the Easy Star All-Stars have pulled this off. Guitarist (and label co-founder) Michael Goldwasser and keyboardist Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod (also a member of Afrobeat band Antibalas) were responsibl;e for reconfiguring the tracks inna reggae style, and they've done so brilliantly.

The original's opening heartbeat sounds are rendered on nyabinghi drums, potentially indulgent rock guitar solos are replaced by DJ chatting, and, in a particularly inspired move, "Money" is laced not with cash register cadences but the bubbling/coughing rhythms of a water pipe being smoked. But don't get the idea that this is all played for laughs, for nothing could be further from the truth.

The gloomy life-cycle cynicism of the original is still the core aesthetic, and most of the distant, elusive sonic textures (such as the melancholy guitar and keyboard accents) are intact. Essential to this reggae re-casting are the disc's guest artists, with Frankie Paul nailing the frustrated but resigned tone of "Us and Them," Kirsty Rock giving "The Great Gig in the Sky" the right anguished/orgasmic vocal wail, Ranking Joe and Dollarman toasting their way through the gaps and Dr. Israel doing sufficient damage to "Brain Damage." Plus, there are a few dub versions at the end to make a good thing even better, enhancing the rock-to-reggae transition while adding an extra starkness that even Pink Floyd themselves likely couldn't have envisioned.

I don't know if the Easy Star gang embarked on this with a so-crazy-it-might-just-work outlook or the complete opposite, but let's all be glad they saw it through.

This disc has gotten a lot of positive reviews already, and I'm pleased to add my voice to the chorus of approval. (www.easystar.com)