The Upsetters - 'Super Ape' Poll

My brain is convulsing just trying to choose. It's almost certainly a toss-up between Croaking Lizard and Dread Lion, but all of these are just massive....

Will have to revisit and report back.

I'm leaning towards Dub Along

def the Lucifer dub.. track 2

Can't decide between Zion's Blood/Underground/Three in One

oh shit Curly Dub as well, love this album.

This album is so stacked, gonna have to meditate on this one (leaning toward "Three In One" rn)

Though as much as I love Super Ape, I gotta say I love Return of the Super Ape even more--extra unhinged and psychedelic, plus "Crab Yars" has one of my favorite chord progressions anywhere. Would there be any interest in a poll on that one?

One of my all time fave albums since picking it up in the discount bin at Fopp for £3 many moons ago. Voted Dread Lion - magical stuff.

This is difficult as there's not a bad track on this album, it's all good from start to finish. Voted Dread Lion.

one of the best things i ever picked up was this brilliant 2cd set that has both super ape albums, and extra tracks :

https://www.discogs.com/release/4497490-The-Upsetters-Super-Ape-Return-Of-The-Super-Ape

Ape-ology double cd on Trojan was great. Had the Jamaican version of the lp too as well as some other contemporary material.
Those Sanctuary Trojan cds seemed to be pretty great throughout the series.

just seen what previous comment was. so snap.

Who feels it knows it.

actually looks like there is more material on Ape-ology. Doesn't have the UK version but does have both Return of the Super Ape and Roast Fish & Collyweed.
& I Think the Jamaican version is supposed to be more out/extreme.

yeah, the ape-ology was a different release, and i wish i had picked that up when i saw it in fopp.
but this universal 2cd collection is still bloody great.

i remember when i had the option in fopp.
instead of the ape-ology 2cd set, i picked this 2cd set up :

https://www.discogs.com/release/1332005-Lee-Perry-Dubstrumentals

trojan vs sanctuary was such a brilliant time.

yeah have that one too and about 4 or 5 others

Grande Royale the Beastie Boys fanzine had a feature on him with a largeish list of must haves. So it had me wanting Kung Fu meets The Dragon for years.
Trying to work out if I have my count right on what I have. Think it is somewhere in that region. Know they're all good. Plus their other artists sets. One weith all the Perry Bob Marley productions

being a perry completist must be impossible.
thankfully i am happy with what i have.
never felt the need to get more,
other than his collabs with adrian sherwood of course.

Probably Dread Lion but damn, what a record.

One where I've listened a lot but don't know what the songs are called. Think I'm going Super Ape bcz flute.

this album is such a 'whole' thing it is very hard to break it down to individual songs but today i think i'd pick dread lion.

this version of come along / dub along is a big recent fave too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUIVZXQzd_Y

Oh yeah I love that one

Going off-topic slightly but are there any Mike Dorane fans here?

He was a multi-instrumentalist and singer who was born in the US of mixed parentage (Native American and Jamaican). He moved to the UK in the early 70s and produced a vast number of mostly forgotten records. He had a label deal with Island Records in the the mid 1970s and they manufactured and distributed his Movers and Rockers labels. His best known release is Disco Dub Band’s For The Love Of Money.

He made many incredible singles but his masterpiece is the Avonmore Dub album which only reached the pre-release stage as Island Records decided to end his deal before it could come out. He works with various vocalists and plays all the instruments himself. Something about it (the production, the mix, and the flutes I guess) always makes me think it is the nearest thing to a UK Super Ape.

I have been Dorane obsessed for many years and spent an enormous amount of time trying to find a way to release Avonmore Dub. It ended up being a long and sorry tale with someone trying to extort money out of me, and then dragging me into their severe mental health issues, so I gave up, at least for now. It is a tragedy this wonderful album is so unknown and so unavailable. I’m fairly sure anyone who loves Super Ape would very much enjoy it. I’m not sure what the current precedent for sharing music here is but perhaps it’s ok to post a link to my rip off this unreleased test-pressing? If so, I’d be happy to post a link to d/l.

I haven’t heard enough to be an obsessive but what I have heard of Dorane’s work is fantastic, I’d love to hear the LP.

What I know about Dorane I mostly learned from my old friend Kevin’s yrheartout zine ( which I’m sure you’re familiar with, Stirmonster) https://yrheartout.blogspot.com/2011/02/skimming-stones-seven-times.html and I am very sorry to say I was quite used to flipping past not-expensive discs on Rockers and Movers before I knew what I was looking at, missed them all of course.

I do know Kevin’s yrheartout zine. I'm a huge fan of it!

Yes, those Rockers and Movers have crept up and up in price in recent times. Hopefully someone will eventually be able to navigate a reissue some day.

i'll post up a link to the LP tonight.

Here's Avonmore Dub. note - it's a vinyl rip of a less than mint copy so fidelity is not amazing. also, i took out a couple of songs that i feel spoil the mood of it a little.

Listening to it now. After about 20 seconds I've settled in and it's niiiiiiiiiiice

Voted Underground

I'll have to listen again. The Perry album I always listen to at the unfair exclusion of everything else is Revolution Dub

Thanks for sharing that Avonmore Dub album! I hadn't heard of either the album or Mike Dorane but am feeling this

Super Ape comparisons are indeed warranted. Getting some Augustus Pablo vibes too, though I think that's mainly because of the melodica

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

dread lion

Dub Along it is. Sorely tempted by Three In One though

Perry was probably the best at dub tunes where you've got lots of different layers in there, like Dread Lion, but also for me he was also probably the best producer of your more minimal dub tracks where it's really just bass and drums and not much else, like on the single version of the dub to Come Along.

He could be very restrained when he wanted to and those more stripped back ones are some of my faves

Continuing off-topic:

Thanks for the Avonmore Dub.

Giles Martin should set up a boutique label with Island to use AI technology to remix all the classic 70s and 80s dub albums. Or the music venture capitalist investors could give him say 2% or something of the obscene half a billions they are bunging Dylan, Springsteen et al for their back catalogues to set up a boutique AI remix label .

why would you want to an AI to remix classic dub albums?

Having heard what can be done with AI in the 2022 Revolver mix, I'd love to hear updated mixes of my favourite dub albums.

I even think some those progenitors of said albums who are still extant would probably approve of it.

Assuming the master tapes can be located, which is not a given.

let's hope Giles Martin never has this idea!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I'm happy with these results. I'll need to listen to Curly Dub and Three In One Again. I really like Black Vest and Come Along

Or Dub Along I should say

Listened to this album again today and I was correct that Dread Lion is the most extraordinary, strange, and curiously ecstatic mythical mystical track.