I've been re-listening to his very earliest work from '83'-86', Observe With Sadiq Bey 1999, and Tandoori Dog 1998 (reissued as separate CDs with bonus tracks). My opinions of the latter two have changed a bit, but I could also just be fiending. I still feel like nearly every track on Observe could be much shorter, as if it is an album of ideas and demos that he never went back to edit. So much repetition, but if you're in the mood for him and the tabla, there it is. I don't know what tabla rolls are called (maybe just rolls?), but lots of quick finger work. It can get tedious, but it's very satisfying if you're in the mood. Tandoori Dog strikes me as transitional work. He's experimenting with tones and style that aren't all-out dub yet, though a fair bit of Jaagheed Zarb is based on beats and ideas that could be mistaken for Beastie Boys segments circa '92-'94 (no slight...I like the BB). More funk than dub or hip-hop. He still has my full attention with almost all of this 4LP set (still digesting the bonus tracks). Hammer & Sickle 1983 hit me square and hard. If you want to hear him not sounding like what we associate with Muslimgauze, try "Dissidents In Exile" from a 1984 comp; a pretty great electronic track. All of this caused me to create a 4th tier on my list, but I'm still organizing it.
Also, yet still new-to-me archival releases, like Damascus and Dome of the Rock (recorded in 1993). And Deceiver 1996 is cued.
