Dub innovator and original mad professor of reggae production
Lee "Scratch" Perry
was on a creative high during the mid- to late '70s. Along with other remarkable trends in Jamaican music and culture at that time,
Perry
was working tirelessly at his infamous Black Ark studios, pouring out mind-blowing recordings, mixes, and dub versions at a staggering rate, contributing to one of reggae's brightest eras. The ganja-fueled mania that
worked with resulted in a glut of material, and his less than organized studio practices (sometimes including burying master tapes in the studio yard) meant a lot of amazing music from that time went unreleased.
Roaring Lion
is one in a series of compilations issued by the
Pressure Sounds
label that collects rare, unreleased, or unheard tracks from this wild and fruitful time in
's output, concentrating this time around on the pinnacle years of the Black Ark studio, circa 1975-1976.
Scratch
's glorious madness was in fine form then and comes through loud and clear on these 16 rugged and unpolished tracks, culled from either original tapes or unissued acetate recordings. The dirty and demolished fidelity of some of these recordings makes
's better-known lo-fi masterpieces like
Super Ape
and
Heart of the Congos
sound pristine in comparison, and some listeners may be thrown by just how grimy and noise-laden the dubs here can get. To others, however, this level of dub depravity and unhinged fearlessness is the holy grail in a lifetime of bland, safe dub albums.
was legitimately insane for a good portion of his time working at Black Ark, and his production choices on these mixes, many of which were kept from the public for decades, make that abundantly clear. Highlights include an incredibly tough reworking of an
Althea & Donna
tune, dubbed "Loco Negril" here, as well as simmering unreleased tracks from
Augustus Pablo
,
Junior Byles
, and even
Bob Marley
, all touched with the magic wand of
's production in its most unadulterated form. ~ Fred Thomas