The nearly four hours of astounding music encoded on these three discs merely scratch the surface of the highly personal sonic universe created by this legendarily eccentric, yet ridiculously prolific, dub-reggae producer.... more » It's still the best source of entry into Lee "Scratch" Perry's world, though, a place defined by homemade avant-garde production techniques applied to the wittiest, angriest, sexiest, and most soulful reggae tunes ever written. Perry was born in 1936, and his career spans the history of Jamaican music. These 52 tracks, however, derive mainly from the late 1970s, when he was at the height of his considerable powers and recording hits like Max Romeo's "War in a Babylon" and Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" for Island. Helpfully annotated, with a healthy handful of unreleased tracks, Arkology is a beginner's banquet of tracks that sound increasingly deep, daring, and downright frightening as the depth of Perry's talent is plumbed. --Richard Gehr« less
The nearly four hours of astounding music encoded on these three discs merely scratch the surface of the highly personal sonic universe created by this legendarily eccentric, yet ridiculously prolific, dub-reggae producer. It's still the best source of entry into Lee "Scratch" Perry's world, though, a place defined by homemade avant-garde production techniques applied to the wittiest, angriest, sexiest, and most soulful reggae tunes ever written. Perry was born in 1936, and his career spans the history of Jamaican music. These 52 tracks, however, derive mainly from the late 1970s, when he was at the height of his considerable powers and recording hits like Max Romeo's "War in a Babylon" and Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" for Island. Helpfully annotated, with a healthy handful of unreleased tracks, Arkology is a beginner's banquet of tracks that sound increasingly deep, daring, and downright frightening as the depth of Perry's talent is plumbed. --Richard Gehr
Sean M. Kelly | Portland, Oregon United States | 09/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"More than most of my 500 or so reggae, etc. cds and lps that I own, I turn to this "Scratch" Perry set for laughs, oohs and aahs, and general amazement.The tracks on here are priceless, with many of the takes better than the album releases they were on (Junior Murvin's classic "Police and Thieves," and "Roots Train," and Max Romeo's "War Ina babylon" and "One Step Forward" are prime examples). Add to many of these tracks alternate takes or sizzling dub takes (the quartet of "Police and Thieves" is just amazing stuff, as is Perry's phat grooved dub on the Meditations' beautifully harmonized yet potent "Life Is Not Easy," complete with mooing cows..wow), and the cup of Perry's greatness runneth over.There is no doubt that what Perry did during his time in the fabled Black Ark are among the most important works of dub ever done. More so, the fact that established trios like the Heptones, Congos, and Meditations, all went to Perry is no small measure of the deep respect that Perry garnered all through Jamaica.Folks, this is a no-brainer. Get this set, listen to it 20 times, THEN pass judgement on it. I have owned it from the day it came out, have listened to it hundreds of times, and am still finding new nuances mixed deep in these mixes. As an audio engineer, I have access to recording agdgets all the time- top of the line stuff, and what "Scratch" was able to do with simple echplexes and the like is beyond my comprehension. The mixes and dubs are THAT incredible.Go get this set and enjoy."
Wonderful Boxed Set
Michael Heumann | El Centro, CA USA | 05/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lee Perry's music is not merely the greatest music ever created in Jamaica (remember: he produced most of Bob Marley's essential work), but it ranks up with the most important and influential music of the 20th century. Perry was able to transform even the simplest composition into something new, original, unique. He demonstrated to generations of musicians the unlimited power of the recording studio, where any and all musical visions can be realized. The music on this collection is the best of Perry's work, and it is essential for anyone serious fan of popular music."
A Goldmine !
P. D. Laffey | Hitchin | 06/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you`re a music fan that wants to discover the genius of Lee Perry , or simply someone that wants to own an instant classic reggae collection , this is the place to start . This boxset contains 4 hrs worth of some of the greatest music to have come out of the legendary Black Ark studio , and therefore Jamaica in the Seventies . Tracks such as " Police And Thieves " , " War In A Babylon " , " Roots Train " , " Chase The Devil " , and " Tedious " have reached near mythical status whilst everthing else in this collection is a reggae classic in its own right . The 52 page booklet that accompanies this set only reinforces the fact that this is one of the greatest reggae/dub compilations ever to have been released . BUY IT !"
Nutritious cannibalism
dasmith@iei.net | U.S.A. | 04/14/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The compilers of this set worked hard to recreate the Lee Perry Experience: barely coherent, frequently repetitious, and sometimes with dubious sound quality. Somehow it all works. Reel One suffers from a few dull dubs, but other dubs such as "Vamp a Dub", offer such different perspectives on the instrumental tracks that they stand on their own as musical pieces. Reel Two's "Police and Thieves" suite is noteworthy for the fact that just about every cut sounds different from the rest while using the same backing track; certainly proof that the recycling of tracks by Jamaican producers was cannibalistic but nutritious. This entire second "reel", in fact, is probably the strongest disc of the set, not counting the awful "John Public". Reel Three is the most blatant attempt by the compilers to approximate Lee's own albums, and they do a fine job, although by the end of the disc the energy becomes thin. Throughout "Arkology" we are presented with some of Jamaica's finest vocalists, like the Congoes, Junior Murvin (for the single most convincing of his performances, check out "Closer Together"), and the Heptones. The Upsetters are never less than dread-heavy and perfect. Some of the remasterings have resulted in thin mixes; the engineers for the set should have used "Heart of the Congoes" as a template: on that set, much of the hiss and crackle was retained since removing that would also remove some of the musical quality itself. Still, "Arkology" is essential, especially in the middle-American music stores where quality Scratch releases are rare. Maybe Island can correct their mistakes with a sequel."
Reggae at it's greatest!!!
Battle Cry Creek | Midwest USA | 04/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard some of the selections from Lee Perry's catalogue from a friend who recorded it on tape from a radio broadcast while he was in the navy stationed off the Rock of Gibraltor! I guess they were showcasing Lee, because many of the selections on these discs, and from "Heart of the Congos" was on that broadcast. I was just floored at the time. My exposure to reggae consisted of Bob Marley (of course), Jimmy Cliff, and Toots and the Maytells, but this just made me think "Ok I've finally found the real reggae vibe" which might not have been exactly true, but I felt it! Anyone who isn't familiar with Lee Perry's sound needs to get this set right away, and be transported away with it."