Few musical geniuses this side of Sun Ra are as eccentric and self-mythologizing as Lee "Scratch" Perry, the Jamaican producer, performer and DJ whose pioneering work helped shape punk, dub and rap. As far as being out there goes, Perry's latest album, his umpteenth in a career that spans four decades, never fails to disappoint -- or delight.
"Hallo hallo, this is a skeleton from outer space having a party," he announces to open the record, after which, over reggae rhythms and a juking saxophone, he exhorts those gathered to "funk [their] funk" and "drink [their] drink." Everyone from Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley to international bankers and an enigmatic character named Shotgun, he promises, will be there.
Next up is "Heavy Voodoo," an incantatory number featuring serpentine guitar fills from Keith Richards. Here again, Perry doesn't so much perform as preside, holding forth like a ganja-inflamed priest while a stirred-up soul sister moans in the background.
Mystical and apocalyptic undercurrents run throughout the record, with several of them, such as Perry's injunctions against corrupt politicians, pronouncing judgment on the wicked. "The Game Black" sounds a similar note over Eastern European melodies played on accordion and clarinet. "Headz Gonna Roll," with its refrain of "chop chop chop," includes ghostly warnings from the ubiquitous George Clinton.
-- Bill Friskics-Warren (The Washington Post)
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario