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Lee “Scratch” Perry – Must Be Free – Megawave

by Audiophile Audition | Nov 27, 2016 | Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews

A dub/reggae pioneer far from his prime. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Must Be Free – Megawave MEGW0452, 58:45 [9/23/16] ***: (Lee “Scratch” Perry – vocals; Spacewave (AKA John Palmer) – production; The Groovematist (AKA Mechial White) – production (track 2); Karienne Scott – backing vocals (track 2); IAmPhloboi (AKA Kenneth Bankhead) –production (track 12); Subatomic Sound System (AKA John Emch) – production (bonus track)) There are two statements on the back of the digipak for Lee “Scratch” Perry’s latest outing, the hour-long Must Be Free. One statement is true and one statement is misleading. There is a “Parental Advisory. Explicit Content” notice. That is factual, as some of the lyrics contain words or spoken lines meant for mature listeners. The other sentence reads, “File Under Reggae/Dub.” That’s deceptive. The 80-year-old Rainford Hugh Perry (otherwise known as Lee “Scratch” Perry) is one of the pioneers of dub music. Starting in the late ‘60s, Perry implemented sound effects and remixing to generate new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae music. But the 13 tracks (plus a bonus cut) on Must Be Free are most often electrontica, while some elements come from the dubstep dance genre (despite the name, dubstep has a […]