Review Summary: The Long Beach Dub Allstars fail to create the same great music as their original band, Sublime. This album seems to be composed of senseless lyrics and poppy, pointless music.
After the death of frontman Bradley Nowell, the remaining members of Sublime, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, joined a number of other musicians to form the
Long Beach Dub Allstars. They released their debut album in 1999, entitled Right Back. Then, in 2001, they released their second and final album,
Wonders of the World.
Long Beach Dub Allstars:
* Eric Wilson (bassist, ex-Sublime)
* Jack Maness (keyboardist)
* Marshall Goodman (DJ)
* Bud Gaugh (drummer, ex Sublime)
* Tim Wu (saxophonist)
* Opie Ortiz (singer)
* RAS-1 (guitarist, singer)
* Miguel (guitarist)
* Trey Pangborn (guitarist)
* Todd Foreman (saxophonist)
* Isaiah Ikey Owens (keyboardist)
Now, you would think with a lineup of 11 talented musicians, this band couldn't go wrong. Especially when the two leading members of this band were former members of the unbelievably popular Sublime. However, without their frontman, Bradley Nowell, the music seems pointless. The senseless lyrics and poppy beats are far from sublime. Their first album, Right Back, at least had some catchy songs. Maybe that's because they had some of Bradley's ideas or demos with them. Now, with Wonders of the World, the entire album seems to be composed of filler, just a way to keep their names in the music industry and keep the money rolling in.
The two instrumentals on this album,
Wonders Dub I and
Wonders Dub II, seem to be the only 'good' parts of Wonders of the World. They aren’t very creative, however. Wonders Dub I sounds exactly like Concrete Jungle, by Bob Marley. Wonders Dub II sounds like another familiar Marley tune, but I can’t put a finger on it.
Listen to DJ’s is a decent track. It won’t stand out and it’s easily forgotten, but at least it’s tolerable. The rolling tunes and reggae-esque vocals give the song a fun feel.
Rolled Up, which follows Listen to DJ’s, is the last song on this album I can even stand to listen to in its entirety. It’s similar to its predecessor, being fun and has some clever verses, for the first time on this album.
Sadly, these four tracks do not give a good indication of what the rest of the album will sound like. There’s the fast, energy-filled, punk jam
Every Mother’s Dream, in which I can’t make out one word the singer yells, and there is no music quality at all, just some boring chords over and over again. Similarly,
No Way is another fast punk song with random yelling, fast verses, and pointless lyrics.
Life Goes On, which has an intro that sounds like it might be good, is completely ruined by the horrible rapping within the song. In
Talkin’ the Truth, the rapper decides to yell his verses. The Long Beach Dub Allstars should never again try to rap or create punk songs. They should stick with what works, bland reggae tunes that rip-off their former band, Sublime.
I’m going to guess and say that
It Ain’t Easy is a tribute to former bandmate Bradley Nowell. It would be a decent song, except for the fact that the Wilson seems to be singing through his nose. Something doesn’t sound right there. Near the end of the song, he just breaks out and screams for no reason. Sorry, I’m not feeling it, dude.
When Wonders of the World isn't completely horrible and intolerable, the music is just plain out bland. Nothing catchy to get you singing, no musical talent to back up the weak lyrics, nothing. I wish I could tell you more, but the music is just so...blah.
Then, out of a nowhere, a six and half minute instrumental is thrown into your eardrums.
Grass Cloud features lots of syntheser sounds, keyboard lines, and electronic noises played over a familiar reggae beat. The song is completely pointless, repeating the same lines over and over. When the listener comes near the end, they hope for some sort of climax to the repetitive track. What they get is some distorted guitar fading out into more psychedelic sounds. Why this song was included on the album is beyond me. Then again, why this album was released is beyond me.
The conclusion of Wonders of the World is…drum roll please…another version of Sunny Hours! Yippy! This version, which lacks the random rapping of Will.I.AM and contains only a few “yeah yeah yeah” choruses is actually listenable! It has a few different verses, which is a great improvement. It’s such a shame this glimpse of hope for the Long Beach Dub Allstars has to come right at the close, but when the rest of the album is complete filler, what can you expect?
This album completely lacks what made Sublime such a great band. The verses lead to nowhere, the songs give out pointless messages, and too much of the music has ‘fake’ effects, which makes it sound even worse. I would not recommend this album to anyone. If you need some good rock/reggae/ska music, go to Sublime.
