From the Secret Laboratory

From the Secret Laboratory
Studio album by
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Released1990
Recorded1989
GenreReggae, dub
LabelMango
ProducerAdrian Sherwood, Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry chronology
Message from Yard
(1990) 		From the Secret Laboratory
(1990) 		Satan's Dub
(1990)

From the Secret Laboratory is an album by the Jamaican musician Lee "Scratch" Perry, released in 1990.[1][2] It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's World Music chart.[3] Despite Perry's pledge to not work again with Island Records, the album was released by Island's subsidiary label Mango.[4]

Production

Recorded and mixed over eight days in England and Jamaica, the album was produced by Adrian Sherwood and Perry.[5][6][7] Perry was backed by members of Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge, and the Roots Radics.[6][8] The album cover photo, by Adrian Boot, was taken in the Swiss Alps.[9] "Party Time" is a cover of the Heptones song.[10] "Vibrate On" was written by Augustus Pablo.[11] "African Hitchhiker" uses a Kumina rhythm.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide[12]
Robert Christgau[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
Houston Chronicle[6]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide[15]
Record-JournalA−[16]
Reggae & Caribbean Music7/10[10]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
Spin Alternative Record Guide3/10[18]

The Toronto Star said that "Perry delivers deadpan free association raps over a spacey, heavily-echoed reggae backing."[8] The Guardian noted the "surprisingly coherent lyrics."[19] The Manchester Evening News called From the Secret Laboratory a "great album" and labeled Perry "the quintessential reggae producer-as-innovator".[20] The Houston Chronicle said that his "addled, self-promoting ravings have pretty lost whatever bizarre charm they once possessed."[6]

The Independent stated that "for the most part, From the Secret Laboratory is great fun, two old studio hands making benevolent madness in a smoke-filled sound lab."[21] The Record-Journal concluded that "Perry has picked up dust from other cultures, lending a larger dimension to the reggae-base".[16] The Gazette praised the "marvellous, mad reggae connections".[22] The Commercial Appeal opined, "The material is erratic but Perry's propulsive voice keeps things interesting."[23] The State listed From the Secret Laboratory as the best reggae album of 1990.[24]

The titular character of Alan Warner's novel Morvern Callar plays the album on her stereo.[25]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Secret Laboratory (Scientific Dancehall)" 
2."Inspector Gadget" 
3."(I Got The) Groove" 
4."Vibrate On" 
5."African Hitchhiker" 
6."You Thought I Was Dead" 
7."Too Much Money" 
8."Push, Push" 
9."African Headcharge in the Hackney Empire" 
10."Party Time" 
11."Seven Devils Dead" 

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Paul (2013). Remixology: Tracing the Dub Diaspora. Reaktion Books. p. 86.
  2. ^ Howard, David N. (2004). Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 232.
  3. ^ "Top world-music albums". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Billboard. 20 September 1990. p. 5F.
  4. ^ "Timeline". Grand Royal. No. 2. p. 66.
  5. ^ a b Semaj-Hall, Isis (November 2021). "Dubbing Dub Poetry? Approaching Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Poetically". Journal of West Indian Literature. 30 (1): 50.
  6. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Rick (19 August 1990). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 10.
  7. ^ Heron, W. Kim (15 October 1990). "Sound Judgement". Detroit Free Press. p. 2E.
  8. ^ a b Dafoe, Chris (8 September 1990). "Lee 'Scratch' Perry From the Secret Laboratory". Toronto Star. p. J6.
  9. ^ Strait, Kevin M.; Conwill, Kinshasha Holman, eds. (2023). Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. Smithsonian Books. p. 161.
  10. ^ a b Thompson, Dave (2002). Reggae & Caribbean Music. Backbeat Books. p. 214.
  11. ^ "Wall of Reviews". Grand Royal. No. 2. p. 75.
  12. ^ All Music Guide (3rd ed.). Miller Freeman. 1997. p. 928.
  13. ^ "Lee 'Scratch' Perry". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 492.
  15. ^ MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 607.
  16. ^ a b Swift, Orla (22 July 1990). "Perry's reggae accessible to the undreadlocked". Record-Journal. p. E2.
  17. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 629.
  18. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 293.
  19. ^ "Critic's Choice: Dance". The Guardian. 27 April 1990. p. 35.
  20. ^ Jasper, Tony (15 May 1990). "Pop Bitz". Manchester Evening News. p. 35.
  21. ^ Gill, Andy (27 April 1990). "Lee 'Scratch' Perry From the Secret Laboratory". The Independent. p. 15.
  22. ^ Feist, Daniel (13 October 1990). "From ubongo to rai, there's a world of new music". The Gazette. p. E12.
  23. ^ Wynn, Ron (10 August 1990). "Albums note classics, change". The Commercial Appeal. p. E22.
  24. ^ Miller, Michael (30 November 1990). "Time for Picky People to Select Top 10". The State. p. 18D.
  25. ^ The Rough Guide to Scotland. Rough Guides. 2006. p. 840.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.