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Scratch & Co., Vol. 1: The Upsetters
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Scratch & Co., Vol. 1: The Upsetters
Current price: $17.99
Barnes and Noble
Scratch & Co., Vol. 1: The Upsetters
Current price: $17.99
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Making sense of the
oeuvre has long been a troubling affair. Though the advent of reissued material and printed retrospectives in
and
answered many questions, the occasional release still slips through the cracks. Enter
, a 1982 collection from
. Both the origins of the music and its place in
's catalog are something of a mystery. It matches a handful of the producer's known collaborators and a series of more obscure figures, creating an assemblage of pulsating organs, distorted guitar scratches, and deep bass. Vocals come in the form of the standard
production fragments (
) and occasional Rasta philosophizing (
). The most striking moment is
Here, an infectious tune with banal lyrics and fine groove is transformed through
's absurd production methods. Warped beyond belief (and anything resembling conventional logic), it's as if
placed the entire track underwater just to see what it sounded like, then sat back, satisfied with his creation. Only the saxophone escapes. The vocalists sound like alien versions of
have landed on the island of Jamaica. Nothing else on
quite matches it. The rest of the collection, while inconsistent, has its merits.
with its deceptive aural balance, takes second place.
offers little surprise, but it's a fine
moment nonetheless with great horn harmony, smooth soloing, and chest-rattling bass. The cool and calm
would indeed be the perfect
for
himself, strolling through town. Though it's not of the caliber of
' finest releases,
contains some fine music for those looking deeper into the producer's catalog. ~ Nathan Bush