Live at Maritime Hall

AMG Review of Live at Maritime Hall

Rick Anderson
All Music Guide

This wonderful concert album was recorded during Lee Perry's 1997 U.S. tour. Backed by the rock-solid Robotiks band (whose live sound was dubbed up and weirded out during the tour by Mad Professor), Scratch confirms all the rumors that have circulated about him for decades: yes, he is a madman, yes, he is here to heap condemnation upon the heads of government, yes, he is the first scientist who built the first laboratory. The recorded sound is very good, though it's a little difficult to make out everything he says -- not that audibility and coherence have ever ranked high on Scratch's musical agenda. Instead, he has always been a pure sound artist, and there are no disappointments here in that regard: the Robotiks crew plays everything dread and heavy, bringing new life to such old standards as "Roast Fish and Cornbread" and "My Secret Laboratory." An essential piece of Perryana.