Album: Heart Of The Congos
Artist: The Congos
Born: Old Harbour, Jamaica
Released: January 1978
Genre: Roots Reggae
Influenced: Massive Attack, Gorillaz
Along with the Heptones' Party Time, Heart Of The Congos is another highlight from Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark period. All three members of the Congos came from coastal fishing towns in Jamaica rather than the gritty environs of Kingston, a fact reflected in the more spiritual and less edgy themes on the album. This and the Rastafari focus give the album its roots reggae feel. Perry decided to add Watty Burnett's baritone to the existing duo of Cedric Myton (falsetto) and Ashanti Roy (tenor) to create an archetypically Jamaican harmony trio. The fact that Heart Of The Congos and Party Time are my two favourite reggae albums is down to the fact that they mix rocksteady (offbeat rhythms, harmony trios) with Perry's dub production techniques. Both albums also feature the brilliant playing of Perry's house band, the Upsetters, while Heart Of The Congos benefits further from a variety of guest performances, including Gregory Isaacs (he of Night Nurse) on La La Bam Bam.
Fisherman is one of the standout tracks, a spiritual ode to the hunters of the sea who bring back sustenance for their communities ("lots of hungry belly pickney [Jamaican patois for children] they ashore"). On another level, the biblical references give the sense of the fishers of men providing not just food but also religious salvation, with a Rastafari twist of course ("collie weed"). Degraded drums and reverberating bass lines generate a sense of dark mystery, offset by the piano melody and Myton's lead falsetto that hint at spiritual redemption. Congoman has a very different flavour to Fisherman, based on the style of ritual drumming that the Nyahbinghi, one of the oldest tribes of the Mansions of Rastafari, performed as a communal meditative practice. Congoman was one of the first songs that the group recorded for the album, along with Children Crying and Solid Foundation. Open The Gate has a more conventional reggae feel, calling for repatriation to Zion, while Sodom & Gomorrah and Ark Of The Covenant further emphasise the album's religious feel ("churchical", as the Congos would say), promoting a message of staying pure at heart and remaining spiritually aware. During this period, the sounds coming out of the Black Ark were nothing short of revolutionary, but when the vibes went sour, Perry decided to burn the whole thing down.
Along with the Heptones' Party Time, Heart Of The Congos is another highlight from Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark period. All three members of the Congos came from coastal fishing towns in Jamaica rather than the gritty environs of Kingston, a fact reflected in the more spiritual and less edgy themes on the album. This and the Rastafari focus give the album its roots reggae feel. Perry decided to add Watty Burnett's baritone to the existing duo of Cedric Myton (falsetto) and Ashanti Roy (tenor) to create an archetypically Jamaican harmony trio. The fact that Heart Of The Congos and Party Time are my two favourite reggae albums is down to the fact that they mix rocksteady (offbeat rhythms, harmony trios) with Perry's dub production techniques. Both albums also feature the brilliant playing of Perry's house band, the Upsetters, while Heart Of The Congos benefits further from a variety of guest performances, including Gregory Isaacs (he of Night Nurse) on La La Bam Bam.
Fisherman is one of the standout tracks, a spiritual ode to the hunters of the sea who bring back sustenance for their communities ("lots of hungry belly pickney [Jamaican patois for children] they ashore"). On another level, the biblical references give the sense of the fishers of men providing not just food but also religious salvation, with a Rastafari twist of course ("collie weed"). Degraded drums and reverberating bass lines generate a sense of dark mystery, offset by the piano melody and Myton's lead falsetto that hint at spiritual redemption. Congoman has a very different flavour to Fisherman, based on the style of ritual drumming that the Nyahbinghi, one of the oldest tribes of the Mansions of Rastafari, performed as a communal meditative practice. Congoman was one of the first songs that the group recorded for the album, along with Children Crying and Solid Foundation. Open The Gate has a more conventional reggae feel, calling for repatriation to Zion, while Sodom & Gomorrah and Ark Of The Covenant further emphasise the album's religious feel ("churchical", as the Congos would say), promoting a message of staying pure at heart and remaining spiritually aware. During this period, the sounds coming out of the Black Ark were nothing short of revolutionary, but when the vibes went sour, Perry decided to burn the whole thing down.
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