Roots Archives Forum

Happy birthday Lee "Scratch" Perry. Thank you for the Black Ark Recordings, Thank You for the Wailers Recordings, Thank You for Dub. Ít's good to know you're still around to tell us there is "Panic in Babylon". The Great Man is today 69 Years old but still cool and fresh.

Is he good? I never heard anything good from him?

Joshua asks two questions!!

The answer to question one is yes. Full details here:

http://www.smokeyroom.net/07inch/ethnic.htm

Only Joshua can explain what question 2 means !!

Joshua didn't mean it as a question. would you please ignore the second "?"

Sorry Joshua,
I can understand that not all records of L. Perry are accessible. I even agree that some of the stuff he made is of poor quality (especially the post black ark stuff, excluding the On U sound records). But you cannot ignore that he contributed a lot to Jamaican music in all kinds of roles. Just read the book People Funny Boy, ...

greetings

Joshua wrote > I never heard anything good from him.

What exactly did you hear Joshua?

I listened to the "Techno Party" and I didn't like it. And the other LP I listened to was Satan Kicked The Bucket.

Most releases after the early 80's are to be avoided. Apart from good ska and early reggae I'd say all of the essential Lee Perry / Upsetter records are from the 'golden age' period throughout the 1970's. You can't go wrong with any titles from then! For starters check this link for info on one of the best dub LP's EVER!!

http://www.roots-archives.com/release/619

Yeah man mad man scratchie is great. Panic In Babylon is a great album. But the black ark period is the best one. He also worked as a producer and produced some of the wailers stuff (not in the ark) and later he produced for example legendery "Heart Of The Congos with The Congos or "Police And Thieves" by Junior Murvin. These are really classics. But there are more. He recorded songs with many unknown artists. One of my favourites is "Travelling" By Debra Keese

I still have been unable to find any Roots artist that can create a sound comparable to that of the man Scratch. As an introduction to the Golden Era of Scratch's productions, I would suggest purchasing the 'Arkology'. I believe this collection to be an excellent introduction into the maniacal world of Lee Perry. Although I still haven't collected all his Dub albums, 'Super Ape' and 'Megaton Dub 1 & 2' have always been some of my personal favorites. As far as DJ albums, 'Columbia Collie' and 'Ital Corner' are sick as well.