The Ultimate Collection

1	Enter the Dragon 2:37
2	War Ina Babylon / Max Romeo & the Upsetters 4:50
3	Small Axe / The Wailers 3:55
4	Roots Train / Junior Murvin & Dillinger 9:00
5	Vibrate On / Augustus Pablo Meets the Upsetters 5:06
6	To Be a Lover (Have Some Mercy) / George Faith 9:29
7	Dupy Conqueror / The Wailers 3:39
8	Curly Locks / Junior Byles 3:22
9	Neckodeemus / The Congos 7:34
10	Three in One / The Upsetters 3:38
11	Congoman / The Congos 6:38
12	Mr. President 4:12
13	Dread Lion / The Upsetters 4:29
14	Police & Thieves / Junior Murvin 3:55
15	Roast Fish and Cornbread Extended Mix 4:23

Barnes & Noble

In the days since Lee "Scratch" Perry's career-reviving sponsorship by the Beastie Boys, reissues from the eccentric producer's legendary Black Ark studio continue to burst forth. This ULTIMATE COLLECTION is a neat set of Scratch's most important singles, including Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves," the Wailers' "Duppy Conqueror" and "Small Axe," and Junior Byles's "Curly Locks." Of course, any 15-track collection culled from the Upsetter's vast output called "the ultimate" raises questions, including, Where's "Return of Django" and "People Funny Boy"? But this set, concentrating at once on Perry's most commercial and characteristic work, will tell you all you need to know about why Dr. Lee (Ph.D: sonic trickery) is so revered. No bedroom knob-twiddler could achieve what Perry did with his bare-bones, cut-rate studio in the technological backwater of '70s Jamaica. His unorthodox recording techniques (which included burying master tapes in his yard) formed the blueprint for reggae's sound, and his impossibly murky, African-ritual-derived rhythmic deconstructions like the Congos' "Congoman" took reggae in a direction that would eventually yield today's dancehall. Giving a taste of Scratch's off-kilter talent -- plus stunning performances by Bob Marley, Max Romeo, and others, ULTIMATE COLLECTION probably won't be the last word on Lee Perry: The casual listener will want to hear more. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

There are so many Lee Perry compilations out there, and some of them are so good, that it's hard to take seriously any one that claims to be the "ultimate." And to be completely fair, it probably isn't possible to compile the ultimate Perry collection on a single disc; there's simply too much material out there, and too much of it is too good. But as single-disc distillations go, this one gets top honors. Partly because it does more than just round up the usual suspects --in addition to no-brainer selections like Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon" and early Wailers songs "Duppy Conqueror" and "Small Axe," there are equally fine obscurities like "Dread Lion" (from the classic Upsetters album Super Ape) and two (count 'em) tracks by the Congos. And even on the obvious selections, the label was cool enough to use extended disco mixes in several cases (such as the Congos' "Neckodeemus" and the Heptones' "Mr. President"). The result is a richly diverse and thoroughly enjoyable collection of music produced by one of the most strange and wonderful figures in reggae history. Rick Anderson