The Congos

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The Congos

The Congos are a reggae group from Jamaica that has been irregularly active since the mid-1970s to the present day. They were best known for their album Heart of the Congos , which they recorded with Lee "Scratch" Perry .

history

The Congos formed as a trio: "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) (born Roydel Johnson, 1947, Hanover ), Cedric Myton (Falsetto) (born 1947, Saint Catherine ), Watty Burnett (baritone) (born in the beginning of the 1950s, Port Antonio ). Myton was previously (in the late 1960s) a member of The Tartans (along with Prince Lincoln Thompson, Devon Russell and Lindburgh Lewis), and the Ras Michael group. He had also made recordings with Thompson's Royal Rasses in the mid-1970s. He formed The Congos, initially as a duo with Johnson, who recorded the single "At the Feast" for Lee "Scratch" Perry. Perry expanded the group with Burnett to form a trio that recorded the classic roots reggae album Heart of the Congos in Perry's Black Ark studio in 1977 . The album featured illustrious background singers, such as B. Gregory Isaacs , The Meditations, and Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan of The Heptones . The album has been described as "consistently the most brilliant album in Scratch's entire career".

Perry's previous productions of Max Romeo and Junior Murvin have become huge commercial hits thanks to a deal with Island Records . But Perry had arguments with Iceland at the time the Congos album was finished, which is why it was released on his own Black Ark label, which limited success overseas and triggered a break with the group. The Congos went their own way and organized a limited pressing of the album themselves. The English label Go Feet Records finally re- released the album in 1980, although the group had recorded new material since breaking with Perry. Heart of the Congos turned out to be hard to beat and their other releases were consequently less successful. Albums like Congo Ashanti were more sparse and usually sounded compared to Perry's massive productions.

Burnett left the group, soon followed by Johnson, who began a solo career. Myton continued to record with various other musicians as "The Congos" until the mid-1980s.

In the mid-1990s, The Congos re-formed, with Myton and Burnett, accompanied by Lindburgh Lewis. Several albums followed in the years that followed. 2005 Myton took Give Them the Rights on - with a lot of contributing singer and famous musicians like Sly and Robbie and Earl "Chinna" Smith and very in the style of spiritual 70s roots. The British reggae revival label Blood and Fire released the album Fisherman Style in 2006 , which contains a remixed version of the classic "Fisherman" from Heart of the Congos as well as new versions on the original rhythm played by legends such as Horace Andy , Big Youth , Dillinger , Prince Jazzbo , Luciano , Freddie McGregor , Gregory Isaacs , Max Romeo , Mykal Rose , Dean Fraser , Sugar Minott and U-Roy .

Discography (albums)

  • Heart of the Congos (1977) Black Ark
  • Congo Ashanti (1979) Congo Ashanty / CBS
  • Image of Africa (1979) Congo Ashanty / Epic / CBS
  • Face The Music (1981) Go Feet
  • Best Of Congos vol. 1 (1983) Tafari
  • Natty Dread Rise Again (1997) RAS
  • Revival (1998) VP
  • Live at Maritime Hall: San Francisco (2000) 2B1
  • Lion Treasure (2001) JDC / M10
  • Give Them the Rights (2005) Young Tree
  • Fisherman Style (2006) Blood and Fire
  • Cock Mouth Kill Cock (2006) Explorer Music , also released as Feast (2006) Kingston Sounds
  • Swinging Bridge (2006) Mediacom / Nocturne
  • Heart Of The Congos (2008) VP (reissue)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c d e Colin Larkin: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae . Virgin Books, 1998, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9 .
  2. ^ Peter I: Open the Gate and Let I Man Free - An interview with Watty Burnett . reggae-vibes.com. January 2003. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  3. ^ David Katz: Solid Foundation - An Oral History of Reggae . Bloomsbury, 2003, ISBN 0-7475-6847-2 .
  4. ↑ a b Steve Barrow, Dalton, Peter: Reggae: 100 Essential CDs - The Rough Guide . Rough Guides, 1999, ISBN 1-85828-567-4 .
  5. ↑ Steve Barrow, Dalton, Peter: Reggae: The Rough Guide . Rough Guides, 1997, ISBN 1-85828-247-0 .
  6. ^ Jacob Arnold: The Congos: Fisherman Style review . gridface.com. April 2006. Accessed December 31, 2007.
  7. ↑ Various Artists: Fisherman Style . Roots Archives. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 31, 2007. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.roots-archives.com

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