ALBUM REVIEW: Spaceship To Mars – Lee Scratch Perry & Youth

September 12, 2024 Gavin Brown

The much missed LEE SCRATCH PERRY was a monolithic presence both when he was alive and in turn after his passing. His music lives on and will live on forever – this is a man after all, who recorded somewhere in the region of a none too shabby two thousand albums in his time, and is still bringing records out posthumously. The latest of these records is the perfectly titled Spaceship To Mars, which sees Perry working with production maestro YOUTH, who is best known as the iconic bassist of KILLING JOKE, but who also has an extremely impressive musical résumé, working with everyone from Paul McCartney to THE VERVE to THE ORB in his time.

Linking up with Perry makes perfect sense for YOUTH, who has been a longtime acolyte of dub and its father figure Perry, and here both artists come together to create a perfect melding of minds. From the get go, Spaceship To Mars lets Perry‘s unadulterated genius take full control of the recordings and the results are blissfully out there and hypnotic in equal measure as the dub rhythms of Youth and the vocals and mind of Perry work together in perfect and joyous harmony.

The sublime rhythms float by effortlessly and Perry‘s harmonies are the perfect companion, as are the host of guests that feature on the album as well. Those eclectic guests, who range from Hollie Cook and Boy George to Don Letts and Carol Thompson and more, add different sounds and voices to an already vibrant album, but it is obviously Perry himself who dominates the whole sonic plateau of the album with his own inimitable genius.

As a student of dub and dub culture, YOUTH knows exactly what he is doing here and captures the true essence and brilliance of Perry in perfect fashion, with the only potential downside being that they couldn’t have worked together more. Songs like Butterfly Sky, Love Sunshine Peace, The Lizard, the title track (which interpolates Chase The Devil by MAX ROMEO as sampled by THE PRODIGY on Out Of Space), Dr Love and especially album closer In The Sunshine all sound perfect, with the dub and roots reggae elements in perfect harmony as they give off a sublimely sunny and hazy feeling. This is really the perfect album to play just as the sun comes down.

If you can’t get enough of those dub stylings, there is also a version of Spaceship To Mars which contains YOUTH‘s strictly dub versions of these songs that complements the original record as well, so you have even more to listen and let consume you.

Spaceship To Mars is a perfect collaboration between YOUTH and LEE SCRATCH PERRY that needs to be played loud to really let the bass hit and let the spirit of Perry roam free. Rest in eternal peace to a true original and maker of some of the finest music ever made, and thanks to YOUTH and Spaceship To Mars, we can still enjoy new music by the legendary artist.

Rating: 8/10