POX: Lee Scratch Perry

https://www.nts.live/shows/optimo/episodes/optimo-7th-september-2021

thank you!

so, was his last album the On-U collab, Rainford and its associated dubbed up variation, Heavy Rain ?
or did he sort out a few extras in the last months?

caught the last half of that NTS show live the other day - good vibes, and felt like stirry was just getting warmed up at two hours in

The Wayne and Wax ; and the Erin Macleod Spotify playlists are worth checking out

You mean this?
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/10/1035510633/the-magic-of-lee-scratch-perry
Couldn't find the second one.

Oh, this, I guess.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ZmHhHqG6VKGfWGC8GwvV9?si=d682ee4c55d845e2

Yep

been going back through his catalogue in piecemeal since the summer and stumbled on this. it's not a lost classic or anything, but more from that era is always welcome and it's very cool to hear him work with a female vocalist.

So what's good from the post Black Ark era?

Been going through a bit of a LSP phase recently and at least for now I would say he is the greatest musician to come out of Jamaica (sorry King Tubby)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zyynfnY3Cw

A recent personal favourite

My favourite LP post-Black Ark is probably Time Boom x De Devil Dead, which he made with Adrian Sherwood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9USR-7opK3E

I really like this Mad Professor dub of I Am A Madman (the original being one of two or three good ones from Battle of Armageddon / Millionaire Liquidator):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqNBHNMddfM

The next Sherwood-produced LP after Time Boom, "From The Secret Laboratory" is an interesting listen if you've been on a Black Ark era jag, it has radically updated takes on a handful of 70s classics; some people love it but I've always found it diverting rather than brilliant.

Tim, the 'Secret Laboratory' title track is up there with my favourite things by LSP.

And for good reason I'm sure, I'll give it another go sometime.

I’ve fallen into a Scratch hole myself. My favorite discovery so far is “Cheerio” from Battle Axe by the Upsetters. It’s this basic, instrumental thing with a rhythm lifted from something that I can’t quite place. But the way it all clicks together is so perfect! It’s very repetitive and my wife is probably going to ban it soon.

I’m a little stumped for classifying Perry’s stuff in Itunes. My impulse is to label all Upsetters stuff as Perry, so his stuff is all together. Does that make sense? Were they always his project with a fluid membership?

I’ve fallen into a Scratch hole myself. My favorite discovery so far is “Cheerio” from Battle Axe by the Upsetters. It’s this basic, instrumental thing with a rhythm lifted from something that I can’t quite place. But the way it all clicks together is so perfect! It’s very repetitive and my wife is probably going to ban it soon.

I’m a little stumped for classifying Perry’s stuff in Itunes. My impulse is to label all Upsetters stuff as Perry, so his stuff is all together. Does that make sense? Were they always his project with a fluid membership?

I quite liked Rainford too, which I think is/was his last album

“Cheerio” is the “Cherry Oh Baby” rhythm, which might be what you’re thinking of, Cow_Art? Sorry if that’s too obvious.

"From The Secret Laboratory" has really grown on me over the years. "Time Boom X De Devil Dead" is all time.

I’m a little stumped for classifying Perry’s stuff in Itunes. My impulse is to label all Upsetters stuff as Perry, so his stuff is all together. Does that make sense? Were they always his project with a fluid membership?

If you're not too fussy about tags, would it make more sense to hijack a different one that you don't really use (I dunno, Composer)? If I'm pulling together all my scratch stuff for a big shuffle I also want all the things he produced where he's def not the Artist.

Speaking of which, lately I've been getting very into George Faith's Super Eight (aka To Be a Lover) - fabulous deep echoing LSP sound around songs that are more… well this is OTM from Granny Dainger upthread -

And George Faith for the "Jamaican quiet storm" lazy Sunday afternoon vibe.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Were they always his project with a fluid membership?

I believe so

I remember reading a while back that Billy Idol was obsessed w/that George Faith record at the height of his druggy strung-out 80s days

time boom is by far the best of the on-u collaborations.
however, secret laboratory, has some brilliant tracks on it.
'african headcharge in the hackney empire' being an absolute classic.
that said, there were a couple of low key LSP vs ON-U releases that happened before things kicked off again due to warp
this album has dreadful cover art,
but features roots manuva on the brilliant 'international broadcaster.

https://www.discogs.com/release/1750076-Lee-Scratch-Perry-The-Mighty-Upsetter

and its dub version still hits the spot :

https://www.discogs.com/release/2309885-Lee-Scratch-Perry-And-Adrian-Sherwood-Dub-Setter

Gonna add to the From The Secret Laboratory recommendations... great record.

