Out of the three albums of new material that
Lee "Scratch" Perry
released in 2008,
Scratch Came, Scratch Saw, Scratch Conquered
comes in a distant third. Unlike
Repentance
with
Andrew W.K.
as producer and
The Mighty Upsetter
Adrian Sherwood
behind the boards,
is a misfire with
Perry
and multi-instrumentalist
John Saxon
failing in the chemistry department. The duo did a much better job on their 2006 collaboration,
The End of an American Dream
, but here the silly
Spike Jones
-meets-
Squirrel Nut Zippers
construction
Saxon
gives the opening
"Having a Party"
clues into
Scratch
's silly side, causing the legendary reggae man to rattle off a series of those simple rhymes that clog his most uninspired efforts. "Drink your drink/Wink your wink/And think your think" is followed by "Drunk your drunk/And punk your punk" on the track, and 13 songs later the album is closing with "I have seven wishes/Seven dishes/Seven fishes." It's only when his classic track
"Colt the Game"
is quoted that
seems to be lyrically inspired, and his spoken introduction of
Keith Richards
is at least amusing plus lively, in stark contrast with the laid-back noodling the
Rolling Stone
provides.
George Clinton
's vocal contribution on
"Headz Gonna Roll"
is just as underwhelming as it blends into
's
Buddha Bar
-styled production, which borrows from electronica, Gypsy music, and sometimes sleepy reggae. With two better choices being released in 2008 alone, this is for forgiving
collectors only. ~ David Jeffries