Scratch continues to reign
AT 83 the enigmatic Lee “Scratch” Perry appears to have no intentions of slowing down.
The veteran producer-turned-artiste is preparing to release his second album for 2019, Heavy Rain, and is booked for a six-date gig on Norwegian cruise line, Norwegian Pearl, beginning January 29.
Kris Kristofferson & The Strangers, The Mavericks, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Sarah Borges, Dale Watson, and NRBQ are also booked for the Florida gig.
The 12-song Heavy Rain, slated for release December 6 by On-U Sound, is a follow-up to Rainford which came out in June. The new project hears the Grammy winner reworking material from the previous set and introducing two new songs — Dreams Come True and Above And Beyond.
Its songs are co-produced by British roots-reggae stalwart Adrian Sherwood, Brian Eno, (known for his work with U2) and veteran trombonist Vin Gordon.
Gordon is featured on the songs Crickets in Moonlight and Heavy Rainford, while Eno appears on Here Come The Warm Dreads.
Born in Kendal, Hanover, Perry made his name in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s as a producer of cutting edge music by like-minded artistes.
His Upsetter label produced some of reggae’s most enduring songs, including Small Axe and Duppy Conqueror by The Wailers; Beat Down Babylon (Junior Byles); and the album, Heart of The Congos, by The Congos.
Most of Perry’s productions were done at his Black Ark studio in Kingston. Citing stress, he set that complex on fire and destroyed it in 1978.
Perry’s eccentricity has won him a cult following worldwide. He still tours and records, and in 2003 won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album with Jamaican ET.