Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2013 - Track Three - Wolf Out Deh

Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Upsetters were true masters of churning out a spooky sounding instrumental reggae tune in the late 60s.  There was something about the minor key organ in so many of those tracks that just lends itself well to being dark and foreboding.  But Perry's explorations of spookiness were not limited to his pre-Black Ark period, quite the contrary!  Some would say the era beginning in 1973 and ending with the Ark's untimely demised in 1979, is when the real scary stuff came to the forefront.  And we're not necessarily talking about just Halloween appropriate tracks, we're talking about top-notch recordings and sessions with many of reggae's top artists whose end result was frighteningly perfect.  

For those who don't listen to reggae or know anything about the mad genius that is Lee "Scratch" Perry they are truly missing out on some of the greatest music ever produced, bar none!  What made the Black Ark productions so enchanting and so amazing, even by today's standards, is the sound of the Black Ark itself.  Now I'm not musically trained, I took piano lessons when I was a kid and after nearly three years of tearful practice and general disdain my music teacher told my parents they were wasting their money, so it would be next to impossible for me to exactly pin-point what it is that makes it sound so good.  It has something to do with the reverb, echo and effects that Perry put on each individual component of the music that makes it sound otherworldly.  Which works as a perfect segue into today's track...

Lloyd & Devon, Lloyd Robinson & Devon Russell, who had previously recorded as part of the vocal group The Tartans in the late 60's, had a couple hit songs in the early reggae era before going on to record and release "Wolf Out Deh" for Scratch in 1977.  This track coupled with the trailer from the 1961 Hammer Films classic "The Curse of the Werewolf" will give you a nice taste of lycanthropy Jamaican style.  It comes from the original 7" on the Black Art label.

Lloyd & Devon - Wolf Out Deh