Super Ape (Spkg) [Original recording remastered]

Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Hip-O Select
• ASIN: B000BIYPCU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,021 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Despite clocking in at a whopping 4 feet eleven inches, Lee "Scratch" Perry looms head and shoulders over reggae's history, much like the gorilla on the cover of this album. Not only is Perry regarded as having taken roots dub to new depths, many people (likely including Perry) would assert that he invented it himself. Noted both as an engineer and producer, it was at his Black Ark studios that Bob Marley recorded some of his earliest tracks (which Perry then sold to Trojan Records, allegedly pocketing the cash and effectively derailing his relationship with Marley). Always flamboyant (his attires suggests Sun Ra's Salvation Army stylee), Perry presided over the Upsetters, a number of whom would come to greater notoriety as Wailers. The Upsetters had performed on Max Romeo's earlier success, War Ina Babylon (also on Hip-O Select), and Perry, who seemed to inhabit the studio 24/7, felt it was time to unleash his studio band as a performing unit in its own right. Comprised of a half-dozen-strong percussion session, a horn section of similar size, and several vocalists including Prince Jazzbo and Perry himself, the Upsetters took a dark and swampy turn on this disc. The congas and bass hold down the bottom end with an almost ominous interplay, and the vocals swirl in and out in a tropical fever state. When they put the album's motto on the front cover, proclaiming "Dub It Up Blacker Than Dread," they weren't fooling. As it states in the opening verse of "Zion's Blood," "I and I shall never fade away." By making albums such as Super Ape, Lee Perry guaranteed it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raasclaaat!, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Super Ape (Audio CD)

I can't believe that I am the first person writing a review for this album. Considering dub master Lee Scratch Perry's fame of late, i am surprised, because, and I am a "yardie" "come a "foreign", straight from kingston, and I haf fi tell you, this album. This album. This album is one of the BEST pure dub albums ever recorded. It is pure trouble. Where Augustus pablo is sublime Lee Perry and the Upsetters(!) take roots dub to the core of the earth into the raw essence of all that is. Yes I. You will end up stopping the cd and taking a break because you didn't know drum and bass could be so tough! Jah bless and guide. If you love dub, then my bredren, drop dis on and kick back and you'll forget you were ever here ;)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential reggae album, May 11, 2000

By 

Aaron Norhanian (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Super Ape (Audio CD)

From top to bottom, this album is full of haunting melodies and flowing riddims. Until a few years ago I thought reggae music began and ended with Bob Marley, then someone played the Upsetters for me, and I devoured it. This album never gets old. If you purchase only one reggae CD in your life, make it Super Ape.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Upsetters at their best, February 11, 2003

By 

tgriffi "elproducto" (New Orleans, LA baby!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Super Ape (Audio CD)

This CD incorporates the entire spectrum of the Black Ark sound which was the peak of Lee Perry/producer. This is in the top 5 percent of dub albums. The best thing about this cd is that it has it's own distinct sound (eerie, roots, and mystical). Prince Jazzbo and Full Experience vocals weave in and out of the songs like a dream. This is the one album fans of the Black Ark sound cannot be without.