Lee Perry's dub reggae cornerstone was released in Jamaica on his own Upsetter label in July of 76 under the title Scratch the Upsetter, and unleashed upon the rest of the world a month later as Super Ape, albeit with a different cover and track order. And while volumes could be written on the influence of Super Ape, the album itself is a dark, brooding exploration of skeletal harmonies and the sonic manipulation of Scratch in his absolute prime. Psychedelic doesn't even begin to describe this music. The peaks are numerous, but the narcotic waves of dub bass and dense orchestration create a hypnotic soundscape that functions most effectively in album length doses. As essential as it gets.
Return of the Super Ape - 1978
The follow-up to Super Ape, released two years later as The Return of Super Ape, carried the good fortune of being the final album recorded in Lee Perry's legendary Black Ark studio. Scratch himself allegedly burned it to the ground a year later in a ritual to cleanse the studio of the bad mojo that had permeated it in its later years. Although it serves as a nice companion piece, The Return of Super Ape is similar to its predecessor in name only, as it's more of an upbeat collection of bizzarre lyrical twists and wild experiments laced together with slinky dub grooves. Driven by the crack musicianship of the Upsetters, the instrumentation is less dense, and in turn, Scratch's surreal technical effects are pushed even further out front. As heady as it gets.