Dear readers,
At the moment I have nothing meaningful to say on the musical subjects, but want to say I appreciate having readers whether you leave comments or not, and doubly appreciate the comments with suggestions, astute culturological analysis, or shares. Below is some of the excellent stuff posted lately throughout the blog in comments:

The Wrigglers: Sing Calypso at the Arawak (1958) with the great Ernest Ranglin on guitar at the Easy Jams blog (original vinyl rips and great commentary)

Yuko Ikoma - Moisture with Music Box (2008) - Eric Satie on a music box, very surprising and effective readings of his music, on Hypnagogic Travels

Olivier Messian - Les Corps Glorieux (Organ Works III) - "kinda cosmic stuff, very deep and unusual" - in FLAC, thanks to Symbolkid!

Lord Kitchener - Klassic Kitchener Vol.1-3

Lord Kitchener - Klassic Kitchener Vol.1-3
REUP: 192kbps, 242mb on depositfiles


When A Man Is Poor
Nora
Trouble In Arima
Tie Tounge Mopsy
Cricket Champions
Old Lady Walk A Mile & A Half
Chinese Never Had A VJ Day
Steel Band Music
If You're Brown
Doctor Kitch
Batty Mamselle
Law And Order


My Pussin
Flag Woman
One To Hang
PP99
Panorama Night
Take Yuh Meat Out Muh Rice
No More Calypsong
Handy Man
No Melda
Love In The Cemetery
Mama Dis Is Mas
The Road
Miss Tourist
67
Magie


Jerico
Pan In A-Minor
Pan In Harmony
Fever
Sugar Bum Bum
Symphony In G
The Symptoms Of Carnival
The Bees Melody
Gimme The Ting
The Spirit
Pan In The 21st Century
Jaws
Curfew Time
Rain-O-Rama
Tribute To Spree Simon

Calypso

A few albums I uploaded for a fellow calypso fan, might as well share the links here.


A Guide to the Real Calypso
A CD that came with a japanese book of the same name.
VBR, 86mb on zippyshare
1. Atilla & The Huns – West Indian Rhythm
2. Gerald Clark And His Caribbean Serenaders – Flores De Trinidad
3. Atilla & The Huns – Man Man Biscoe
4. Atilla & The Huns – Women Will Rule The World
5. The Executor – Three Friend's Advice
6. Lion – Ugly Woman
7. Sam Manning – Medley Of West Indian Song
8. Wilmoth Houdini – He Had It Coming
9. King Radio – Chip Chip Water
10. The Caresser – Ah Gertie
11. Tiger – Next Door Neighbor
12. Mighty Destroyer – Mother's Love
13. Lord Invader – The Sport Pool
14. Lord Beginner – Norah The War Is Over
15. Duke Of Iron – Box Car Shorty
16. Macbeth The Great – Old Man
17. Trinidad Blues-Calypso – Lord Biginner
18. Lord Kitchener – Is Trouble
19. Mighty Terror – Calypso War
20. Wonder – Follow Me Children
21. King Fighter – The Two Old Lovers
22. Lord Melody – Mama Look A Boo-Boo
23. Mighty Sparrow – Simpson



Duke of Iron - "Calypso!" (1957) in 320kbps and "Duke of Iron Sings Calypso" (incomplete)
118mb on mediafire or megaupload
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
Music Lesson
Meringue Jenny
Creole Girl
Last Train
Coconut
Last Watch
Loving Woman Is A Waste Of Time
Man Is Easy Fish
Mambo Calypso
Clear De Road
West Indies Serenade
+
Duke of Iron Sings Calypso
I Left Her Behind For You
A Better Woman Than You
Fifty Cents
Katie
Vitalogy
The Walking Department Store
Calypsonian Invasion
It's The Rhythm We Want
Pepper Sauce Milly

John Surman - John Surman (Anglo-Sax)

A recent discovery: first album by a prominent british baritone saxophonist John Surman. Side B is a three-part suite by Surman and a large ensemble, strongly influenced by free-jazz. The reason I am posting this, though, is Side A, which is completely different: a small combo, with a pan player, is playing jazz covers of calypsos Obeah Wedding (Mighty Sparrow), My Pussin (Lord Kitch), Don't Stop The Carnival (which is here credited to Sonny Rollins, who, indeed, introduced it to jazz, but really is a traditional tune), and what I assume is an original by the piano player Russel Henderson, Good Times Will Come Again. This is calypso-jazz of the highest grade, highly recommended for the fans of caribbean music and for those interested in the jazz-ethno hybrids.
In UK this came out as John Surman, US edition was titled Anglo-Sax.


