Much has been written about the ever-stranger
Lee "Scratch" Perry, master of the Black Ark and now off doing it dubwise in Switzerland or somesuch, but
the Upsetters themselves have been glossed over to a surprising degree. This is really a shame, because two
Upsetters members ended up as the rhythm core of the Wailers, and the legacy of this studio band is a grand one, with some of the best Jamaican music credited to it. This 16-cut collection, assembled from tapes kept by keyboardist
Glen Adams, is primarily instrumental, with a few vocal incursions from
Glen Adams, Lee Perry and Dave Barker, with the focus being on
the Upsetters -- without any of Perry's studio twistiness. This is mostly light, entertaining body-rhythm stuff, some of which will sound familiar ("Lock It Up" is a version of "Lockjaw"). The sounds and styles are a trip down memory lane, but that's where the best reggae is sometimes found. Cheerfully unessential, which is why you should get it. ~ Steven McDonald