Wonderman Years

Producer Lee “Scratch” Perry released lots of singles on the Justice League label in the 1970s, working with a variety of A-list artists: Junior Byles, Dennis Alcapone, Augustus Pablo, even Bob Marley and the Wailers (who ended up stealing the bassist and drummer from Perry’s house band, the Upsetters). This generously packed two-disc set brings together 49 tracks from that period, quite a bit of which appears on other compilations as well; fans will probably already own multiple copies of the Gatherers’ “Words of My Mouth,” Junior Byles’ hair-raising version of “Fever,” and other tunes. But there are lots of relatively obscure tracks here as well, and most of them are outstanding — even Chenley Duffus’ fairly cheesy “Good Night My Love” and “At the End of the Rainbow” are given a certain weight and density by Perry’s unique production style. This collection is a must for all Perry fans.