{"id":1675,"date":"2008-12-18T00:57:50","date_gmt":"2008-12-17T23:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/?p=1675"},"modified":"2015-07-05T01:09:29","modified_gmt":"2015-07-05T00:09:29","slug":"the-congos-upsetter-disco-cork-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/the-congos-upsetter-disco-cork-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"The Congos – Upsetter Disco Cork – 1977"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Neckodeemus<\/a><\/p>\n

Solid Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n

Uploaded for you the debut release by the Jamaican vocal harmony duo The Congos, released on a Lee Perry Upsetter Disco Cork 12\u2033 and one of the best from the Black Ark Studio in Washington Gardens, Kingston.<\/p>\n

This 12\u2033 single is also worth a whole wad of cash which makes me want to hug the record even more. The same goes for the two vinyl \u2018Heart Of The Congos\u2019 albums that I have in my collection. The Jah Live records version, and the Go Feet records version. Ironically the Go Feet records version is my original that I bought in the early 1980\u2019s due to the record label being run by The Beat! sadly I do not own the original Black Art records version of the album\u2026<\/p>\n

This post is dedicated to W.Og from the Puppy Collective, who has just landed onto this site with a bump.<\/p>\n

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Go Feet records UK Issue 1981\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jah Live records French issue 1979<\/p>\n

Text below by David Katz, who\u2019s books on Lee Perry and Reggae music are well worth getting hold of\u2026<\/p>\n

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When they parted company with Perry, the Congos quickly issued their own pressing of the album on their newly formed Congo Ashanty label. To ensure that the ball of confusion surrounding the disc would roll with greater momentum, some copies of the Congo Ashanty pressing surfaced in Black Art record sleeves, seeming to be identical to the second Black Art press. Although it uses the same mix as the second Black Art issue, the Congo Ashanty pressing is by far the shortest version of the album even pressed, with a total running time of about 34 minutes. \u201cFisherman\u201d is the only song left close to its full length; all the others fade out early. Side two gets particularly short shrift, with songs such as \u201cSodom and Gomorrow\u201d being bumped down to half their previous lengths. Sound quality is also particularly rough on this pressing, so those who have this pressing only may feel they have missed a lot.<\/p>\n

A version of the album was also pressed in France in 1979 on the Jah Live label, with most songs longer than the Congo Ashanty and imprint, but still not quite as long as on the second Black Art pressing. The back cover of the French issue featured the lyrics to all the songs, plus the information that \u201cCongoman\u201d is \u201cdedicated to the Black Nation,\u201d while \u201cThe Wrong Thing\u201d is \u201cdedicated to the Pope of Rome.\u201d Although the sleeve\u2019s claim that \u201cThis album contains the original and never released mixings of Heart of the Congos\u201d was not strictly accurate, it is worth noting that \u201cSolid Foundation\u201d was longer than on previous issues, clocking in at close to the five-minute mark. The pressing also seems to emphasize the treble end of the spectrum, particularly on side two. The disc\u2019s total running time is just under 44 minutes. In 1981, a pressing appeared in England on the Go Feet label with a total time of about 41 minutes. Still shorter than the first Jamaican and French editions, but longer than the Congo Ashanty, this pressing has a more even quality of sound.<\/p>\n

At some point, the album appeared again in Jamaica on the Sunfire label, basically identical to the second Black Art pressing. When I asked Cedric about this edition, he said \u201cI don\u2019t know nothing about that. There was a lot of piracy involved, mainly by Pauline (Morrison, Scratch\u2019s Jamaican wife). We\u2019ll catch them all one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been said that Cedric and Roy had some differences themselves in the early \u201980s with supposed allegations of obeah dealings being flung at each other. Whatever the case, Roy left the group to pursue a solo career as Congo Ashanty Roy, and the Congos eventually ceased to be active. When I asked Cedric about Roy\u2019s departure, all he would say was \u201cThat was the time that Roy have to go. These things do happen in life sometimes, like when the wine get ripe.\u201d Throughout the \u201980s, not much was heard of the Congos in general, although many of us hoped that the group might consider a reformation. As the \u201990s rolled around, VP records in the US issued Heart Of The Congos on CD. Although it uses the same standard second mix, it was mastered at a faster tempo than than previous editions. It clocks in at around 43 and a half minutes. Heart Of The Congos has also surfaced on a CD on the Spalax label in France, identical to the Jah Live vinyl pressing, something Cedric said he was not aware of.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you\u2019ve already managed to obtain a copy of this album, there is now some good news for us all. After making arrangements with Cedric and Roy earlier this year, Blood and Fire have gone back to the master tapes to present a repackaged Heart of the Congos that is longer, cleaner and brighter than it has ever sounded before. The songs have been restored to the full potential lengths as heard on the second Black Art pressing, and \u201cSolid Foundation\u201d here appears longer than on any previous album pressing, just under six minutes. They have also spent considerable time and effort cleaning up the sound. To hear the Blood and Fire pressing is to hear the album with new ears. As Cedric puts it, \u201cThis one that Blood and Fire have is the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with this full-length enhanced version of the disc (over 55 minutes long), Blood and Fire have added the rare 12\u2033 Upsetter Disco Cork mix of \u201cNicodemus,\u201d (a chilling composition from \u201cJah Sedrick\u201d also taken from an original master tape), plus the often-sought but long-scarce Biblical epic \u201cAt The Feast\u201d (an extra 11 minutes of music). All this is available on CD and double-gatefold LP, but vinyl junkies, take note: The CD release includes a bonus CD of rare Perry-produced material, namely the Island 12\u2033 versions of \u201cCongo Man\u201d and its dub, \u201cCongo Man Chant\u201d (again taken from master tapes), plus 7\u2033 dub cuts of \u201cFisherman\u201d and \u201cArk of the Covenant,\u201d and the Disco Cork extended version of \u201cSolid Foundation\u201d thrown in for good measure (a total bonus of 26 minutes).<\/p>\n

The best thing about the bonus CD is that it highlights Scratch\u2019s exceptional skills of remixing. Scratch can always show other sides of songs we may think we know inside out. Scratch\u2019s ability to transform vocal lines into mantric stabs of wordless sound is stunning on these versions, particularly on \u201cCongoman Chant\u201d and on the dub portion of \u201cSolid Foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As usual, the packaging is lavish, thanks to the conceptual artistry of Mat Cook at Intro, which particularly pleased Cedric. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work that has gone into that, spiritual work. Things that I wasn\u2019t even thinking of, Blood and Fire come right up, at the surface. Some artwork that Blood and Fire dig up really untouchable.\u201d The biographical and technical research put into the project was also extensive, further illuminated by quotes from Cedric to put the making of the music in its proper context. In short, this is what we have come to expect from Blood and Fire: rare, quality material, sanctioned by the artists who receive their share of the profits, lovingly presented in creative packaging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neckodeemus Solid Foundation Uploaded for you the debut release by the Jamaican vocal harmony duo The Congos, released on a Lee Perry Upsetter Disco Cork 12\u2033 and one of the best from the Black Ark Studio in Washington Gardens, Kingston. This 12\u2033 single is also worth a whole wad of cash which makes me want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links-downloads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1675"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1678,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions\/1678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/killyourpetpuppy.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}