The vocal of Musical Murder is done by Banana Man on the actual single, and on the compilation album King Jammy’s Dancehall Vol. 3: Hard Dancehall Murderer 1985-1989, released in 2017.
The original Banana Man cut was released in 1989, and reissued in 2011. But strangely, the dub version used on the single is actually from “Rock Them One By One” by Eccleston Jarrett, also released in 1989.
King Jammy (or Prince Jammy) was one of the foundational figures of ragga dancehall, which was the style that emerged in the mid-80s that used a lot of digital effects. However, here the music is performed by the Super Power Band. It’s still a reggae track, and although Banana Man’s version is harder, the version is more rootsy, while still being electronic.
The sounds of the dub version are lush and expansive, with a heavy reverb on the skank, and an insistent percussion part that punctuates the gently skipping bassline.
There’s also a very lovely little lick at the start, which doesn’t appear in the rest of the song. However, the skank is one of the more expressive ones, that leads into little riffs by itself.
A fantastic little dub number!