Words Of My Mouth Vol.3 (Live As One/The Producer Series)

In a reggae marketplace fairly glutted with Lee "Scratch" Perry compilations of varying quality, the 1996 Trojan compilation Words of My Mouth has been universally hailed as a standard-setter. The label's managers, being no fools, followed it up in 1999 with Chapter 2 of "Words" -- and now there's a third "chapter" in the series. Reggae aficionados will be excited to see five Junior Byles cuts on the program (though one of them, "Lock and Key," is simply another of the many renditions of "Curly Locks" he recorded for Perry). Perry himself, with the Upsetters, contributes dub versions of many of these tracks, and there are also contributions from such usual suspects as Watty Burnett and Bunnie & Ricky. But the best tracks are by unknowns -- the obscure singer Chenley Duffus checks in with "Sincerely" and the almost operatic "The End," and there is also a very nice (if slightly tentative) version of "Lady Lady" by Joy White. This compilation doesn't quite rise to the same level of consistent excellence as the original Words of My Mouth collection, but Perry fans will be well-pleased. ~ Rick Anderson|