Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry

Must Be Free

MEGAWAVE. CD/DL

LSP’s latest techno-tinged psychobabble.

Maverick reggae rambler Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry shows no sign of quitting in his 80th year. A perpetual globetrotter, he continues to voice material with an endless stream of collaborators. This latest offering was initiated by Spacewave, aka John Palmer of Megawave, who issued a trio of earlier Perry albums. The pleasantly chaotic backdrop is heavy on analogue synths and vintage space echo, and though far from the reggae idiom, Perry is at home warbling his curses and magic spells in multitracked triplicate. Former associates and family members get plenty of barbs, as does Tupac, but Sun Ra wins praise on Rat Race, No Sorrow sounds like a game show soundtrack gone wrong and Therapist prescribes Perry’s piss as a cure-all. When Scratch suggests Too Much Is Too Much, who are we to argue?