Many of the tracks are new to CD and many Jamaican hits are included, most of the tracks have been unavailable for 20+ years. By the time the summer of 1971 was upon us Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was recognised as one of Jamaica’s most creative music-makers. His career as an independent producer started in 1968, by 1971 he had experimented with sound and style and this resulted in some of the most exciting and popular recordings that were released during Reggae’s formative years. Perry employed The Now Generation as his regular session crew and his output in the latter part of 1971 was in contrast to the more rugged style of many of his earlier releases. Perry’s approach to music-making remained the same and he released a series of popular singles by some of Kingston’s finest artists which ranged from covers od Soul and Pop songs and original early Roots music. Time now to take a look at a selection of the collection’s tracks.
DISC ONE
1. DON’T GIVE UP – Paul Freeman. This comes with a heavy bass rhythm track and the song is self-penned by Freeman. The vocalist may be new to many Jamaican music fans and one has to say that his vocal is full-on and very good. When released in the UK (7″) it was on Pama Records Punch label, 1971. 3. WHERE LOVE GOES – Donald Smythe. Another self-penned sound that comes with a heavy bass led rhythm track. Smythe is joined by a female chorus at times and was released in UK on Pama Records Punch label, 1971. 5. JUST ENOUGH – David Isaacs. Better known for his version of ‘A Place In The Sun’, on this we hear a Soulful vocal that fronts a mid-tempo rhythm track. This comes with the usual Pama Records sound/production and it was released on the Bullet label in UK, 1971. It is a catchy recording. 7. RIGHT ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE – Mahaliah Saunders. The listener may wonder who the vocalist is and to put the record straight it is actually Hortense Ellis and as one would expect from Hortense this comes with a pleasing vocal. The song was originally a Soul number by Brenda & The Tabulations and the song lends itself well to the Reggae style. This starts with a slow intro before moving into a mid-tempo sound on which a chorus spends much of its time on the backing track. One of the best recordings on this disc. 11. PIECE OF MY HEART – Hortense Ellis. This is a version of a recording by Big Brother & The Holding Company back in time. This version comes mid-tempo and has a punchy rhythm track on which one hears a female chorus from time-to-time. The vocal is top-notch and the overall sound has one’s feet-tapping. As one may already have picked up Hortense also performed as Mahalia Saunders at times. 13. ZION – Danny & The Flames. The vocalist on this is Danny Clarke, one time member of The Meditations and the rhythm track comes mid-tempo with Danny being helped-out by a chorus, no doubt The Flames who performed alongside Alton Ellis. This comes as a chug-along sound with a true Reggae feel. 16. BEAT DOWN BABYLON – Junior Byles. Most Jamaican music fans will be familiar with this track and it starts off with a slow intro it moves into a mid-tempo Roots Reggae sound on which Junior Byles shows why he stood alongside with the best Jamaican artists. The rhythm track comes full-on and apart from being catchy it is also infectious. The album of the same name was released in the UK on the Trojan label, 1972. 20. MIGHTY CLOUD OF JOY – Lloyd Parks. This comes faster than most of the previous tracks and has another top artist on vocals. As with the previous track we hear a catchy and infectious rhythm track and Parkes is helped-out by a backing chorus from time-to-time.
DISC TWO
1. INAH IWAH – Lee Perry. This is a slower track on which we hear Perry vocalising on a self-penned number. The vocal does move into a more of a talked sound with some strange lyrics. Nothing special about this, just Perry doing what he does best. 3. EXAMPLE PART 1 – Winston Wright. As one would expect we hear Winston on organ and he is joined by 3rd & 4th Generation. The tune comes from the pen of Lee Perry and the rhythm track is punchy and catchy with some fine bass guitar work. If one would like more then Part 2 can be found on the b side of the 7″ single. 6. I FORGOT TO REMEMBER – Shenley Duffus. This is a Roots Reggae number on which Shenley’s vocal comes somewhat laid-back. The backing track comes straight and mid-tempo and there is nothing much to say apart from the vocalist has done better recordings. 9. POOR CHUBBY – Junior Byles. Starting off with a non-Roots intro it moves into a full-on mid-tempo slice of pleasing Roots Reggae. As with most of Byles recordings the vocal is spot-on over a straight Roots backing. Can be found on the ‘Beat Down Babylon’ album. 11. MY GIRL – Busty Brown. Obviously this is a version of The Temptations UK hit and Busty does a fine recording. The rhythm track comes faster than on many of the previous tracks and backing comes with a chorus and percussion. One could say that Busty Brown was a much-underrated artist and recorded many pop cover versions of high quality, the b side is an instrumental version by The Upsetters. 14. JUMP AND RAIL – The Bleechers. Leo Graham heads The Bleechers on this mid-tempo sound that starts off with drumming and is a cool slice of top-notch Reggae. The group gives a fine mostly combined vocal and overall this is a pleasing track. For the record this outfit is probably known for their recordings of ‘Check Him Out’ and ‘Come Into My Parlour’ 1978 and 1979 respectively. 17. FANCY CLOTHES – The Viceroys. This has a faster rhythm track and again mostly combined group vocals. This is a straight Reggae sound with no percussion in sight and the track is pleasing and is easy to take in. Released on Upsetter Records in Jamaica 1972 and an instrumental version is found on the b side. 19. RHYTHM LAND – U Roy. If you are a fan of this artist, you will be up for this. It has U Roy doing what he does best with a full-on talk-over. This track can also be found on the Trojan ‘Tribute To Bob Marley’ Box Set, a 3CD collection out in 1999. 21. RING OF FIRE – The Upsetters. The vocal of this was a UK hit way back in 1963 and here we have The Upsetters doing a fine instrumental version with trombone taking the rhythm track at mid-tempo. Organ is also prominent on-and-off. Typical sound one expects from this outfit. Released in Jamaica, 1972.
CONCLUSION
One has to say that in the world of Jamaican music Lee Perry was and will always be looked upon as a legend and this collection goes a long way to showing the listener, why. As a stand-alone compilation or a compliment to previous Lee Perry collections on Doctor Bird this has to be a must for any fan of his compelling recordings, as well as fans of classic Reggae. This 42-track collection comes with the usual 8page informative booklet and at the retail price of £14 99p it is full of great value recordings.