The Upsetters — Return of Django/ Eastwood Rides Again
The CD comes in clear jewel case and features a colorful sixteen-page booklet. This features a new six-page write-up about both the albums, their creativity, and their impact by David Katz who wrote the definitive book about Perry People Funny Boy: The Genius Of Lee Scratch Perry. You also get a good selection of single covers, vinyl labels, posters, clippings, etc. All in all a nice & classy presentation that we’ve come to expect from one of the Cherry Red family of labels.
Both albums appear on a single CD- so you get a juicy total runtime of 70 minutes to the disc. First up we have Return Of Django, and this was the first official release from The Upsetters- it first appeared in 1969 on Upsetter, which was a sub-label of respected & legendary reggae label Trojan Records. The album featured twelve instrumental tracks- these are a fairly varied selection of lo-fi, hazy, playful, yet memorable reggae tunes, which are centered around the bouncing organ of Winston "Brubek" Wright. With the remainder of the sonic picture been filled out by bassist Clifton "Jackie" Jackson, guitarist Lynford "Hux" Brown, pianist/arranger Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson, and of course Perry’s production. The album is really a collection of The Upsetters jams- so this very much highlights the band & Perry’s playful side- with Winston organ work moving from darting grooves, choppy drones, and more random/ playful flourishes. Perry’s quirky production tendencies & creative use of rhythmic elements are very much in their infancy here, but you can certainly hear the beginnings. As debut releases go it’s somewhat of ram shackled, decidedly lo-fi, yet charming collection of late 60’s reggae jams.
The second album here is The Upsetters sixth album Eastwood Rides Again- this was originally released in 1970, once again on the Upsetter sub-label. This takes in sixteen tracks, and for the most part, there is certainly more polish to both compositions & a more creative/ detailed production. Take the opening title track it blends together a strutting bass line & playful organ fills, with layers of knocking, tapping, sliding & tinkling percussion. Or the detailed choppy tight percussion hits meets vamping funk guitar of "Catch This". Though later on the album does return to slight more pedestrian organ led reggae jams. On the whole Eastwood Rides Again is certainly a creative, if rather mixed album.
All in all, it’s nice to have both of these albums back in print in CD form once again. And while they're not as virtual or important as later Upsetter releases such as 1976’s Superape, or 1978’s Return Of Superape- they are worthy of your time if your interested in charting the development & growth of Perry’s creative & often crazed contributions to the reggae form.