Heart of the Congos

After failing to interest an international label when first released in 1977, Heart of the Congos has long been regarded as one of the most overlooked, yet finest, reggae albums of all, with a string of reissues – of which this is the latest and most extensive – ensuring it has slowly received its dues. The allure of the album is simple: it has some of the best vocal harmonies you will hear on any album, reggae or not. That, together with the potent musicianship of The Upsetters as backing band and one of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry's most adventurous productions, guarantees it's an album that is always going to sound ahead of its time. Opening track and band signature ‘Fisherman’ is a shining example, with chief Congos Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson laying down a religious plea to ‘reach a higher ground’, while a heavy bass line, reverberating drums and a deluge of percussive effects peak in and out of the mix. Uniting high-quality vocal reggae with cutting-edge dub techniques, it's but one of many essential cuts here. This reissue offers up never-before-heard treats including a newly discovered track and an early, rawer mix of the album released in Jamaica before Perry remixed it for what became the definite version.