The title of this post was a running joke a friend of mine had on a chat forum. You’d say something to him, and his comeback was “you’ve upset me, and I’m not easily upset.”

But really I want to talk now about Lee Scratch Perry and the Upsetters. I finally ripped the 3 CD Trojan box set. And it is such an overwhelmingly rich collection of some incredibly original, arresting of music.

The first thing about Lee Perry is he was writing and producing and recording because he was trying to make a living. So some of the best tracks on the compilation are ridiculously commercial. When Lee covers the Coasters hit “Yakety Yak” he makes it his own. Starting from a beat from outer space, so perfectly simple and mechanically funky.

Dave Barker’s “Prisoner of Love” whose rocksteady ska beat is topped by one of the most original, soulful voices in Jamaica. Think Wilson Picket, James Brown, and Otis Redding rolled up into one.

“Fever” – a cover of the song made famous by Peggy Lee – has Susan Cadogan’s channelling Lou Reed (no, not really, but kindof). Her double-track...