Scratch Perry's "The Quest"

[Selector J]

[cover=223,250]
What's the deal with this album? The comments here on RA say "bogus album". It was released on Clocktower and most of them are legitimate Scratch tunes (including four nice versions of Curly Locks) but some are suspect. I mean, did Linval Thompson and Big Youth really record with Scratch?

Also does anyone know the vocalists/DJs on the non-instrumental tracks? Two are listed on the RA page (Silvertones and Big Youth). Linval Thompson is definitely the singer for "Kung Fu Man", Junior Byles sounds like the singer for "Longer Way", and Big Youth appears again on "Episode 3" which is basically a version of "Johnny Reggae".

I don't know who sings with the nice falsetto on "What Can I Do" (not a very Upsetter-sounding track, by the way) or the familiar sounding DJ on the track "Dread Locks".

Any help is appreciated.

[j j]

"What can i do" might be the same as a clocktower 7" What can i do by Locks Lee, produced by l perry.

j j

[informer]

bogus means they (this canadian abraham wanker) didn't have the rights to put this out. of course it's Perry stuff.

[Ron]

Except for three tracks:
"When Knotty Come", "Episode 3" and "Johnny Reggae" are not Perry related.

[Jonti]

bogus means they (this canadian abraham wanker) didn't have the rights to put this out. of course it's Perry stuff.

I wonder how they got the stuff in the first place? Scratch's ex, perhaps?

[Rootsman]

From vinyl possibly.

On a slightly off topic note, I thought Abraham bought the rights / master tapes from King Tubbys wife to release some of the music originally released on King Tubbys Clocktower label.

However much of what has been released on the Abraham label was not originally on Clocktower and are bootlegged from sources other than the master tapes.

This Lee Perry album is such, mostly a Perry production but not licensed to Abraham.

Dave

[Selector J]

Thanks for the very helpful responses.

"What can i do" might be the same as a clocktower 7" What can i do by Locks Lee, produced by l perry.
j j

You are probably right, jj. I'll believe that until I hear otherwise.
As for the tune called "Dread Locks," you can hear a sample of a similar (if not identical) track called "Dreader Locks", at Ernie B's. (The direct link wouldn't work. Just search for "Dreader Locks" at www.ebreggae.com to listen to the track sample.)

The track "Dreader Locks" appears on a handful of other compilations, too (including Jonny Greenwood Is The Controller), [where it is attributed to Scratch and Junior Byles.](http://www.roots-archives.com/search/?q ... &mode=song)

So that got me thinking, is it possible that Junior did both a vocal and DJ rendition of this track? I've never heard of another DJ cut by Junior but the voice of the DJ here is not too dissimilar... especially at the end of the Ernie B sample when he says, "blood, lightning, and earthquake in desolate places." Just a thought.

[Selector J]

"What can i do" might be the same as a clocktower 7" What can i do by Locks Lee, produced by l perry.
j j

Just confirmed this by listening to [the sample](http://www.strictly-vibes.com/locks-lee ... t=what+can) on strictly-vibes! Thanks, jj!
And I thought it wasn't an Upsetter production... (What do I know!)

There's also a sample of ["Dreader Locks"](http://www.strictly-vibes.com/junior-by ... ader+locks) on strictly-vibes.

[Nicholas]

That compilation was probably made in the Brad Osborne days, circa 1982, as all the tracks were previously issued on Clocktower singles.
Its cover is directly inspired by the cover of "Mystic Miracle Star" issued by Heartbeat.

I don't know exactly how it happened, but it's amazing to see that Clocktower issued productions by Perry, Pablo, Bunny Lee, and many other great producers in the period from 1974 to circa 1978 (and after).

By the way, "When Knotty Came" is a Winston Riley production.

N.

[Bellyman]

"The Quest" is not that old. The record appeared around 1992/1993.

The founder of Clocktower Records was Brad Osbourne, another jamaican expatriate who made a living in N.Y. since the 1960s. All releases from the 1970s and early 1980s (up to ca 1982) are all originals and well worth owning.