By continuing your navigation on this website, you accept the use of cookies for statistical purposes.
The Congos
Heart Of The Congos
VP Records (VPRL4237)
17 North Parade (VPRL4237)
Release date: Dec 31, 2021, Europe
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 and 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.
A1
Fisherman
A2
Congoman
A3
Open Up The Gate
A4
Children Crying
A5
La La Bam-Bam
B1
Can't Come In
B2
Sodom & Gomorrow
B3
The Wrong Thing
B4
Ark Of The Covenant
B5
Solid Foundation