Lee 'Scratch' Perry - The Black Album (Upsetter)

With this release, Perry joins the list of artists like Prince, Jay-Z and Metallica who all released a 'Black Album', even though the meaning for Scratch may have been slightly different: "During the session Lee referred to the sound and "black" and wanted space, light and darkness in the songs and their respective dub versions.". The result is an album featuring 9 vocal cuts and as many dubs, and it's just that mix that makes 'The Black Album' as interesting for Perry fans as it is for dub fanatics. Boyle once again called on his Rolling Lion All Stars band (featuring, among others, Hughie Izachaar, Robbie Lyn, Brecht 'Puraman' Deboever, and his nephew Fionn as a screeching baby in opener 'Mr Brown In Town').

Daniel took Lee to the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London (as illustrated in 'Dub At Abbey Road') and used as much vintage material as possible (old Neuman and RCA microphones, a vintage EMI TG mixing console, Fairchild compressors...). Like no other he is able to dose Scratch's ceaseless oracling, and supplement it with almost perfect instrumentation and backing vocals (French singer Rosa Shanti, Ivorian Afro-soul queen Ruth Tafebe, Puraman and a certain Bud). Honesty abides us to admit that here and there Perry sounds surprisingly coherent and clear, like in 'Dead Meat' for example, in which he expresses his aversion to consuming meat or smoking tobacco, or 'Your Shadow Is Black', which could be considered the album's title track, but our absolute favorite on 'The Black Album' is 'Captain Perry', the perfect theme tune for the superhero-like cartoon character Scratch has become!