THE CONGOS
BACK IN THE BLACK ARK
Released: 22/03/2010
Blue Wrasse
In the minds of most music fans the year 1977 is synonymous with the emergence of punk rock but it was also the year that roots reggae crossed into popular mainstream culture having previously been restricted, outside of Jamaica of course, to émigré communities in New York and the United Kingdom and a small cognoscenti of cutting edge music fans.
1977 had religious significance to those of the Rastafarian faith and perhaps spurred on by this the period produced what many regard as the golden era of roots reggae and perhaps even Jamaican music as a whole with seminal releases by the likes of Augustus Pablo, Culture, Dennis Brown, Tappa Zukie and of course Bob Marley’s ‘Exodus’. Among this great clutch of reggae albums was The Congos ‘Heart of the Congos’ an album often regarded as among Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s premier production achievements. Some thirty three years later, the group’s original members and producer have reunited and given us ‘Back In The Black Ark’ – a rather misleading title since the Perry’s Black Ark studio burned down in the early 80’s.
The album opens with ‘Chain Gang’, a light-on-it’s-feet number that stands somewhere between ska and 1960’s soul, a fact that is hardly surprising since the song is a Sam Cooke original. ‘Celestial World’ conforms more to what one might expect of roots reggae, with some ear bleedingly heavy bass, a slow chugging rhythm and some excellent drum fills from the legendary reggae drummer Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace. ‘Charriots’ (the group’s spelling) is spritelier than the preceding tracks with the song being built around the very Perryesque idea of someone repeatedly ringing a door bell. ‘Forever Young’ showcases Cedric Myton’s rather strange falsetto voice, a voice that may not be to all tastes, while ‘Spider Woman’ sounds more contemporary and in tune with current Jamaican mores with its dancehall template.
Whatever you think about religion itself, religious song often carries an uplifting spirituality that is hard for the agnostic to match and ‘Crying Times’ falls into that category – with it’s Jerusalem chorus, it positions its self half way between CoE choir and a choppy reggae summertime beach sound. The album finishes as it starts with a cover of an American soul track, this time the classic ‘Up On The Roof’ which gets an unusual jittery synth backwash and excellent vocals from the group who, despite appearing to being rather gnarly grey beards these days, can still produce a sweet vocal melody.
In overview the album has an ‘oddness’ to it, neither being completely faithful to roots reggae traditions nor wearing an ultra modern production; it therefore falls between audiences which could be a problem for fans of the former or the latter. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry may not be the cutting edge production maverick that he once was and the Congos have still to better their magnus opus of ’77, but those with a interest in Jamaican music, or more specifically in Perry’s quirky techniques, will find things to interest them here.
VOGELENZANG RANK : 6.79
Sample Track : The Congos ‘Celestial World’
