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EDIT: Please read the version of this very kindliy paragraphed by KC below....cheers o great one. .Gleetings....with wolves threatening to wear a hole in the door I shouldn't be buying, but let my guard slip once, and have and will have no regrets. A pretty shit month one way or another has had the perfect antidote: 1) Lee Perry and Friends - Disco Devil-The Jamaican Discomixes ..... this came out at the back end of last year. I saw it in my local indie emporium, felt skint and left it, forgot about it till a web browse a few days ago made me realise what a tremendous release this might be. Just how good it is: better than I could ever have hoped for. A collection of Scratch's ultra-rare 12" mixes from '77-'79...and absolutely faultless. I've been collecting Lee's stuff for thirty-five years and right now I'm wondering if this is the best I've come across. The nearest comparison is his Open The Gate set, where quite a few of the tracks here may be found, but I think most are different versions - I need to play Gate again to be sure, but that involves removing this from my player. A problem. Great remastering, compiled, like the Trojan Dub set that Paradox and I like hugely, with respect and knowledge and..love. This is Lee taking his output and abilities to the extreme. Two and a half hours of invention without a foot wrong.. it just flows. Music to move to. Anyone who remains puzzled as to why some people hold Perry in such regard needs to hear this: all becomes clear. This set should be called Open Your Ears. Murvin, Faith, Congos, Burnett, Heptones, Alimontado, Lee himself..I thought I knew this stuff and how far it had been taken, and was wrong. It was suggested recently that people's 2012 'best of' lists should be reevaluated in a month or two..this indubitably proves the wisdom of that. Up to a couple of days ago I would have said that Can's Lost Tapes was my 'from the vaults' favourite of last year. That was then. This 2CD takes the crown for me now. No content to quibble about, just sonic gold, culminating in my favourite reggae tune of all, Leroy Sibbles' Garden of Life. This, to me, even living in a smoke free zone, is bliss. Seen? ......... 2) V/A - Trojan Dub Massive: Chapter Two ... Bill Laswell's second take on the archives. More proactive than the first, lovely bottom end rumbles and drifty interludes. Works for me ......... 3) Miles Davis/Bill Laswell - Panthalassa ... have really enjoyed my reaquaintance after several years of neglect of this. Must dig out Bill's treatments of Marley and Santana. I await the follow up to this where Mile's workouts are even further extended, Slack Panthalassa ......... 4) John Martyn - Live in Nottingham 1976 ... the original tape of this was quite good quality, apparently, but, unfortunately, couldn't be located for the official release. JM jovially battles through most of the set with several worse for wear hecklers demanding May You Never, another factor in the 'anti column' apart from the sound... but this contains my favourite version of Outside In, where he's got the echoplex turned to 11. I can forgive everything else. After Steven Wilson's efforts with King Crimson I wish he could be let loose with John's live 'boots'. Now worth three figures, apparently. I'm keeping mine. ......... 5) Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland ... Having unearthed For The Ghosts Within last week I realised this was another of Robert's that I hadn't played for a very long while. Ashamed. Again. .......... 6) Harmonia - Live 1974 ... "Michael Rother solos into the stratosphere" say's a customer review on Amazon. Yup .......... 7) Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around ... how I wish Rubin could do for Neil what he did for Johnny ........ 8) Garbarek and Khan - Ragas and Sagas ... fits this weather. Increasingly partial to this ......... 9) V/A - And Someone Left The Cake Out In The Rain ... songs of Jimmy Webb. Had to play this after the BBC4 Glen Campbell evening. What a guitarist as well as vocalist, and what songs ......... 10) Kate Bush - 50 Words For Stephen Fry ................... That'll do. This week I shall be mainly trying to listening to all my Necks albums without falling asleep before the end. If Lee'll let me.. ttfn: )
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