Wonderman Years cover

Wonderman Years

Recorded
1971-1973
Released

Producer Lee “Scratch” Perry released lots of singles on the Justice League label in the 1970s, working with a variety of A-list artists: Junior Byles, Dennis Alcapone, Augustus Pablo, even Bob Marley and the Wailers (who ended up stealing the bassist and drummer from Perry’s house band, the Upsetters). This generously packed two-disc set brings together 49 tracks from that period, quite a bit of which appears on other compilations as well; fans will probably already own multiple copies of the Gatherers’ “Words of My Mouth,” Junior Byles’ hair-raising version of “Fever,” and other tunes. But there are lots of relatively obscure tracks here as well, and most of them are outstanding — even Chenley Duffus’ fairly cheesy “Good Night My Love” and “At the End of the Rainbow” are given a certain weight and density by Perry’s unique production style. This collection is a must for all Perry fans.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Opaque Couché cover

Opaque Couché

Meat Beat Manifesto
Classic Rockers cover

Classic Rockers

Augustus Pablo
Underwater Dub cover

Underwater Dub

Sly & Robbie
FM cover

FM

The Skints
Jumbie in the Jukebox cover

Jumbie in the Jukebox

Kobo Town, Drew Gonsalves
The Reggae Power 2 cover

The Reggae Power 2

Sly & Robbie, Spicy Chocolate
Anbessa Dub cover

Anbessa Dub

Zvuloon Dub System