Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Dub Revolution - Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters
2. One Step Forward - Max Romeo
3. One Step Dub - The Upsetters
4. Vampire - Devon Irons
5. Vamp A Dub - The Upsetters
6. Sufferer's Time - The Heptones
7. Sufferer's Dub - The Upsetters
8. Sufferer's Heights - Junior Dread
9. Don't Blame On I - The Congos
10. Much Smarter - The Meditations
11. Much Smarter Dub - The Upsetters
12. Life Is Not Easy - The Meditations
13. Life Is Not Easy Dub - The Upsetters
14. Tedious - Junior Murvin
15. War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo
16. Revelation Dub - The Upsetters
17. Mr. President - The Heptones, Jah Lion
18. I Chase The Devil - Max Romeo

Disc 2:

1. Dreadlocks In Moonlight - Lee "Scratch" Perry
2. Dread At The Mantrols - Mikey Dread
3. In These Times - Errol Walker
4. In These Times - The Upsetters
5. Norman - Max Romeo, Jah Lloyd
6. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin
7. Magic Touch - Glen DaCosta
8. Soldier And Police War - Jah Lion
9. Grumblin' Dub - The Upsetters
10. Bad Weed - Junior Murvin
11. John Public - Errol Walker
12. John Public - Errol Walker, Enos Barnes
13. Roots Train - Junior Murvin, Dillinger
14. No Peace - The Meditations
15. No Peace - The Upsetters
16. Rasta Train - Raphael Green, Dr. Alimantado
17. Party Time - The Upsetters

Disc 3:

1. Vibrate On - Augustus Pablo, The Upsetters
2. Vibrator - The Upsetters
3. Bird In Hand - The Upsetters
4. Congoman - The Congos
5. Dyon Anasawa - The Upsetters, Full Experience
6. Rastaman Shuffle - The Upsetters, Dillinger
7. Why Must I - The Heptones, Lee "Scratch" Perry
8. Make Up Your Mind - The Heptones
9. Closer Together - The Upsetter Revue, Junior Murvin
10. Groovy Situation - Keith Barrington Rowe
11. Groovy Dub - The Upsetters
12. To Be A Lover (Have Some Mercy) - George Faith
13. Soul Fire - Lee "Scratch" Perry
14. Curly Locks - Lee "Scratch" Perry
15. Feast Of The Passover - The Congos
16. Roast Fish And Cornbread - Lee "Scratch" Perry
17. Corn Fish Dub - The Upsetters

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25876 in Music
• Released on: 1997-07-14
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .62 pounds
• Running time: 234 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The nearly four hours of astounding music encoded on these three discs merely scratch the surface of the highly personal sonic universe created by this legendarily eccentric, yet ridiculously prolific, dub-reggae producer. It's still the best source of entry into Lee "Scratch" Perry's world, though, a place defined by homemade avant-garde production techniques applied to the wittiest, angriest, sexiest, and most soulful reggae tunes ever written. Perry was born in 1936, and his career spans the history of Jamaican music. These 52 tracks, however, derive mainly from the late 1970s, when he was at the height of his considerable powers and recording hits like Max Romeo's "War in a Babylon" and Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" for Island. Helpfully annotated, with a healthy handful of unreleased tracks, Arkology is a beginner's banquet of tracks that sound increasingly deep, daring, and downright frightening as the depth of Perry's talent is plumbed. --Richard Gehr

CD Description
Black Ark was the name of a one-room shack studio that Lee Perry built in the garden of his home at 5 Cardiff Crescent in the Washington Gardens suburb of Kingston, Jamaica. Beginning in 1974, he helped revolutionise the use of a studio asa musical instrument, while making some of the most sumptuous and grooving reggae records of that decade. ARKOLOGY documents only a thin slice of his studio's rich history, but even that slice is enough to overstuff three discs with hits, dubs and previously unheard treats.
Here you'll find the obvious choices that should be a part of any good reggae collection: international hits like Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon", Junior Murvin's "Police And Thieves", George Faith's "ToBe A Lover", Perry's own "Curly Locks", among many others. But you'll also find the ultra-rare dub versions of these tracks, in their brazenly deconstructed state by Perry and hisfaithful and ever-evolving band of Upsetters. ARKOLOGY serves multiple purposes and satisfies mightily over its three installments.

Customer Reviews

Give Thanks & Praise for the Dub Shepherd!!!
I only give 5 stars to utter classics like Perry's Blackboard Jungle Dub or Pablo & Tubby's 'Meets Rockers Uptown' and this compilation contains some comparable and seminal work from the Black Ark era.

Diverse influences and musical innovation mean that Jamaican music, Ska, Roots, Dub, etc has in turn had an influence upon the likes of soul, rap, techno and other diverse genres that is hard to overstate. Perry was at the forefront of the 'Dub' era in the 70s using drum machines before anyone else and creating sounds (upon a two-track tape deck) the likes of which had never been heard before. His distinctive sound, e.g. his 'flying hi-hat' set him apart from other producers in a fiercely competitive market and he worked with all of the best Jamaican artists e.g Bob Marley, Max Romeo, The Meditations, The Mighty Diamonds, Junior Murvin, the list goes on.

Never mind that there are some 'fillers' here (though perhaps not as far as hardcore fans are concerned), the genius of the man is well in evidence and there are enough classics to make it well worth the price for any Reggae newbies: Life Is Not Easy - The Meditations, War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo, Chase the Devil - Max Romeo (sampled by the Prodigy!), Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin.

In addition there are plenty of tracks that will make you bounce or just stop and listen: One Step Forward - Max Romeo, Dub Revolution, Pt. 1, Why Must I [Version] - The Heptones, Vibrate On - Augustus Pablo.

As one reviewer points out this concentrates on the late 70s Black Ark work and doesn't overlap with other compilations. It's a well-thumbed and well-loved part of my collection and I can't recommend it highly enough.

essential introduction to Lee Perry's Black Ark era
Sorry, but I hate to see the lazy 'madman' label stuck on Lee Perry for the umpteenth time, like his music is eccentric, obscure or esoteric. The music on this 3-CD set betrays no evidence of insanity, only a relentless exploration of the possibilities of rhythm and dub. All these tracks were recorded 1976-79 and I've heard complaints that there's no coverage of earlier work, but I think that's irrelevant; this isn't a greatest hits compilation, but an in-depth collection of Perry's production work from the Island archives. The important thing is that there's not much overlap with other compilations. And this isn't entirely dub - including fine A-side vocal cuts from the likes of the Congos, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin, The Heptones, & others. There seems to be a common misunderstanding that confuses dub with roots reggae. The dub is the (mainly) instrumental remix version.

Excellent selection and beautifully mastered
The definitive Lee Perry selection, filled with the best of his production for other artists and his own output. Worth it alone almost for the quality of the remastering of the Roast Fish & Cornbread tunes as the only available release of this album sounds as though it was mastered from a record left behind a radiator for 20 years.