LEE SCRATCH PERRY

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Review written by Smaël Bouici on Tuesday, May 06th 2008 - 28 515 views Yet another Lee Perry reissue? It looks that way, but it's subtler than that. The point here is not to pile up the hits produced at the Black Ark studio, but to discover, with hindsight, the evolution of the work of one of the greatest Jamaican producers. 20 tracks and a 12-page booklet make up this collectorama, from 1966 to 1979, until the Upsetter, seized by madness, burned down his own studio in 1981, marking the end of his golden period and the start of his early retirement. Not really gifted on the mic, Lee Perry was rather known for his qualities as a dancer. Hired by Coxsone as a jack-of-all-trades, he still laid down his voice (at the end of sessions, so that Coxsone wouldn't notice) and above all his gimmicks on a few tracks, including the classic Run for Cover. At the epicentre of the reggae earthquake sweeping Kingston, Lee Perry watches, learns and launches his Upsetter label in 1968, hiring two musicians, the cheerful bassist Aston Barrett and his more taciturn brother, drummer Carlton, soon to become the Wailers. With them and Val Bennett, he recorded the album "Return of Django" ("Django shoots first"). It was while doing sessions at Perry's that Marley noticed the Barretts' talent. Lee Perry recorded the tracks that would serve as the basis for the Wailers' Island albums. Buoyed by his success, Lee Perry experimented more and more, and his aura drew every Jamaican singer. In his studio filled with hieroglyphs, Lee Perry paraded talents (notably Max Romeo, with the hit Norman the gambler, a domino player) and worked on his instrumentals (Rude Walking on the Skylarking riddim) by placing the most varied noises (such as the cries of his baby on Justice to the people). On his four-track, Lee Perry performed sonic miracles, and made reggae sound like no one else. (Listen to the sound of the guitars on Flames of the Dragon). Today, Lee Perry is resting in Switzerland, where the grass is always green. And he has well earned it.

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