Lee Perry's Most Pressing Pressings

Entrance into any genre can be a daunting task. But if anyone out there has given reggae a real try, the name Lee Perry most likely has cropped up more than just a few times in any exploration of the genre. Perry might get over hyped at times – and certainly a great deal of his newer material should be left alone – but during the late ‘70s the producer, functioning out of his Black Ark Studio, crafted a succession of discs that would change reggae and give dub a new perspective. The following list of his better works can, of course, be disputed, but that doesn’t mean that any of the discs mentioned below are short of astoundingly composed and a pleasure to listen to.

The Upsetters - Return of the Super Ape (1978)
The follow up to the Super Ape disc comes towards the end of Perry’s time reigning as JA music’s masterfully maestro. He didn’t disappear after this, but the ‘80s weren’t the most auspicious time for reggae music. When Perry’s music is discussed, usually there’s mentioned made of how skeletal all of his work is. That’s true some of the time – not on most of the vocal albums he got behind the boards for – but here, Perry strips it all down to the most minimalistic of thuds, warbles and bass lines.

The Congos – Heart of the Congos (1977)
The first album from the Congos might confuse listeners – at times the vocal duo doesn’t really sound like its performing over top of a reggae band. Of course, the basic trappings of Perry’s work are recognizable, but represented throughout Heart of the Congos is a smattering of gospel and out ‘n out experimental music. Even if the music wasn’t shocking, though, the false setto on the album is almost as impressive as Junior Murvin’s.

Junior Murvin – Police and Thieves (1977)
The simple cultural cache that Police and Thieves has by virtue of its title track being covered by the Clash – and produced by Perry – can’t really match anything else listed here. Of course, even with out that, the singularity of the music and Murvin’s voice are able to create enough of a stirring, conscious racket to get it over. Every track’s a stoned classic and beyond that most famous of famous offerings here everything from culture to children receives a proper working over. The disc was re-issued back in 2003 replete with a few extended dubs that only make it a more enticing package. This disc right here might be the very pinnacle of Perry’s career as it matches his weirdo production qualities with a voice unmatched elsewhere in music.

Max Romeo – War ina Babylon (1976)
Maybe the least known outta this crop of discs, Max Romeo turns in nine tracks of concerned lyrics. It all gets a bit heavy at times with Romeo basically figuring the dominance of evil forces if we don’t all change our ways. And as early as the disc came – relative to the rest of this list – the production isn’t as unique. War ina Babylon’s still a concerted effort and luckily lightens up by disc’s end with “Smile out a Style.”