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From the Secret Laboratory
1990 studio album by Lee "Scratch" Perry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
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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]
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Reception
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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]
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Track listing
References
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