Audiopile Review: Bless, bless, bless Warp Records for enabling this ongoing reissue series which mines the copious vaults of Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label. The many post-punk-dub-reggae projects helmed by Sherwood sound as primal and futuristic as they did a few decades ago. This latest set of reissues focuses on Creation Rebel, who you may remember from us highlighting their excellent comeback album ‘Hostile Environment’. On-U heads will need all three of the LPs in this batch, but 1979’s ‘Rebel Vibrations’ is special because it’s one of the best entry points for the On-U curious. Legend has it, Creation Rebel was originally formed to back titanic Jamaican vocalist Prince Far-I on his trips to the UK. Not surprisingly, ‘Rebel Vibrations’ is very similar to Far-I’s ‘Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1’, considered by many to be Sherwood’s finest mix. But where that album was driven by the domineering Far-I’s strict discipline, ‘Rebel Vibrations’ sees Sherwood with his own band able to let loose a little. The result is a psychedelic roots-and-dub masterpiece that any serious reggae fan should own.

A rare early album by Creation Rebel back in print for the first time since 1979. Rebel Vibrations was originally issued by the pre-On-U Sound label Hitrun. The rhythms stem from one of the first recording sessions organised by maverick producer Adrian Sherwood, taking advantage of ace Jamaican drummer Lincoln “Style” Scott, sticksman for the Roots Radics, visiting the UK for the first time.

Pairing him up with UK-based players such as Crucial Tony, Lizard Logan, Doctor Pablo and Clifton Morrison, the result is a set of tough and uncompromising dub tunes, or as Sherwood describes it: “a structure of suppressed rhythms and unique possibilities in sonic space.”
Re-cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery for maximum dynamics. Includes printed inner sleeve with liner notes and archival photo, plus download card for the full album.