DOCTOR BIRD | Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s On The Wire and Culture – See Them A Come get the deluxe treatment this month…
Lee 'Scratch' Perry: On The Wire, 25th Anniversary Expanded 2CD Edition
- 25th anniversary issue of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s ‘On The Wire’
- Featuring six previously unissued studio recordings
- And seven previously unreleased live recordings.
Released at the dawn of the 21st Century, ‘On The Wire’ marked the long awaited return of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s to Trojan Records, 14 years after the company had issued his powerful come-back long-player, ‘Battle Of Armagideon’
Demonstrating The Upsetter’s eccentric and innovative approach to music-making, the 2000 album comprises a compelling blend of weird and wonderful sounds, over which he delivers typically unpredictable yet captivating lyrics that range from the profound to the absurd.
Upon its release, the Trojan collection was comprehensively praised, with many critics proclaiming Scratch was finally back to his best, but unbeknown to most, the recordings were in fact already well over a decade old, with Scratch having cut the material, accompanied by popular British roots band Misty In Roots, at London’s Matrix Studio early in 1987.
Despite the enduring popularity of ‘On The Wire’, it has remained unissued since its original release, an oversight this 25th anniversary edition sets to finally address. This long- overdue deluxe version comprises the original album augmented by a second disc featuring additional unreleased material from the Matrix sessions, along with previously unheard live tracks delivered to Trojan by Scratch around the close on the 1990s.
Annotated by official Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry biographer, David Katz, this celebratory 2CD set is a must for fans of the Jamaican Jenius and anyone seeking to experience over 2 ½ hours of musical magic and mayhem.
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CD1: ON THE WIRE 1 Lee Scratch Perry On The Wire 2 Exodus 3 For Whom The Bells Tolls 4 The Grim Reader 5 Yes, My Friends 6 Rock My Soul 7 Seaside (Mystic Mirror) 8 I Am The Upsetter 9 Keep On Moving 10 Burn Funkyd
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CD2: UNRELEASED STUDIO & LIVE RECORDINGS 1 Keep On Moving (full mix) 2 Muzik 3 Jah Come 4 IMF 5 Jenesis 6 Stars In The Bathroom Live recordings: 7 Six Million Dollar Dub (live) 8 Here Comes Lee Perry (live) 9 Rock Around The Corner (live) 10 Rocking On The Wire (live) 11 War In A Babylon (live) 12 Heads Of Government (live) 13 Open Door (live) |
Culture: See Them A Come - The Joe Gibbs Singles Collection, 2CD
- Eight tracks new to CD.
- First anthology of the group’s earliest singles.
- Includes numerous mammoth Jamaican hits.
After crashing onto the reggae music scene in 1977 with their debut single ‘Two Sevens Clash’, Culture demonstrated the depth of their talent with further powerful and inspirational 7” and 12” singles for leading Jamaican producer, Joe Gibbs.
Formed the previous year by Joseph Hill, his cousin Albert Walker and friend Roy Dayes, the trio first assumed the title of The African Disciples before adopting their more familiar moniker just prior to joining Gibbs’s impressive artist roster.
Thereafter, they wasted little time recording new works, cutting enough high-quality material over the next 12 months to ultimately comprise four whole albums. Yet, despite the popularity of their output throughout this time, Culture brought their working relationship with Gibbs to an end in 1978, when they joined Sonia Pottinger’s High Note Records - an arrangement that led to the global distribution of their music via Virgin Records’ Front Line label.
While the quality of their work thereafter remained consistently high, most Jamaican music historians agree that the singles released by Gibbs between 1977 and 1981 reflect the trio at their peak.
And finally, at long last, these seminal recordings, along with their respective dub sides are collected on this set that effectively demonstrates why Culture remain one of the most popular and revered groups of the roots era.
