Product Description

Arguably the most influential force in Jamaican music, Lee Perry brought Bob Marley to international stardom and has since collaborated with artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. The book delves behind the myth of Perry to give a fuller examination of his life and work through extensive interviews with family members, fellow artists, friends, lovers, enemies, as well as the man himself to present a complex portrait of a unique soul driven by unseen spiritual forces. This revised edition contains new information on Perry's recent years, including his Grammy Award and cessation of herb smoking. The text has been thoroughly revised, making the new edition a more factually accurate and greatly improved read.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #684834 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 542 pages

From Booklist
In reggae music, only Bob Marley rivals Lee "Scratch" Perry in importance. Scratch collaborated on some of the Wailers' best early stuff, and indeed, Marley's "career was largely shaped by creative interaction with Perry." Katz spent years sifting Perry's true story from the legends about him. Confusion about his birth date is to be expected, for public record keeping has not been a high priority in Jamaica, but Perry further muddled matters by claiming to hail from Jupiter, the sky, and Africa, as well. And then, "it is worth noting that the regular use of ganja . . . result[s] in short- and long-term memory loss." Ganja is, of course, a leitmotif of Perry's biography, and fans of Timothy White's Bob Marley book, Catch a Fire (rev. ed., 1995), will appreciate Katz's further exploration of the ganja-permeated world of reggae. Collections serving world music and pop music fans should consider this piece of reggae history absolutely essential. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
David Katz has written about the sounds and culture of Jamaica since 1984. His work has appeared in The Guardian, MOJO, Uncut and The Wire. He has annotated CDs for several record labels and contributed to The Rough Guide to Reggae. He is also a musician, broadcaster and photographer. Originally from San Francisco, he currently lives in London.

Customer Reviews

People Funny Boy:
A must read for anyone who thought that they know about Reggea, Rock Steady, Ska - Jamaican music in general. This book must be the ultimate documentary of music as well as the music scene in Jamaica during the 60's,70's, and 80's. It's not just a book about Scratch; it is a book about all Jamaican musicians, singers and procuders of the period. It's the best documented piece of Jamaican history. Someday it will become the most sought after Jamaican history book!

David Kratz ensures that the reader lives moment by moment with almost every musician, producers, and Jamaican artist of the period - some of whom have long been forgotten. He takes you into the studios, delves into the background of each and every artist mentioned in the book, takes to the UK and US with Scratch and Bob Marley, then brings you back to the Black Art Studio where Scratch produced some of the most revolutionary and influential Jamaican music.

Any Jamaican who reads this book will certainly say: "Me know da music deh, but me didn't know sey a Scratch do it." The reader will soon learn that Scratch is the greatest Jamaican music producer. No other producer will ever come close to matching his skill and artistry of Scratch in the studio. Nuff respect to Scratch. He is a true genious! And hat's off to David Katz. He certainly knows how to "ride de rythm". The book is a master piece!

Tedious
I love Lee Perry, and reggae, and reading, but not this book. While it is undoubtedly a useful historical document listing nearly all the musicians who played on nearly every song recorded by Perry, i found it so tedious that i couldn't finish it. If you are keen to know who played on which songs you will find it interesting, but if you are hoping for a well written biography, there is not much in here. Katz is very sympathetic to Perry, has obviously done an enormous amount of research, and spent hundreds of hours sifting fact from fiction, not to mention tolerating the mania of one of the 20th century's greatest artists, but what he hasn't done is written a book that could hold my attention.

I think the book is a disaster and cannot understand how anyone could call it a masterpiece. If you don't have them, you would be far better off spending your hard earned cash on Arkology or Dub Triptych. And if you do have them just play them again and wait until someone writes a better book than this. Doctor On The Go.

Very, very Upsetting!
Scratch your Lee Perry itch. I am awed to have in my hands 536 pages of all things Upsetting. Buy this book, if a so a so.