Home Read Classic DVD Review: Lee (Scratch) Perry | The Unlimited Destruction

Classic DVD Review: Lee (Scratch) Perry | The Unlimited Destruction

The reggae OG's kookier side takes center stage on this hodge-podge of footage.

This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):

 


THE MAIN EVENT: Lee Perry is one of the most influential and important producers in Jamaican music — a man who pioneered and defined the psychedelic stylings of dub and helped turn reggae into a global entity. Trouble is, he’s also a certifiable kook who dresses like a hobo, talks in indecipherable riddles, once burned his own studio down to exorcise demons from it, and seems to believe he’s some sort of alien messiah.

I’d love to see a well-produced documentary that dealt coherently and completely with the former. What you get here is a 48-minute hodge-podge that is dominated by the latter — and by footage of Perry rooting around in his basement, building junk sculptures in his yard and drinking champagne as he babbles incoherently.

EXTRAS! EXTRAS! A biography and discography that are almost more informative than the actual video footage.

AW, SKIP IT: For a more flattering and educational look at the life of Lee, track down a copy of the 1997 three-CD box set retrospective Arkology.