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Congos - Heart of the Congos

Heart of the Congos

by Congos

$14.95 Free Shipping

Released
20/11/95
Music Genre
Reggae

In Stock - Usually ships within 24 hours

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Description

HEART OF THE CONGOS is also available in an expanded, 2-CD version on Blood & Fire (009). The Congos: Cedric Myton, "Congo Ashanti" Roy Johnson (vocals). Additional personnel: Ernest Ranglin, Robert "Billy" Johnson (guitar); Keith Sterling (piano); Winston "Brubeck" Wright (organ, bass); Boris Gardiner (bass); Lowell "Sly" Dunbar, Mikey "Boo" Richards (drums); Noel "Skully" Simms, Brother Joe (percussion). Recorded at The Black Ark, Kingston, Jamaica in 1976 and 1977. HEART OF THE CONGOS is a landmark reggae album whose initial obscurity was due to a dispute between producer Lee Perry and his label, Island Records. Perry's idea to create a roots vocal album took shape when Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson auditioned at his Black Ark Studio. The resulting album had Myton and Johnson wrapping their falsetto and tenor around one another in the sweetly rendered "Children Crying" and "La La Bam-Bam." Perry's production lent HEART OF THE CONGOS a hazy, dub-like sheen that swathed the Rastafarian imagery of songs such as "Sodom & Gomorrow" and "Ark Of Covenant" in muted shadings. Backed by a number of legendary session musicians including Sly Dunbar and Ernest Ranglin, HEART OF THE CONGOS could have been a smash, had Perry not held back the record from Island Records who handled his international distribution. Instead, it became a lost classic cherished by countless reggae aficionados.

Product Details

Artist
Congos
Recording Environment
Studio
Label / Studio
VP RECORDS --FONTANA--
WOW HD Sales Rank
#18476
Media Content Format
Album
Original year of release
1977
Media Format
Audio CD
Year of release
2002
Number of Discs
1
CD 30days Sales Rank
#13258
Cast & Crew
The Congos (Music Performer)
Congos Lee 'Scratch' Perry (Producer)

Press Reviews

Recommended - "...the last brilliant roots reggae record ever made....Lee Perry...swathes the background in trademark steppin' bubble swirls and punctuates with typical pin-point percussion, but leaves the foreground to the voice of Cedric Mayton....nothing here is less than astonishing... Melody Maker (1/20/96, p.30)

Included in Mojo's 50 Greatest Reggae Albums - "...An album that epitomises reggae's steady drift away from Kingston's ghetto hell and towards music of rustic spirituality... Mojo (8/02, p.77)

9 (out of 10) - "...a religious journey into the unknown that dissolved genre boundaries and heralded soon-to-come Armageddon....The main vocalists...use their contrasting styles to create a sense of dread, wonderment and divine meditation... NME (1/20/96, p.43)

10 (out of 10) - "...a full-length revival meeting in the Promised Land of the Rasta faithfull....Perry knots electronic and handmade beats with conusmmate ease while Ranglin and Wright deliver unobtrusive solos that etch like slow acid. The album swims in hazy tones, shot through with mammoth bass rumbles and slow, sweet moans... Spin (6/96, p.112)

Tracklisting

Disc 1:

  1. Fisherman (5:28)
  2. Congoman (5:35)
  3. Open Up the Gate (4:21)
  4. Children Crying (3:54)
  5. Bam Bam (3:57)
  6. Can't Come In (5:46)
  7. Sodom and Gomorrow (4:20)
  8. Wrong Thing (3:00)
  9. Ark of the Covenant (3:46)
  10. Solid Foundation (4:29)
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