Not only is this one of the most arresting covers to ever grace an album, The Return Of The Super Ape is also one of the preeminent reggae albums of all time. Though lacking the technical wizardry that some of his contemporaries possessed, no one has every stacked as much texture on to a four track tape than Dr. Lee. Scratch's adventurous studio experimentalism solidified his standing as one of the top producers in JA during the 70's and his late 70's output from his Black Ark studio, with session band The Upsetters, is especially remarkable. Recorded in 1977, The Return of the Super Ape finds our witchdoctor producer at the height of his moonstruck innovations with each rhythm transporting the listener to another uncharted galaxy. While not every song ventures as far out into the ether, indeed some songs land closer to American soul (e.g. Tell Me Something Good), others closer to 70s jazz fusion (e.g. Crab Yars), but each has that Black Ark magic. One must only listen to the Bollywood cover (yes... Bollywood!) Bird In Hand (sung in Hindi by Sam Carty), to realize that Scratch was not only mad but absolutely brilliant. With the ability to abandon all conventions yet remain interesting and undeniably listenable, if not compulsively so, Return of the Super Ape remains ahead of the times.