Amazon.com: The nearly four hours of astounding music encoded on these three discs merely scratch the surface of the highly personal sonic universe created by this legendarily eccentric, yet ridiculously prolific, dub-reggae producer. It's still the best source of entry into Lee "Scratch" Perry's world, though, a place defined by homemade avant-garde production techniques applied to the wittiest, angriest, sexiest, and most soulful reggae tunes ever written. Perry was born in 1936, and his career spans the history of Jamaican music. These 52 tracks, however, derive mainly from the late 1970s, when he was at the height of his considerable powers and recording hits like Max Romeo's "War in a Babylon" and Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" for Island. Helpfully annotated, with a healthy handful of unreleased tracks, Arkology is a beginner's banquet of tracks that sound increasingly deep, daring, and downright frightening as the depth of Perry's talent is plumbed. --Richard Gehr
the Black Ark Experience in a nutshell Though not a perfect box set, Arkology qualifies as essential listening for roots reggae, dub, and Scratch fans. Mystical, frequently magical and highly experimentative, Perry's Black Ark period mananged to pull off a rare feat: in addition to producing hits like Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves," Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon," and The Heptones' "Party Time," it also accounted for sublime examples of classic roots reggae, such as Romeo's "One Step Forward" and the Congos' "Congoman," as well as envelope-pushing aural experiments which helped shape dub as a genre.
Arkology's three discs neatly encapsulate what was a high point for reggae as a genre, and Perry in particular. Driving home the point that the Black Ark period produced much more than just hits, alternate, dub and deejay versions are emphasized along with the familiar originals. (The absence of "Party Time" seems conspicuous, although that's somewhat mollified by a dub version credited to the Upsetters.) Thus, while "Police and Thieves" strikes a pleasing chord, it's no less significant than, say, "Vibrate On" (with Augustus Pablo) or Perry's own "Dreadlocks in Moonlight" and "Curly Locks."
This set is intended for well-versed Scratch disciples, and may not be as accessible at first listen as say, Marley's Legend. But that shouldn't be off-putting to anyone who wants to understand the essence of reggae (as opposed to someone just interested in popular music). It might take three or four careful listens to every disc--perhaps not all at once-- to 'get it.' Yet from then on, Perry's "Dub Revolution" becomes self-evident. The compilers deserve credit not only for assembling such a Scratch-y collection, but also for doing so in a way that ensures considerable shelf life.
Simply put, Arkology is a difficult set to wear out, even with repeated listens. This isn't just a box set of one of reggae's most prolific and creative talents, it's a depth charge which submerges listeners into the thick of a culture, a vibe and a genre whose echoes will reverberate forever.
This music is a must have in your collection Let me first start off by saying if you are a lover of music then you must jam with this not just for reggae fans i repeat but lovers of music. This is great to any collectors library of music this is history placed in music form. Nothing on this compilation is filler strickly killer on these disks rub a dub at it's best. do not play around get this immediately i listen to all types of music and this is one of the ebst purchases i have ever made in my music buying career. Please listen to these cd's and feel the essence of africa and jamaic coming through your speakers and divinity as well.
Amazing dubs and soul This is one of my most valued sets in my entire collection. The grooves in it are so thick with bass. The vocals are deeply soulful. Many tracks induce hypnosis and involuntary swaying. Every cut, every dub is classic. I'm at a loss for words to describe how amazing, how mesmerizing these performances are. They're superbly arranged / produced. As strong an example of the beauty of analog recording as I've ever heard; it's perfect here.
Reggae at it's greatest!!! I first heard some of the selections from Lee Perry's catalogue from a friend who recorded it on tape from a radio broadcast while he was in the navy stationed off the Rock of Gibraltor! I guess they were showcasing Lee, because many of the selections on these discs, and from "Heart of the Congos" was on that broadcast. I was just floored at the time. My exposure to reggae consisted of Bob Marley (of course), Jimmy Cliff, and Toots and the Maytells, but this just made me think "Ok I've finally found the real reggae vibe" which might not have been exactly true, but I felt it! Anyone who isn't familiar with Lee Perry's sound needs to get this set right away, and be transported away with it.
The best - buy it Just the best. Not something for words. Something to listen to. Buy. Listen, Listen again. Listen loud with your children. "Lucifah, son of the morning, I'm gonna chase you out of ert !!" Genius is close to insanity as Lee shows. "Babylon mash up da seed and blamin da Rastaman".
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