Lee Perry - Wizdom 1971-1975 (1998)

Bringing together a clutch of Lee Perry's numbers and productions from the first half of the '70s, Wizdom 1971-1975 covers a well-trodden field, but does it in a more sensible fashion than most. Unlike the myriad compilations that toss Perry material together willy-nilly, the bulk of this collection is organized by riddim. One of the Upsetter's many successful releases during this era was the Inspirations' "Tighten Up," a hit that entitled the legendary series of Trojan compilations. The original vocal cut isn't found here, but listeners do get Perry's own version, "Cane River Rock," which boasts cool sonic effects, a revving motorcycle, and the producer DJing on top. Another version was cut as "Rocky River," which Perry then used for Dillinger's DJ version, "Tighten Up Skank." Perry also recycled Leo Graham's "Three Blind Mice" on a number of occasions; here, it's represented by Dillinger's "Ensome City Skank" and that version's dub, "Boloman Skank." Wizdom also connects the dots between artists. For Dennis Alcapone's "Jah Rastafari," Perry reutilized the riddim from Dave Barker's "The Prisoner." Barker was, of course, the singing and DJing half of hitmakers Dave & Ansel Collins, and it was Collins whose instrumental "Night Doctor" Perry recycled for I-Roy's "Doctor Who," with its dubby version preceding it. The next track, the Inspirations' "Bhutto Girl," Perry utilized for Barker's "Shocks of Mighty." Which brings everything full circle. However, Perry didn't only recycle his own riddims. "Kung Fu," for example, began life as John Holt's "My Heart Is Gone," which the singer cut for Phil Pratt. Tony Sexton versioned it for Bunny Lee, and it's that Striker riddim that Perry handed to Jah Martin. The second part utilized the same riddim, but with the linguistically impaired producer chatting up a young lady who speaks Chinese only. Filling out the set is a clutch more excellent numbers, including a jaunty Bobby Ellis instrumental and its version; rude reggae from the Silvertones; and the Hurricanes' lovely "You Can Run," featuring future Meditations member Danny Clarke on lead. All in all, it's a fascinating set that highlights Perry's creativity, and his phenomenal ability to take something old and turn it into something new time and time again.