The Congos

Heart Of The Congos is a landmark reggae album whose initial obscurity was due to a dispute between producer Lee Perry and his label, Island records. Perry's idea to create a roots vocal album took shape when Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson auditioned at his Black Ark studio. The resulting album had Myton and Johnson wrapping their falsetto and tenor around one another in the sweetly rendered 'Children Crying' and 'la la bam-bam'. Perry's production lent Heart Of The Congos a hazy, dub-like sheen that swathed the rastafarian imagery of songs such as 'Sodom and Gomorrow' and 'Ark of Covenant' in muted shadings. Backed by a number of legendary session musicians including Sly Dunbar and Ernest Ranglin, Heart Of The Congos could have been a smash, had Perry not held back the record from Island Records who handled his international distribution. Instead, it became a lost classic cherished by countless reggae aficionados.