PEOPLE FUNNY BOY & ROOTS WITH QUALITY | Two deluxe Doctor Bird albums coming soon..
PEOPLE FUNNY BOY
- First extensive anthology of Lee Perry’s early productions.
- Includes numerous Jamaican hits.
- Features some of the most influential Jamaican recordings of the late 60s.
Today, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is widely acknowledged by both fans and experts alike as being one of the finest talents to emerge during the golden age of Jamaican music. But his climb to the top of the musical ladder was neither easy nor swift: after working as a jack-of-all- trades for Studio One boss Clement ‘Coxson’ Dodd, he made his mark as a recording artist and arranger in the mid-60s before overseeing recording sessions for a number of up-and- coming record label owners. Finally, in mid-1968, he finally possessed the necessary funds and expertise to join their ranks and become a fully independent producer.
Perry’s innovative approach and understanding of local music trends swiftly brought him national success with a number of popular singles issued on Upset, the label he co-owned with his friends and fellow musical creatives, Lynford Anderson and Barrington Lambert. Within months, he had become a fully independent operator, releasing further best-selling 45s on his Upsetter label, with the popularity of the discs attracting the attention of London-based Trojan Records, which created a British version of his imprint early 1969.
Throughout this time, Perry’s output particularly found favour among Britain’s skinhead music fans, and that autumn their buying power proved instrumental in propelling his production of Val Bennett & The Upsetters’ irresistible dancefloor-filler ‘Return Of Django’ into the upper echelons of the UK pop charts. Its success not only exposed Perry’s music to a global audience but also provided the income to enable him to continue his experimentation with sound that in time would culminate some of the most compelling records ever to see issue.
This collection, which brings together the recordings that launched Perry’s career as an independent record producer, features a fascinating mixture of styles, ranging from the soulful rhythms of rock steady to the dynamic sounds of boss reggae, with the resulting mix not only providing a compelling listening experience, but also a fascinating insight into the early musical development of one of Jamaican music’s most influential, innovative and successful music makers.
ROOTS WITH QUALITY
• 38 tracks new to CD.
• Includes numerous dancehall classics from the early 80s.
• Features some of the biggest stars of the dancehall era.
During the years that followed his breakthrough as an independent record producer in the early 1970s, Winston Holness AKA Niney The Observer repeatedly demonstrated an unerring ability to produce significant works. By the onset of the next decade and the arrival of the new dancehall sound, he was well and truly established as one of Jamaica’s most innovative and successful music makers, having secured major hits for some of the island’s finest talents, their number including Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Horace Andy and The Heptones.
Niney maintained his magic touch throughout the early 80s, working primarily with up-and- coming young performers, such as Don Carlos, Peter Broggs, Yellowman and Purple Man, whom he backed in the studio with the exemplarity musicianship of Jamaica’s premier session crew, The Roots Radics.
Now, for the first time ever, the very best of his dancehall output from the early 80s has been assembled for this 2CD collection, with the first disc showcasing vocal works and CD2 presenting the best of his dub sides from the period. And with almost 40 tracks new to CD this is a must-have collection for all fans of high quality pre-digital reggae sounds.
=
