Kung Fu Meets the Dragon

Infobox Album | Name = Kung Fu Meets the Dragon
Type = Album
Artist = The Upsetters


Released = 1975
Recorded = ???
Genre = Reggae
Length = ???
Label = DIP
Producer = Lee Perry
Reviews =
*Allmusic (4/5) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ncen97ukkrgt link]
Last album = "Return of Wax"
(1975)
This album = "Kung Fu Meets the Dragon"
(1975)
Next album = "Revolution Dub"
(1975)

"Kung Fu Meets the Dragon" is an album by The Upsetters, released in 1975.

A martial arts-themed project, this very rhythmic LP is largely made up of instrumental versions of some of Perry's productions (Roy Shirley's "Hold Them", Linval Spencer's "Kung Fu") and other musical pieces, enriched with Perry's trademark use of percussions and production tricks (phasing, dubbing and so on) and talkover inspired by the wave of martial arts movies that were popular at the time of recording. Recorded at Perry's own Black Ark Recording Studios, it notably features ace jamaican polyinstrumentalist Augustus Pablo on melodica (and presumably keyboards, too), his gentle playing adding some otherworldly melodic content to the sparse sound. Production values similar to the following, recently recognised as groundbreaking Revolution Dub (Perry's subsequent record, reissued in the '80es on Island Records worldwide).

Reissued in 1995.

Track listing

ide one

#"Theme From Hong Kong"
#"Heart of the Dragon"
#"Hold Them Kung Fu"
#"Flames of the Dragon"
#"Scorching Iron"

ide two

#"Black Belt Jones"
#"Skango"
#"Fungaa"
#"Black Belt"
#"Iron Fist"
#"Kung Fu Man"

text: Lord Vespatron, Venezia