Cry Tuff Dub Encounter, Chapter 1

For all of the live shows that Prince Far I did in the U.K. with the Roots Radics/Creation Rebel axis, this one-off live performance with the Suns of Arqa was apparently the only one committed to tape. The Voice is in good form here, Far I sounding unrehearsed but fully into the music, eagerly interacting with the Suns of Arqa, a crossover dub band creating Far Eastern sonorities on keyboards and violin. Add in the bass and drum salvos and you've got a feel that anticipates the bhangra revival. Far I and the Suns were making live electric trance/dance music back in 1982, and there are some undeniable moments of precocious black cosmic electro-groove on Cry Tuff Dub Encounter. Listeners get to hear Far I's voice in a very different context, and his lyrical reactions to same are nothing if not endearing.