This is an intriguing, if unnecessarily enigmatic, compilation album of rare
Lee "Scratch" Perry productions from his Black Ark period. And although the sound quality is impeccable, all drawn from the original master tapes, the lack of information will leave many fans frustrated. Heartbeat can normally be counted on for helpful liner notes, but as it licensed the tapes not from
Perry but from
Alvin Ranglin, neither party may have been clear on just what was within. And how did
Ranglin come by these tapes? Apparently they were surety
Perry left on a loan that remained unpaid.
Surprisingly, considering the circumstances,
Perry parted not with half-completed tapes, but seemingly finished productions, a mishmash of singles, recuts, covers, and versions, most vocalized by
Scratch himself. The album eases listeners in with the ever-popular hit "Bionic Rat," but the real gem of this collection is found near the end, "Free up the Prisoners," in all its nearly 13-minute extended disco-mix glory.
"Babylon a Fall" was another popular sound system spectacular, but the one here is not King Burnett's original, but
Perry's own take on the number. Similarly,
Shenley Duffus delivered up "Standing on the Hill," but it's
Perry who handles lead here. The brooding, deeply rootsy "In This Iwa" bears no resemblance to a similarly titled track on
The Upsetters' Double Seven album, but is, in fact,
Perry sweetly riding
Junior Byles' hit cover of "Fever." However, "News Flash" is the original Leo Graham single.
Elsewhere, versions of familiar numbers appear under totally unfamiliar titles.
Perry leads the choir on "When You Walk," an update of the Upsetter Pilgrims' exuberant 1969 single "A Testimony," while the aptly titled "Track 13" finds
Perry all too briefly rewriting
The Wailers' "One Love," with new avian-laced lyrics.
"Righteous Oily" is
Perry's wacky DJ version of
Junior Byles' "Festival Dada," much more effective is "Ashes and Dust," and a powerful version of "Vibrate On," with
Perry's scintillating toast streaming through. "Rainbow Throne" solves the mystery of "Lee in the Heartbeat," a track cut abruptly short on
Perry's
Lord God Muzick album released the previous year. "Throne" is obviously the precursor to "Lee," a complex, sumptuous, hypnotic number that along with "Free Up" is worth the price of admission alone.
Not every number here is a gem, but there are more than enough jewels to set this compilation a-glitter.
Perry apparently was, if not pleased, at least unperturbed by this release, how else did
Ranglin escape his wrath on any later disc? Fans will be pleased that
Perry never paid off this IOU. ~ Jo-Ann Greene