Various – Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Presents Flashing Echo – The Jamaican Upsetter Singles 1973, Chapter 2

Many of the tracks on the collection are new to CD and it includes numerous major Jamaican hits. During the latter half of 1973, Lee Perry was on a musical high and he was experimenting with his music and recording truly outstanding sounds. His work is and always has been rated by music historians as being some of the most influential recordings during a fascinating period in Jamaican music history and it led to dominate Reggae music until Roots and Dub came on the scene. This collection includes some experimental tracks by some of Jamaica’s best including Dillinger, Junior Byles, I Roy, Leo Graham, The Silvertones, along with Lee Perry himself. Together we will take a look at a selection of the tracks.

DISC ONE

1. ENSOME CITY SKANK – Dillinger. Starting off with a spoken vocal before moving into a sound on which the rhythm track comes from Leo Graham’s ‘Three Blind Mice’. It is a slowish number and predominantly a talk-over on which the vocalist is joined by another talk-over merchant on-and-off. Recorded in Jamaica at Perry’s Black Ark Studio. 3. BURNING WIRE – Jerry Lewis. Another talk-over sound and has a laid-back rhythm track. This is a rather strange recording from a vocal point-of-view and is nothing special, just an average talk-over. Released in UK on Attack label as the B side to I Roy’s ‘Space Flight’. 6. SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN – Lee Perry & The Upsetters. This is a classic Reggae and Dub sound by Lee and his house band. The vocalist talks over a chorus that comes and goes from time-to-time. The content is based around a boxing match between Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Released in UK on Downtown label. 8. JUSTICE TO THE PEOPLE – The Upsetters. Another classic Reggae and Dub sound that has socially conscious lyrics and a signature Roots Reggae groove. This comes mid-tempo and although credited to The Upsetters it comes with a full-on vocal and backing chorus. The backing comes straight and overall this is a catchy recording, with verse two on the flip side. Released in UK on Jackpot label. 11. NEWS FLASH – Leo Graham. This is a faster moving number with a full-on vocal from Leo. The rhythm track is punchy and straight, the vocalist should have gained more credit than he seems to have received as he recorded some fine sounds over the years. A catchy sound on which the collections title track can be found on the B side, Lee was a one-time member of The Bleechers. 12. FLASHING ECHO – The Upsetters. Giving its title to the collection the track is mid-tempo and unusually for The Upsetters this comes with a vocal before moving into a semi mid-tempo Dub sound. The rhythm track is nothing special but does have a catchy feeling and as already intermated it comes as the B side to the reviewed track. Released in Jamaica on Underground label and UK on Upsetter label. 15. THINK BLACK – The Upsetters. This is slower than the previous track and comes with an on-off spoken vocal. The rhythm track sounds not unlike that found on ‘Yeh Yeh’ by Georgie Fame and although one does not expect a vocal on this outfits recordings it is a catchy number and well worth its inclusion. On the original release it had ‘Blackman Time’ on the flip side. 19. WHAT A WINE – Leo Graham. Written by the vocalist this is a further slower number and is a further polished sound from Leo who’s vocal is semi-spoken. He is joined by a chorus most of the way through and although the track doesn’t really go anywhere it does have a catchy feel. Released in Jamaica on Upsetter Records. 21. STICK TOGETHER – U Roy. Sometimes known as DJ Daddy we have one of Jamaica’s finest talk-over artists U Roy with his recognisable vocal genre and this is fast and does get the feet-tapping. Nothing special about the rhythm track and at its best is just another fine talk-over sound. This was the B side to ‘006’/ U Roy when on 7″ and released in Jamaica on Black Ark Records. 24. WASHROOM SKANK – The Upsetters. This comes as a re-mix of ‘Kentucky Skank’ and also titled ‘Bathroom Skank’. It is a fast- moving sound and has an intergalactic sound with some one word spoken vocals from time-to-time. This is Dub at its best Released in Jamaica on Upset Records and UK Black Ark Records.

DISC TWO

1. SINNER MAN – Annette Clarke. Not to be mixed-up with The Kingstonians recording that has the same title, this has a vocalist who was much underrated and Annette gives a first-class vocal. This has a classic Reggae rhythm that is mid-tempo and comes punchy. It is driven by laid-back guitar riffs, organ bursts and has a soulful feel. This was the B side to Annette’s version of ‘Just One Look’. This was released on the Techniques label in UK. 3. DOUBLE SIX – U Roy. Roots Reggae sound that starts off slowly before going mid-tempo and has the usual vocal from one of the genre’s top artists. The rhythm track comes more intricate than on many talk-over sounds and this is catchy. Released in Jamaica on Upsetter label with ‘Stick Together’ on the B side. 7. JUST WANT TO BE THERE – Annette Clarke. This has a slow intro before it becomes mid-tempo, again we hear a first-class vocal from Annette. The rhythm track is straight and floats along behind the vocal. One cannot be fail to be impressed by the vocalist. Released in Jamaica on Black Ark Records. 10. I’LL TAKE YOU HOME – The Silvertones. This outfit were formed in 1964 and consisted of three members. Starting off with a spoken vocal between male/female it is a slow sound with a full-on vocal with a female chorus lending a hand. Nothing special about the rhythm trac, this can be found on the album ‘Silver Bullets’ and a CD version is also available on the Doctor Bird label. Released in Jamaica on Black Ark Records and UK Trojan label. 13. NO DIG PIT – Leo Graham. This is more of a Ska sound and naturally has a fast rhythm track. Leo is well to the fore and gives a pleasing vocal that is catch, as mentioned previously Leo was a member of The Bleechers. This was written by Leo and was released on Black Ark Records. 15. EDUCATION ROCK – Junior Byles. This is mid-tempo from Junior who was a prolific recording artist over the decades. The rhythm track comes straight and compliments the vocalist fully. For the record this is backed with Ken McKay on ‘Nobody Knows’. Released in UK on Pama label. 18. STANDING ON A HILL – Lee Perry. This song can be found in many different formats from over the years. This has the deep – Dub sound one expects from Lee Perry out of his Black Ark Studios. This comes as a slower sound on which Lee gives a competent vocal in front of a smooth rhythm track and cool sounding chorus. There is a slight talk-over/sung section towards the end and Lee is backed by The Silvertones. 21. BABYLON A FALL – King Burnett. This is self-penned under D Burnett and is a talk-over song. The vocalist is actually Watty Burnett and it was recorded at Black Ark Studios and is not a Lee Perry production with Burnett given the credit for this. Released in Jamaica on Justice League label. 24. PICKPOCKET SKANK – The Upsetters. This began life as the B side to Junior Byles ‘Rasta No Pick Pocket’ and is a rhythm heavy sound. This is a typical Lee Perry produced Dub sound and comes with a classic Reggae rhythm on-and-off. As Dub goes this is a pleasing recording and can be found on the album ‘Curly Locks’ and the B side has a Dub version by Shenley Duffus. Released in Jamaica on the Jamaican Upsetter label.

CONCLUSION

This collection comes as part of a series of 2CD anthology sets that showcase the very best of Lee Perry’s Jamaican 7″ singles and includes many popular recordings of this period. Enjoyed as a stand-alone set or a companion volume to the previous collections in the series this comes as three hours of influential sounds. With this in mind it is now time to consider including it in the Jamaican part of one’s Jamaican music collection.

King Burnett – Babylon A Fall