Lee Perry – Black Art From The Black Ark (Vinyl 2LP)

Black Art From the Black Ark Review

by Tim Sendra

Anyone looking for a good compilation that shows off the genius of Lee Perry in full flight has a number of options, each one sure to demonstrate his skills as a producer and/or his wildness as a performer. Add Pressure Sounds’ 2021 collection Black Art from the Black Ark to the list. Comprised of rare roots sounds from the mid- to late ’70s by artists as big as Junior Murvin and as obscure as Lord Creator, unreleased dubplates, 12″ extended mixes, and Upsetter dubs, the set hits a sweet spot where Perry was quixotic enough to make things sound weird, while still never getting in the way of the song. Case in point, Eric Donaldson’s “Say a Little Prayer,” a beautiful song of praise with lovely vocal harmonies that features guitars bathed in phaser, trilling horns darting in and out of the mix, and enough reverb to fill a bathtub. It’s a wonderful combination of singer and song, production and arrangement that’s repeated over and over on the collection, which is split between tunes that hover right on top of lost-classic status and a handful of versions that show off Perry’s loose-as-a-goose approach to dub. Of the former, Henrick Nicholson’s “Brotherly Love” is deep roots music with a strong message, Jimmy Riley’s “I Never Had It So Good” is a dubby love song that pairs a stripped-down arrangement with pleading vocals, Danny Clark’s slow-rolling lament “Nuh Fi Run It Down” has a huge hook, and Bree Daniel’s “Oh Me Oh My” is simultaneously the poppiest and dubbiest song here. Perry shows up to deliver “What a Sin,” a typically tough and odd track that comes complete with some elastic crooning by the man himself. The dub versions are all different and madcap enough that one never experiences the fatigue that sometimes sets in on a collection like this where the version follows the song like clockwork. Perry chops the vocals and sends them spinning off like tops, adds sound effects, and sets the space echo to daze; check out “Such Is Life Version” or “Ska Version” for examples of his mastery behind the mixing board. Perry fanatics will no doubt jump on this right away, but as a starter pack for a neophyte, Black Art from the Black Ark goes a long way toward showing exactly why he is so revered and imitated.