MAD PROFESSOR MEETS PULS DER ZEIT
Meet In Berlin At Checkpoint Charlie (ROIR)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Puls Der Zeit is a German band that performs reggae. Kind of amazing when you think about it. Their vocalist, Soer La Blanche (White Sister), was the first singer to ever record reggae songs in the German language. Meanwhile, across the channel in England, Mad Professor was taking notice. Their long-planned collaboration resulted in this CD, which alternates between the Prof with his Ariwa Studios house band and the Prof with the Zeit. The sum isn't particularly radical or surprising. Interesting is more the word. Not at all unpleasant, just not... revolutionary. The big disappointment, for me, was in the Prof's solo tracks, which are not the layer cakes of surprises and textures that we've come to expect. I know people who will argue that, in dub, less is more, and if that's the case then this is probably a lot. There are a few truly fine tracks, especially "Taguenichts," which features Puls Der Zeit and has a very catchy vocal harmony hook and a happy beat. The Prof steps up on the next track, "Nordpol Emil," and delivers the darkest, most mysterious and heavy track on the disc, which is probably what half of his fans are waiting for. His trademark background conversations are there to be sifted through, and the layers definitely surround it, though they're not piled as deep as they were on, say, Black Man Liberation Dub. Some will hail this his best work, and some, like me, will love a handful of tracks and accept the rest with the realization that all mad professors have to experiment.

© 2000 - DJ Johnson