Customer Reviews

The Upsetter Shop, V. 2; 1969 to 1973

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent album for those who want to explore the Upsetters ska/rocksteady, though not much on dub this is the album for the hard core ska fanatics & skins who can seek a connection to reggae & rocksteady. For those dub enthusiast you can feel the roots in this album. If your a roots enthusiast this is a good sample.

Fans of Perry who expect everything he does to be out there and experimental will be amazed by the fact that Perry was actually a very middle of the road engineer and producer in his early years, which allowed the Upsetters to lay down wonderful late rocksteady/early reggae grooves....But don't worry- tracks like Pat Satchmo's prove that there were some bizarre goings-on in the studio, as well...

With tracks by Eric Donaldson, a year away from his bit hit "Cherry oh Baby," the Silvertones, a few years away from their wonderful lp, the Mellowtones, and Dillinger, to name a few, the cd is a wonderful look at Perry's formative early years, and while he wasn't the lovable eccentric he was a few years later, these tracks helped lay the foundation for that change.

An excellent companion to Vol.1 and a delight to listen to.

Smart collection of the ska to reggae evolution era of Jamaican music. It is a collection of early Upsetter studio band recordings of various musicians and singers, rather than a display of Lee Perry's production techniques. Lee Perry often overshadows his singers and studio bands, but the musicians in the various Upsetters incarnations are fundamental in creating the Reggae sound. Musicians include Aston "Familyman" Barrett and Carlton "Carlie" Barrett, Sly Dunbar, Boris Gardiner, Glen Adams, Lloyd "Tinleg" Adams, Mikey Boo, Hux Brown, Clevie, Winston Wright. It is a decent representation of the sound of the Classic Reggae era before the Roots Rasta era. There are no blockbusters here, but there are a few big hitters in this collection. If you like Classic Reggae studio bands, Skinny Reggae, Trojan Reggae, Lyn Taitt, Harry J. AllStars, and Joe Gibbs and Leslie Kong productions, check this out. Bigup.

Don't get me wrong, Lee "Scratch" is the man, or was the man, and this is a worthwhile collection, but only for those who have most everything else of his early years and are so addicted to Scratch that they're looking to complete their collection. There are a few nice tracks, but these are all available otherwise. Overall, a so-so album.

Amazon's reviewer is pretty much on the money. Unlike Vol. 1, which could make a believer out of anyone, this is fairly middle-of-the-road stuff. Not bad though - if you're a fan it's worth a reasonable price.

This set is really more of a historical archive album than an essential, must-have reggae album. It's best purpose is for the Lee "Scratch" Perry fanatic or early reggae enthusiast who already has everything else and doesn't want any holes in their collection. Unlike the earlier The Upsetter Shop Vol. 1, Vol. 2 doesn't have any dub songs on it -- it was recorded before dub came into vogue. The telltale sign that this is really a collection of odds and ends comes from the numerous alternate takes of already-obscure songs, such as Eric Donaldson's "Caught You Red Hended." Perry only contributes vocals on one song, "People Sokup Boy" (a remake of "People Funny Boy", perhaps?), although he produced every track on here. You'll have to go elsewhere for the tune that gave Perry his nickname -- "Chicken Scratch" -- or for any of his early vocal sides for Studio One, the addition of which would have added some weight to this collection. Nevertheless, the set does have its moments, such as "Check Him Out," which appears to be somewhat of a jingle for Scratch's Upsetter Shop record store. Other highlights includes an early deejay cut by Dillinger, "Tighten Up Skank," and a few Upsetters instrumentals which forecast the dub(r)evolution Scratch would pioneer. Overall, a pleasant-enough and culturally-authentic mix of early reggae and rocksteady, but it's hard to reccommend this expressly for Scratch fans, unless you've already got Arkology, Super Ape, Upsetter Shop Vol. 1, Blackboard Jungle in Dub, Reggae Greats: Lee Perry, The Congos' Heart of the Congos, Marley & the Wailers' African Herbsman, Dub syndicate's Time Boom X De Devil Dead, the Pressure Sounds comps, and... well, you get the picture. Not a bad album by any means, but there are better Perry comps and better early reggae sets out there.

Smart collection of the ska to reggae evolution era of Jamaican music. It is a collection of early Upsetter studio band recordings of various musicians and singers, rather than a display of Lee Perry's production techniques. Lee Perry often overshadows his singers and studio bands, but the musicians in the various Upsetters incarnations are fundamental in creating the Reggae sound. Musicians include Aston "Familyman" Barrett and Carlton "Carlie" Barrett, Sly Dunbar, Boris Gardiner, Glen Adams, Lloyd "Tinleg" Adams, Mikey Boo, Hux Brown, Clevie, Winston Wright. It is a decent representation of the sound of the Classic Reggae era before the Roots Rasta era. There are no blockbusters here, but there are a few big hitters in this collection. If you like Classic Reggae studio bands, Skinny Reggae, Trojan Reggae, Lyn Taitt, Harry J. AllStars, and Joe Gibbs and Leslie Kong productions, check this out. Bigup.