Heart of the Congos – The Congos, 1977

Jamaican stopover. In 1977, Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson founded The Congos. Spotted by Lee Perry, who brought Watty Burnett on board, they released Heart of the Congos, which remains one of the jewels of reggae and Jamaican music to this day. The album was recorded at the historic Black Ark studio, and initially only a handful of copies were pressed, adding to its mythical status. It wasn’t until the reissues from 1996 onwards that it finally became available to the widest possible audience. Here a 2008 reissue which also includes a 2ᵉ LP ‘Best of the rest’.