Deluxe double vinyl edition pressed up for Black Friday Record Store Day 2013! Not only do you get Lee Perry & The Upsetter's classic album spread over two heavy weight slabs of wax, you also get 3 bonus tracks not on the standard pressings, a huge 23" x 23" poster, AND an awesome etching of the Super Ape cover artwork by Tony Wright on the last side. It's a no-brainer! For a long time, this was one of the holy grails of reggae collecting, rare as hell and legendary as one of the roots era's best, lost records. The hype is for once worth it and this thing has easily jumped up to the top of my list of Perry albums. A lot of his stuff has somehow gotten seriously over-rated, hyped to oblivion by press people looking for a latch to grab on to and hipsters doing likewise; but this is the real shit, the dreader than dread dub. If you've been wondering why everybody makes such a big fuss about him, this is a good place to start. A couple of the songs have lyrics and chatters (check "Croaking Lizard", the Prince jazzbo voiced version of Max Romeo's "Chase the Devil") but all the songs are dubbed out as hell and deep deep deep. This is the height of the roots sound and one of the heaviest I know of. If you are anything interested in roots or dub music, you have to have this record. Limited edition, recommended.

• music label: Get On Down 2013

reviewed by the mgmnt 12/13