Lee "Scratch" Perry - Rainford

Titled after his given name, the octogenarian legend approaches his sixth decade with his approximately 70th album (exact numbers are impossible to determine), aided and abetted once again by dub producer and sound crafter Adrian Sherwood, who also released the album on his own imprint. Judging from the metallic clang of opener ‘Cricket On The Moon’, this is not your father’s dub but more akin to industrial noise with Perry gargling with barbed wire mouthwash. It worked for Leonard Choen, but Scratch just sounds like a grumpy old man. The typical Jamaican vibes are nowhere in sight (or sound) – the laid back, head swaying groove displaced by slaps upside the head with a cricket bat.

The violin flourishes on ‘Let It Rain’ is a nice touch, but the Brazilian jungle reggae ‘Makumba Rock’ is a whimpering, simpering mess, with jungle animal noises drowning out Lee & Co., and the spoken word ‘African Starship’ is more Sun Ra than Lee Perry.

‘Kill Them Dreams Money Worshippers’ and the horn-driven ‘Children of The Light’ offer glimmers of the great man’s past achievements, but it’s simply a case of too little, too late, and the lengthy spoken word ramble ‘Autobiography of The Upsetter’ is just sad.

I’ll give Lee a “B” for effort and “C” for execution. It’s a game attempt, but the songs are flat, the instrumental backing dull and aside from the few tracks highlighted above, the backup singers are about the best thing here. It’s not a reputation killer, but I’d recommend you stick to the prime Perry and pass this dutchie by.