Although so much of the instrumental work that came out ofthe Black Ark is credited to the Upsetters, you shouldn’t thinkof this as the same group who cut the Django-era stuff. The drum and bass engine room of those earlier sessions, Aston (aka Family Man) and Carlton Barrett, respectively, were now full-time members of the Wailers’ band and thus were unavailable to work elsewhere.
Within his new studio set-up Perry used a fluid session crew that comprised most of the best players on the island, but couldn’t be pinned down to any regularline-up. Among them, Boris Gardiner and Robbie Shakespeare played bass; Sly Dunbar and Mikey ‘Boo’ Richards were on drums; the guitarists were Chinna Smith, Geoffrey Chung and Willie Lindo; keyboards were manned by Augustus Pablo, Theophilus Beckford, Winston Wright and Robbie Lynn; percussion came courtesy of Skully Simms; and the brass section included Vin Gordon, Glen DaCosta and Bobby Ellis.
While his being able to get the same sound from so varied a group of highly individual players gives an indication of Lee Perry’s abilities as a producer, it also shows a man keen on the wider range of alternatives that a fiexilble session crew such as this could offer. For many of the players it was a chance to flex muscles that other studios might have ignored. (Lloyd Bradley Bass Culture: Ehen Reggae Was King, p. 326)
Significant. File under: Roots Reggae Masters Discography: Albums Contributions
In the music library: The Return of Sound System Scratch Sound System Scratch
Rude Boy Ska: Clint Eastwood; Return Of Django
Links: Wikipedia AllMusic Discogs Eternal Thunder