Lee "Scratch" Perry / Arkology [Box Set]
Artist Lee "Scratch" Perry
Album Title: Arkology [Box Set]
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Reggae: Dub
Format CD (3)
Released 07/14/1997
Label Island Records, Ltd.
Catalog No CRNCD 6/524 379-2
Bar Code No 7 31452 43792 1
Packaging Box Set (3 Disk)
Tracks
Arkology [Disc 1: Reel I Dub Organiser]
1. Dub Revolution (Part 1) / Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters (4:44)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry)
2. One Step Forward / Max Romeo (3:52)
(Lee Perry & Max Romeo)
3. One Step Dub / The Upsetters (4:06)
(Lee Perry & Max Romeo)
4. Vampire / Devon Irons (3:17)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry)
5. Vamp A Dub / The Upsetters (3:16)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry)
6. Sufferer's Time / The Heptones (3:55)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry)
7. Sufferer's Dub / The Upsetters (4:17)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry)
8. Sufferer's Heights / Junior Dread (4:32)
(Lee Perry & Junior Dread)
9. Don't Blame It On I / The Congos (4:05)
(Myton)
10. Much Smarter / The Meditations (3:56)
(Clarke)
11. Much Smarter Dub / The Upsetters (4:42)
(Clarke)
12. Life Is Not Easy / The Meditations (4:46)
(Cridland)
13. Life Is Not Easy Dub / The Upsetters (5:07)
(Cridland)
14. Tedious / Junior Murvin (5:04)
(Junior Murvin & Lee Perry)
15. War In A Babylon / Max Romeo (4:51)
(Lee Perry & Max Romeo)
16. Revelation Dub / The Upsetters (5:01)
(Lee Perry & Max Romeo)
17. Mr President / The Heptones & Jah Lion (4:13)
(Llewellyn, Morgan, and Sibbles)
18. Chase The Devil / Max Romeo (3:28)
(Lee Perry & Max Romeo)
Arkology [Disc 2: Reel II Dub Shepherd]
1. Dreadlocks In Moonlight (3:46)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry)
2. Dread At The Mantrols / Mikey Dread (3:47)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry/Michael G. Campbell)
3. In These Times / Errol Walker (4:39)
((P) 1979 The Island Def Jam Music Group/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
4. In These Times Dub / The Upsetters (3:24)
((P) 1979 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry)
5. Norman / Max Romeo (8:42)
((P) 1976 The Island Def Jam Music Group/Lee "Scratch" Perry/Max Romeo)
6. Police And Thieves / Junior Murvin (3:40)
((P) 1976 UMG Recordings, Inc./Junior Murvin/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
7. Magic Touch / Glen DaCosta (4:03)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry)
8. Soldier And Police War / Jah Lion (4:09)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Junior Murvin/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
9. Grumblin' Dub / The Upsetters (3:18)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry)
10. Bad Weed / Junior Murvin (4:02)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry)
11. John Public / Errol Walker (4:21)
((P) 1979 Island Records Ltd./Errol Walker/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
12. John Public (Version) / Errol Walker & Enos Barnes (4:23)
((P) 1979 Island Records Ltd./Errol Walker/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
13. Roots Train / Junior Murvin & Dillinger (8:59)
((P) 1977 UMG Recordings, Inc./Junior Murvin/Lee "Scratch" Perry)
14. No Peace / The Meditations (3:30)
((P) 1979 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd./Ansel Lionel Cridland)
15. No Peace Dub / The Upsetters (4:20)
((P) 1979 Island Records Ltd./Ansel Lionel Cridland)
16. Rasta Train / Raphael Green & Dr.Alimantado (4:54)
((P) 1977 Island Records Ltd./Lee "Scratch" Perry/Raphael Green)
17. Party Time (Part 2) / The Upsetters (4:34)
((P) 1976 Island Records Ltd./Leroy Sibbles)
Arkology [Disc 3: Reel III Dub Adventurer]
1. Vibrate On / Augustus Pablo Meets The Upsetter (4:40)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
2. Vibrator / The Upsetters (4:35)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
3. Bird In Hand / The Upsetters (3:30)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
4. Congoman / The Congos (5:52)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Cedric Myton/R. Johnson)
5. Dyon Anasawa / The Upsetters (3:39)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
6. Rastaman Shuffle / The Upsetters (5:16)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
7. Why Must I (Version) / The Heptones & Lee Perry (4:57)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/L Sibbles)
8. Make Up Your Mind / The Heptones (3:45)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/L Sibbles)
9. Closer Together / The Upsetters Revue Feat. Junior Murvin (6:15)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Junior Murvin/Lee Perry)
10. Groovy Situation / Keith Rowe (3:26)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Keith Rowe)
11. Groovy Dub / The Upsetters (3:33)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Keith Rowe)
12. To Be A Lover (Have Some Mercy) / George Faith (7:56)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/George Faith)
13. Soul Fire (3:58)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
14. Curly Locks (4:09)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
15. Feast Of The Passover / The Congos (3:36)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Cedric Myton/R. Johnson/Y. Myton)
16. Roast Fish & Cornbread (4:26)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
17. Corn Fish Dub / The Upsetters (4:26)
(Lee "Scratch" Perry/Lee Perry)
Date Acquired 05/04/2011
Personal Rating
Acquired from Import_CDs (Amazon)
Purchase Price 26.50

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Reviews

All Music Guide Review:


Review by John Dougan

Purportedly the definitive Lee "Scratch" Perry compilation, the three-CD set Arkology is loaded with good intentions and is carefully constructed, but with a back catalog like Perry's -- where it's nearly impossible to find out what's what -- definitive in this case is a dream. Still, the compilers have done a fine job of providing an overview of Perry's career that makes sense musically, historically, and culturally. For those who want to jump headlong into Perry's world, this is the way to go. (Otherwise, buying two to three individual releases would be recommended.) Arkology's foundation is the 1979 anthology Scratch on the Wire; the compilers took those tracks and added a significant number of remixes and a few previously unreleased dub tracks to give it some weight. And that is perhaps the set's biggest drawback; it doesn't cover quite enough of Perry's career. Remixes are nice, but a representative sampling of the early, mid-, and late periods at Black Ark would have been better, as well as a few of the early-'60s ska tracks that didn't make it onto Heartbeat's excellent Chicken Scratch compilation. There are also some irritating audio considerations here; sometimes reggae reissues lose that warm, extremely loud bass sound that is crucial to the riddims. That's not always the case on this release, but there are some moments when you wish there was just a little more blood coming from the speakers. So, all that said, is Arkology worth it? Absolutely. Don't think that this large purchase will give you all the crucial Lee "Scratch" Perry recordings; it provides a good overview and is an excellent introduction, but consider it the start, rather than the completion, of your journey with Scratch and the Upsetters.
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