A title like 'Back In The Black Ark' creates high expectations and a real return to Lee Perry's Black Ark studio was of course out of the question; in fact this album was recorded in The Congos' own Lions Den Recording Studio and finished at Mixing Lab by none other than Clive Hunt. Lee Perry was present during the recording process and even provided vocals for a few tracks ('Garden Of Life', 'Spider Woman'), but apart from that the title of this album is nothing more than a shrewd media stunt by Médiacom. 'Swinging Bridge', The Congos' previous effort for Médiacom was a triumph, but 'Back In The Black Ark' sounds a lot more inconsistent and nimble. Yes, the album still counts a few heavy roots tracks ('Garden Of Life', 'Celestial World', 'Great Powers'...), but the cover versions on 'Back In The Black Ark' (a remainder from when this was still going to be a complete cover album) give it a more entertaining vibe. The album opens with 'Chain Gang', a version of an old Sam Cooke song, ends with 'Up On The Roof', a classic best known in the version of The Drifters, and somewhere halfway in track list, Watty Burnett revisits the soul smash 'Rainy Night In Georgia', a song he already recorded for Lee Perry many years ago as 'Rainy Night In Portland'. Decent Congos album with a nod to the past.