RETURN OF SOUND SYSTEM SCRATCH: MORE LEE PERRY

Unlike Sound System Scratch, Return of Sound System Scratch is not a dub CD. Rather it is a collection of radical Scratch recordings from the height of the Black Ark studio days. Some are dub, some vocal and some vocal/dub 12 inch singles. Again, some (but not all) of the recordings are from dubplates--but the inclusion of more conventional methods of preserving the sound ameliorates the poor sound that marred (for me at least) the first of this series. The vocal tracks have a radical quality that seems smoky, sinister and hypnotic all at once--the dub has the simple drum and bass quality of the best dub. The musicianship is marvelous. The tracks are all quite rare and often unreleased--which makes the quality particularly remarkable since Perry is such a prolific releaser of material. An Augustus Pablo track--presumably from the session Perry has claimed he destroyed--is just, well, wow, and wonderful to hear.This is very simply a great CD, exceptional roots reggae from the master. This ranks with Sipple out There and Super Ape/Return of the SuperApe and Blackboard Jungle as some of the absolute best Lee Perry available on CD.

While I do give this CD a well-deserved 5 stars, I differ a little bit with many reviews I've seen which state that this: "Return Of" CD is superior to the original "Sound System" CD. I disagree with this, because I am a dub man. The first Sound System CD is 99.9% pure magical dub. This "Return Of" CD has some dynamite vocal tracks, but when it comes to pure DUB tracks, I find four titles which are, in fact, fantstic no-doubt-about-it Black Ark-style 1970's DUB, with a "spacey" feel, that work wonderfully well. While I will probably program "Return Of" for (only) these four tracks in future listenings, I'm still VERY glad I purchased it.

Great