Lee Perry: Roast Fish Collie Weed & Corn Bread Vinyl LP

Late seventies album from the little genius. “Soul Fire” might be one of the baddest opening tracks in reggae history (can anything match its energy?). From there, the album moves in and out of trippy territories. As Reggae Monkey once put it: “Everything Lee Perry recorded at this time sounds like he pissed on the master tapes and stuck them in the oven before pressing- all warped out and wobbly underground instrumentation.” I read a review that called it the “The Sgt. Peppers of Ganja,” which I think captures the album perfectly. How can you explain the track sequence of “Evil Tongues,” “Curly Locks” (a cover of the Studio One hit), and “Ghetto Sidewalk”? They sound like they were recorded by 3 different producers. On the b-side, he travels further, cleaning up impeccably on “Free Up The Weed” (sounds a bit like Bob, no?), then chatting with the best of em on “Yu Squeez.” Lastly, check the title track which the Monkey called “gypsy music on a broken phonograph.” 10 tracks, worth the experience.

• black vinyl pressing
• music label: VP Records 1992

reviewed by the mgmnt