Lee Perry - from the heart of the congo

Not to be confused with The Congos' Heart Of The Congos, this is an album with a great story behind it... In 1977, a French would-be reggae promoter brought some fellows from Zaire to Jamaica in hopes of creating a new African reggae sound. Apparently, she abandoned the two Africans soon after they arrived in Jamaica and left them stranded on the streets of Kingston. Not speaking any English, they had to beg for money and food to survive. Finally and fortunately they encountered a sympathetic Rastafarian who had once worked for Perry as a record salesman, and he brought them to the black ark.

Perry took their arrival as a sign: Jah himself had sent these guys from Africa to make a connection with the Black Ark. Soon after, the three of them were in the Ark recording the six songs that make up From The Heart Of The Congo. It's an incredible and ground breaking collaboration, done long before anyone was attempting such a crossover, and even before reggae had become popular in Africa. The result was a thick, swirling, tribal groove that is unique in the Lee Perry canon.

The singing is mostly in Lingala and some local Congolese dialects, but the musical flavor could have come from nobody else but Lee "Scratch" Perry.
Return to the heart of the congos is one of the rarest black ark albums, but it's also released on cd, so buy it if you like it!

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