Star Trek＜Space Maroon Vinyl/限定版＞

Star Trek is a true exploito-oddity from the folks at Trojan. In 1972, former Second Hand and Chillum prog rock keyboardist Ken Elliott laid down synthesizer lines worthy of Perrey & Kingsley -- that's Jean-Jacques Perrey, not Lee "Scratch" Perry -- over reggae rhythms in an attempt to break into the easy listening market. That it is credited to the Vulcans and the album title is Star Trek is icing on the crass concept cheesecake. The songs themselves are light reggae-pop instrumentals that lean heavily on the tinny buzz of the ARP 2600 synthesizer. There's nothing groundbreaking here for reggae fans, but the synth playing gets pretty adventurous. There are some surprises buried on Star Trek too, "Jumping Jupiter" has a vintage Lee Perry vibe percolating under it's kitschy surface and the cover of "Telstar" might be of interest to Joe Meek fans. It's worth noting that Elliott's wild synth work here led him to session work with a number of prominent reggae talents including Dillinger and Keith Hudson. Elliott recorded a follow-up to Star Trek in 1973 as Colonel Elliott & the Lunatics titled Interstella Reggae Drive that is included here in its entirety. ~ Wade Kergan