The Congos are most-known for two albums, Heart of the Congos (1977) and Congo Ashanti (1979).
The two albums are very different as they were recorded in separate studios, and not one weak song is amongst the set. The song for today comes from their first album, a masterpiece which is often regarded as the best reggae album ever recorded.
The strength of this album lies within two main factors. First, the Congos are an astonishing trio who cover a wide vocal range, with Cedric Myton as falsetto, Roydel Johnson as tennor, and Watty Burnett, baritone.
The second point is that Heart of the Congos was recorded at Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark when the man was at his peak in creativity. There's a lot to say here but to keep this short I want to focus on the second track from the album, Congoman.
The song opens-up with a percussion beat, immediately conveying the african image of what this song is based upon. A skank plays slowly in the distance, and with the focus remaining on the beat a few hits on the high-hat join in whilst a kette is striked several times before the Congos introduce :
Out of Africa comes the Congo man
After what sounds like a strike of lightening, Scratch lets the riddim roll-in again from the beginning, adds the full drums before the bass rolls in and ties all the instruments together. We're then taken into a meditative journey led by slow, repeated praises and African allusions from the singers.
With the singing blending so well with the instruments, the track can almost be perceived as a full instrumental. The other songs from the album being classic vocal tracks, it's a real pleasure to focus on Perry's amazing mixing and capture the deepness of the sound which is carried on through the album.
Having a studio in his own garden allowed Scratch to experiment day and night, and he has made use of his full potential here, this is the Black Ark at its very best.
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