There's a YouTube channel called Black Ark Nuggets and there is unsurprisingly some absolute gold on there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sryk65q51_8

I mean how about this then

So on the label of that record it says it was produced by Yabby You. If that was inded recorded at the Black Ark does that mean Scratch was letting other producers use his studio?

I always assumed the Yabby You stuff was done at King Tubby's. Wasn't Vivian Jackson/Yabby You known as Tubby's favorite to work with? I read somewhere that Tubby personally worked on the Yabby You stuff while farming out some other things to Scientist or whoever was his assistant.

I only love about half of the forty-track version of King Scratch (Musical Masterpieces from the Upsetter Ark-ive) on Spotify, but/and that's enough to make it ballot bait for sure. Fave is the 12 " mix of Junior Murvin and Jah Lion, "Police and Thief (Police and Thieves." New to me: Susan Cadogan, whose tracks are great here, and Drugs A. Money assures me her album is dope too.

xp
That's on the old B&F Jesus Dread comp and the liner notes do indeed state it was recorded at Black Ark

^^ which rules

it does! Sadly OOP, but I think Pressure Sounds has put out a bunch if not all of this same stuff as expanded album reissues since (?)

Also meant to add that in fact none of the rhythm tracks (on Jesus Dread) were recorded at Tubby's, only the voicing and mixing was done there. The productions were all recorded at Black Ark, Dynamic, Randy's, and Channel One

Would love to know what it was like in the room when Tubby and Lee were working together. Tubs the neat freak and Perry trying to rub cow shit on the tapes.

Reggae odd couple!

Live Trap / Death Trap rules like fire. Are there many tracks with flute in the reggae canon? Tommy McCook absolutely kills it.

I kind of lose sight of Yabby You on record. There are so many variations and compilations out there. I stick with Jesus Dread, which is one of the greatest collections of any kind, anywhere. Just a monstrous achievement. Back in the day, I saw a NM vinyl copy for £60 and baulked at the price. I can't even bear to look at how much it goes for now.

Things I will do when I rob a bank pt38: buy the entire Blood and Fire catalogue.

I love Yabby You, so continue to buy the Pressure Sounds reissues despite the well being bone dry, but I did luck into a copy of Jesus Dread on vinyl four years ago for well under discogs prices at the time because the box corners had been separated. The vinyl was barely played but something had split the corners of the box so it didn't close properly. It was sitting on a pile behind the counter and I managed to snag it pretty cheap.

There's a YouTube channel called Black Ark Nuggets and there is unsurprisingly some absolute gold on there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sryk65q51_8

I mean how about this then

― paolo, Friday, 14 October 2022 18:29 (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

holy shit

for the record I am reacting to Tommy McCook & Prophets - Death Trap (prod Yabby You i think?)

I'm not sure about these days but back in the day if you've got someone who produces a track and then someone else does a dub of it then the person who does the dub would be referred to as the engineer right?

So for example that track above the B-side says produced by V Jackson but on the label it says King Tubby's. So even with the dub Yabby You would be the producer and Tubbs would be the engineer if I'm understanding correctly

Live Trap / Death Trap rules like fire. Are there many tracks with flute in the reggae canon? Tommy McCook absolutely kills it.

The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Concentration by Dennis Brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Lg2p68yTw

You get more flute action on the dub. Lovely stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hXBOFk_G_Y

Bubble Up by Wayne Jarrett (a Wackies production recently touched on in the Congos poll thread) is a great and thoroughly fluted-up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Xa9ErqeFM

for the record I am reacting to Tommy McCook & Prophets - Death Trap (prod Yabby You i think?)

rightly, wow

More flute, on-topic for the thread this time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HucNiALhqx0

(for the purposes for a broken-link future, that's Nice and Easy by Susan Cadogan, produced by Scratch)

That Susan Cadogan track is fire. And then youtube algorithm gave me the whole album and it's fantastic, never heard it

(I love it. Minor trivia point: two off the tracks on the LP are covers of songs from the classic Doris Duke LP "I'm a Loser", it seems lock and odd but inspired choice to find songs so suited to SC's rather ethereal vocal style on a full-throated gospelly southern soul vocal record)

Are there different versions of the album? I thought Island just changed the title and cover because they were worried about appearing racist?

Check out these tribute mixes! Over six hours of goodness, mostly focusing on Scratch's more obscure output

http://mikusmusik.blogspot.com/2015/08/rainford-rules-strictly-lee-perry.html