''Super Ape'' is a dub studio album produced and engineered by

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

, credited to his studio band

The Upsetters The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Cox ...

. In

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

, the album was released under the name ''Scratch the Super Ape'' in July 1976 on Perry's own Upsetter label. The Jamaican version had a different track order than the international version that was released in August the same year on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

. The album was listed in the 1999 book ''The Rough Guide: Reggae: 100 Essential CDs''.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (1999) ''Reggae: 100 Essential CDs'', Rough Guides, ''Super Ape'' was reissued on November 29, 2013 as

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

Black Friday double vinyl release with three extra tracks: "Rastaman Shuffle", "Magic Touch" and "Corn Fish Dub". Side 4 featured an etching of the ''Super Ape'' album cover art.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Lee "Scratch" Perry

Side one

#"Zion's Blood" #"Croaking Lizard" #"Black Vest" #"Underground" #"Curly Dub"

Side two

#"Dread Lion" #"Three in One" #"Patience" #"Dub Along" #"Super Ape"

Personnel

*Lee Perry – producer,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

*Michael "Mikey Boo" Richards –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*Anthony "Benbow" Creary – drums * Noel "Skully" Simms – conga * Boris Gardiner –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

Earl "Chinna" Smith Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 6 August 1955), a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest,Johnson, Richard (2013)The Melchizedek way, ''Jamaica Observer'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Keith Sterling Keith Sterling (born Keith Sterling-McLeod, January 1952, Kingston, Jamaica)Larkin, Colin (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', 4th edn., OUP USA, , p. 743 is a piano and keyboard player. Biography Keith Sterling is a well-respected Jam ...

– piano *

Bobby Ellis Bobby Ellis OD (2 July 1932 – 18 October 2016) was a Jamaican trumpet player. He worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and The Revolutionaries. Biography Born in Kingston on 2 October 1932, Bobby Ellis attende ...

– horns * "Dirty" Harry Hall – horns * Herman Marquis – horns * Vin Gordon –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

*Egbert Evans – flute *

Prince Jazzbo Linval Roy Carter (3 September 1951 – 11 September 2013), better known as Prince Jazzbo, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer. Career Born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Kingston, Linval Roy Carter (who would ...

– toasting on "Croaking Lizard" * Barry Llewellyn –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Earl Morgan – backing vocals * Tony Wright – cover art

References

{{Authority control The Upsetters albums 1976 albums Albums produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry Dub albums Island Records albums