People Funny Boy: The Upsetter Singles 1968-1969
collects several dozen early tracks released by
Lee "Scratch" Perry
's first label, produced by the visionary himself. The title track is one of
Perry
's most infamous songs, a scathing, unsubtle attack on former employer
Joe Gibbs
, employing the sound of a crying baby (an early example of sampling). The song also helped mark Jamaican music's transition from rocksteady to reggae, and numerous other tracks included in this collection similarly skirt the genre borders. The material ranges from mellow love songs and covers ("Blowing in the Wind," "Stranger on the Shore") to wild instrumentals like "Return of Django" and fascinating sonic experiments like "Evol Yenoh," which runs the vocal track from
Burt Walters
' "Honey Love" backwards. There are also a few more barbs directed at figures involved in Jamaica's notoriously cutthroat music industry, particularly "You Crummy" and most likely the sinister "The Vampire." "Mad House" piles on crashing effects and absurd vocalizations, and other tracks will unexpectedly add ghostly echo to the vocals, or drown them out with organ playing. Aside from the groundbreaking, exploratory production on these songs, there's an abundance of stellar songwriting.
The Inspirations
' "You Know What I Mean" is a perfect mixture of a catchy hook, emotional lyrics, and a mellow, easygoing atmosphere. "(People) Funny Fi True," another record industry jab, has a rough, stop-start rhythm yet smoothly flowing vocal cadences.
People Funny Boy
is a treasure trove of innovative material from the era when
was just beginning to establish his musical legacy. ~ Paul Simpson