Adrian Sherwood releases second volume of unreleased and rare tracks

[dropcap]Adrian [/dropcap]Sherwood’s second collection of productions and remixes marks the mixologists’ temporary shift away from reggae after the murder of friend, collaborator and mentor, Jamaican singer, DJ and Producer, Prince Far I, and the beginnings of Sherwood’s numerous contributions to industrial.

Sherwood’s dub style isn’t lost on Vol 2, but blended across genres of punk, hip-hop and goth. Numerous tracks showcase his works with hip-hop session pros Tackhead (aka Fats Comet) and it’s members whom most notably served as Surgarhill Records, and Sugarhill Gang’s house band as well as backing Grandmaster Flash on his all-time classic ‘The Message.’ Despite providing foreshadowing to rhythmic styles Sherwood would later call on in his rawer productions, the genre bending elements fall flat and feel excessively dated.

Production on Pankow’s ‘Girls & Boys’ best bridges the gap with Alex Spalck’s grumbling vox becoming more anxious admits it’s ‘I love you, baby’ chorus voiced by what feels more computer generated than filtered. His KMFDM remix of ‘Don’t Blow Your Top’ does feels like a watered down version of the original adding little more than a ‘dub’ tone that, by this point in the collection, feels formulaic. Sadly what’s most lacking his Sherwood’s remixes of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Down in it,’ which is undoubtedly due to a licensing shit-storm, so title of hardest hitting goes to his remix of Ministry’s ‘All Day.’ Considering this version has been a dance floor classic for decades, it feels like a bit of a cheat to a volume billed as a collection of unreleased songs and rarities.