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Heart of the Congos
Studio album by the Congos
Released	1977
Recorded	1976–1977, Black Ark, Kingston, Jamaica
Genre	Roots reggae
Length	44:38
Label	Black Ark
Producer	Lee Perry
The Congos chronology
Heart of the Congos (1977) Congo (1979)

Heart of the Congos is a roots reggae album by the Congos, produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry at his Black Ark studio with a studio band including Boris Gardiner on bass and Ernest Ranglin on guitar. The album was released in 1977. It is noted as being one of Perry's masterpiece productions of the Black Ark era.

The first issue of the LP in Jamaica was a very limited release said to consist of only several hundred copies. It was remastered using the original Black Ark quarter inch master tapes with the exception of 'At The Feast' and re-released in 1996 on the record label Blood and Fire, run by Steve Barrow, T Elwing, and Mick Hucknall, with assistance on the ground provided by Andrea Lewis. The original mix of the album was not officially re-issued on either LP or CD until 2017's 40th Anniversary Edition (although an 'unofficial' CD release, sourced from the original LP, was released in 2004 by CORN-FED Productions, based in Amsterdam). Until 2017, all editions subsequent to the first Jamaica release feature a second, substantially different, mix by Lee Perry. The 40th Anniversary Edition includes both mixes of the album, as well as ten bonus tracks.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Q
The Rolling Stone Record Guide
Sputnikmusic (staff review)	5/5
Tiny Mix Tapes

Barrow and Peter Dalton called Heart of the Congos "the most completely successful of all the albums recorded at the Black Ark," and "one of the prime examples of Jamaican vocal technique" due to the dynamic combination of Cedric Myton’s falsetto lead vocals, Roy "Ashanti" Johnson’s tenor lead vocals and backing vocals by noted singers such as Gregory Isaacs and members of the Meditations and the Heptones. The album was listed in the 1999 book The Rough Guide: Reggae: 100 Essential CDs.

Pitchfork ranked the record at No. 46 on its "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s".

The NME ranked the album at 99 in its 2003 list of the "100 Best Albums of All Time".

Track listing

All tracks written by Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson, except tracks 1 and 2 written by Cedric Myton, Roydel Johnson and Lee Perry.

Side one

1. "Fisherman"
2. "Congoman"
3. "Open Up the Gate"
4. "Children Crying"
5. "La La Bam-Bam"

Side two

1. "Can't Come In"
2. "Sodom and Gomorrow"
3. "The Wrong Thing"
4. "Ark of the Covenant"
5. "Solid Foundation"

1996 CD track listing

CD one (Remix)

1. "Fisherman"
2. "Congoman"
3. "Open up the Gate"
4. "Children Crying"
5. "La La Bam-Bam"
6. "Can't Come In"
7. "Sodom and Gomorrow"
8. "The Wrong Thing"
9. "Ark of the Covenant"
10. "Solid Foundation"
11. "At the Feast"
12. "Nicodemus"

CD two

1. "Congoman" (12" mix)
2. "Congoman Chant"
3. "Bring the Mackaback"
4. "Noah Sugar Pan"
5. "Solid Foundation" (Disco Cork Mix)

2017 40th Anniversary Edition CD track listing

CD one (Remix)

1. "Fisherman"
2. "Congoman"
3. "Open up the Gate"
4. "Children Crying"
5. "La La Bam-Bam"
6. "Can't Come In"
7. "Sodom and Gomorrow"
8. "The Wrong Thing"
9. "Ark of the Covenant"
10. "Solid Foundation"

CD two (Bonus Tracks)

1. "Don't Blame It On I"
2. "At The Feast"
3. "Neckodeemus"
4. "Solid Foundation (Disco Cork Mix)"
5. "Foundation Dub"
6. "Congoman (12" Mix)"
7. "Congoman Chant"
8. "Bring The Mackaback"
9. "Fisherman Dub"
10. "Noah Sugar Pan"

CD three (Original mix)

1. "Fisherman"
2. "Congoman"
3. "Open up the Gate"
4. "Children Crying"
5. "La La Bam-Bam"
6. "Can't Come In"
7. "Sodom and Gomorrow"
8. "The Wrong Thing"
9. "Ark of the Covenant"
10. "Solid Foundation"

Personnel

Produced by the Congos and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Recorded at the Black Ark 1976–77, Cardiff Crescent, Washington Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica.

• The Congos – Cedric Myton and Roy "Ashanti" Johnson
• Boris Gardiner, Geoffrey Chung on "Fisherman" - bass
• Lowell "Sly" Dunbar, Mikey "Boo" Richards, Paul Douglas on "Fisherman" - drums
• Robert "Billy" Johnson - rhythm guitar
• Ernest Ranglin - lead guitar
• Winston "Brubeck" Wright - organ, bass on "Congoman"
• Keith Sterling - piano
• Noel "Skully" Simms, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, Lee Perry - percussion
• The Meditations, Watty "King" Burnett, Gregory Isaacs (on "La La Bam-Bam"), Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn (on "La La Bam-Bam"), Candy McKenzie (on "Children Crying") - backing vocals

References

1. Heart of the Congos at AllMusic
2. Robert Christgau, "The Congos", robertchristgau.com, retrieved 11 June 2024
3. Colin Larkin (1998). "Congos". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. II (3rd ed.). Muze. p. 1204. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
4. Kelly, Danny (March 1996). "The Congos: Heart of the Congos". Q: 110.
5. Dave Marsh; John Swenson, eds. (1983). "The Congoes". The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 110. ISBN 0-394-72107-1.
6. robertsona (staff) (2 December 2022), "The Congos - Heart Of The Congos", sputnikmusic.com, Sputnikmusic, retrieved 11 June 2024
7. Willcoma, "The Congos - Heart Of The Congos", tinymixtapes.com, Tiny Mix Tapes, retrieved 11 June 2024
8. Barrow, Steve; Dalton, Peter (1997). Reggae: The Rough Guide. London: The Rough Guides. p. 168. ISBN 9781858282473.
9. Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (1999) Reggae: 100 Essential CDs, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-85828-567-4
10. Pitchfork staff (23 June 2004). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
11. "NME 's 100 Best Albums Of All Time". BestEverAlbums.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

• The Congos albums
• 1977 debut albums
• Albums produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry