The Congos: Post Perry

The sophomore slump isn’t some new concoction by which the media can easily dispense criticism. That woulda been a good guess, but it’s just not the case. Certainly since the beginning of recorded sound, fans of this or that have been at once invigorated by a recording only to rush out to purchase whatever following release was slated only to be a bit let down. The slump might be as much of a personal creation as anything else, but it exists none the less. It often serves to end a career – fortunately or not. But that’s just the business, I suppose.

The Congos could rightly be figured to have created one of the most dense and rewarding – don’t forget odd – reggae albums ever set to tape. Heart of the Congos, which came out of the Black Ark Studio as Lee Perry was amidst some of his most imaginative works, has everything an album should in addition to a great deal of music and production that doesn’t immediately present itself as traditional reggae sounds. Regardless of that Perry was able to wrangle the strongest performance out of the Congos (Cedric Myton and Roydel "Ashanti" Johnson) that they’d ever get on record.

Being released in ’77, Heart of the Congos came at the right time. And while the group and its recording didn’t appreciate the same sort of broad renown that any work from Marley garnered, it remains one of the oft referenced classics of JA music. Waiting two years to head back to the studio in order to complete a follow up might not have been the wisest idea, but neither was working with someone other than Perry. Of course, Sylvan Morris is nothing short of an imposing figure behind the boards, but it can’t be said that he’s quite on the same level as Perry despite being the first producer to include strings in his compositions.

Regardless of who did what when, the backing tracks that Myton and Johnson go in over here simply aren’t as all encompassing and unique as that of Heart of the Congos. It’s not anyone’s fault, obviously, Congo Ashanti is just a different album – and none too shabby either. But by contrast it’s kinda clunky. Even sporting players like Santa Davis, Willie Lindo and a few Skatalites doesn’t serve to enliven the music here. It’s not bad – how could it be – just average.

Considering the fact that this second disc would be the swan song for this vocal duo, one might figure that the disc was received poorly in JA. It might have been, but that could be by virtue of the fact that by the time that Congo Ashanti was released there was not only a shift beginning in the landscape of JA music, but also a swelling base of talent that sought to record. Blaming the market place on the lack of success here seems like a cop out – it might be, but the Congos and its first disc was such a definitive statement that anything after it, helmed by Perry or not, would have resulted in a let down. It’s not bad, just not a stoned classic.