Black Ark obscurities
Derrick A. Smith | USA | 07/08/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In many ways the Jamaican music scene of the 1960s-70s was the perfect example of "independent music." In the U.S., a few massive conglomerates produce almost all of the music that reaches the charts and the sales bins, while many indie labels struggle to survive. However, in the relatively tiny country of Jamaica during the rocksteady and reggae years, the vast majority of music was made in studios flung throughout Jamaica, appearing on hundreds of different labels, allowing for hundreds of artists to record. Many of these far-flung recordings were then licensed to U.K. affiliates, notably Trojan; but Jamaica's music as a whole at this time could be considered "independent", with a few studios predominating in the dancehalls and on the radio but with plenty of real competition from many other studios. In such a climate, a studio like Lee Perry's Black Ark received a never-ending flow of variable talent, the "arkives" of which continue to be plundered for treasures. The set kicks off with Watty Burnett's "I Man Free", a touching Rasta affirmation of freedom from wrongdoing, adorned by Lee with siren effects, reflecting the strife-torn Kingston atmosphere. The Heptones's "Crying Over You" is a darkly sublime tune that may be one of their best. The Silvertones weigh in with "Financial Crisis," another reality tune leavened by a sweet delivery and positive message. Junior Murvin's tracks carry the Biblical point-of-view of his more well-known recordings with Perry, and are likewise classics of falsetto vocal delivery, creative reggae, and Scratch production. My favorite track is by the little-heard George Faith, whose "To Be a Lover" appeared in its discomix on ARKOLOGY; "Guide Line" is from a much different perspective, a reality tune calling for "Inity" set over a quick tempo with an eerie female chorus. It would be a fine track regardless of the production, but Perry went all out, calling up bubbles and bleats that have no logical relevance to the song but build around it a heady atmosphere. The fact that these tracks are actual rarities, and that such rarities from Jamaican studios of the 1970s are continually being re-released (or released for the first time,) speaks for the creative potential possible when there is true competition among studios and the musical playing field is as wide as possible."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