John Surman - John Surman
REUP: 320kbps, 105mb on 4shared
A1. Obeah Wedding
A2. My Pussin
A3. Good Times Will Come Again
A4. Carnival
B1. Incantation
B2. Episode
B3. Dance

Lord Creator - Jamaica Time

Lord Creator - Jamaica Time
160kbps, 45mb at sharebee
1. Jamaica Farewell (Original)
2. Archie
3. Bad Lucky
4. Blowing In The Wind
5. Don't Go Away
6. End Of The World
7. Independent Jamaica
8. Sweet Jamaica
9. Island Woman
10. Yellow Bird
11. Queen's Canary
12. Ma And Pa

John "Buddy" Williams - Le Jazz Primitif From Trinidad

Le Jazz Primitif - can't go wrong with a name like that. Buddy Williams was a pianist and bandleader of a prime Trinidadian dance band. It sounds like they backed up all the great calypso singers in studio by day and cut the rug up for the islanders in bars at night. This is a live recording, with an appropriately muddy sound, but with a lot of excitement and loud cheering from the crowd in between the songs.
This is one half of a split LP with Buddy Williams on one side and some other dude on the other, I don't have the second side and the reviews suggest it's not worth seeking.
A word on the songs: She 'Pon Top is a mento tune by Baba Motta (available on the Mento Madness comp); Last Night The Landlord is a calypso by Lord Christo (available on the Smithsonian's Dance Calypso). I couldn't trace Shoemaker Shop and Man Is Dey, so I assume these are Buddy's originals. Alma Llanera (Soul of the Plains) is a traditional Venezuelan joropo, still very popular throughout Latin America. My coworker, a Colombian girl, recognized it as "that tune they play back home at dances in small towns... where'd you get it?"


John "Buddy" Williams - Le Jazz Primitif From Trinidad
192 kbps, 28 mb
REUP: mediafire
1. Alma Llanera
2. She 'Pon Top
3. Shoemaker Shop
4. Man is Dey
5. Last Night the Landlord Nearly Killed Me

Dave Pike - Limbo Carnival

I've been looking for this album for the longest time, and found it just today posted at the great Orgy in Rhythm! The american vibist and bandleader Dave Pike is also heard here on marimba. This disc is one of the more successfull attempts at calypso-jazz fusion. It's been recently reissued as a half of the "Carnavals" CD together with another Dave Pike album, Bossa Nova Carnival (not sure what's with the spelling, but that's how they wrote it). A selection with some calypso standards (Matilda, Jamaica Farewell) and three latin jazz/calypso jazz crossover pieces - Charlie Parker's Little Suede Shoes and two tunes by the greatest sax player that ever lived, Sonny Rollins. Highly recommended to calypso fans, jazzheads and the "world music" buffs!


Dave Pike - Limbo Carnival
320 kbps
Get it at orgyinrhythm.blogspot.com!
1. La Bamba (Valens) 7:46
2. My Little Suede Shoes (Parker) 3:39
3. Matilda (Span) 3:59
4. Mambo Bounce (Rollins) 3:15
5. Limbo Rock (Sheldon, Strange) 2:26
6. Calypso Blues (Cole, George) 3:49
7. Cattin' Latin (Poindexter) 4:47
8. St. Thomas (Rollins) 3:45
9. Jamaica Farewell (Burgess) 4:57

Calypso podcasts

I'm back, but not in the swing of things yet, so the regular postings would not resume quite yet. Meanwhile, I wanted to compile the links to some calypso mixes and podcasts. Calypso as such is not an album-oriented music; a lot of it was recorded as singles, and even on the actual albums there are often a few good songs and the rest is filler. So mixes might be the best way to listen to calypso - if the person has a fine enough taste to like calypso, I guess you can trust him with the choice of songs.

Here are a few:
J'Ouvert Morning Calypso series on Pod-O-Matic:
Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5

A great mix at http://baikinange.blogspot.com, grab it!

Two podcasts from MobTown: one, two.

Most excellent http://siebethissen.blogspot.com/ offers several calypso mixes: Bam Bam (Mentomania), Big Bamboo: Calypso Picong Songs, Mango Bang Bang, War at Dirty Jim's.

Enjoy!

Mighty Sparrow and Byron Lee - Only a Fool + one more by Byron Lee

Another fine calypso album by Mighty Sparrow collaborating with Byron Lee and his group. Byron Lee is an interesting personage: his band, the Dragonaires, might be the longest-running musical group from Jamaica; they were very financially successfull and popular in Jamaica, all over Caribbean, and in the US in the 60s and 70s, but now are all but forgotten. Both their former popularity and their current obscurity stem from one source: they adapted the music of the slums to the tastes of the elite. So while the "real deal" was too dirty and dangerous, Byron Lee was a hit; when it was tamed by time and distance and became acceptable, the Dragonaires' fortunes declined.
The Dragonaires were musical omnivores, playing every caribbean style from calypso, mento and ska to reggae and rocksteady, but all of it with an eye for respectability. Byron Lee, a very talented musician and arranger, and a shrewd businessman, collected the latest tunes and trends from all over the islands, and then played them his own style, tight and smooth; hot dance numbers were interleaved with sappy ballads and instrumental covers of the US hits. This is the approach they choose here.
On this LP Mighty Sparrow made an honest effort to go commercial: he picked only the love songs from his repertoire, purging all the drinking, fighting and whoring subject matter. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to fill an album, so there are some saccharine ballads sung by somebody else (I assume it's Byron Lee himself, but I have no positive proof) which are pretty disposable, and a couple of instrumental pieces, caribbiefied takes on the popular movie themes of the times - and those are pretty good. Only a Fool was Sparrow's only appearance on American charts. Incredibly, the song, while bearing his name ("Mighty Sparrow and Byron Lee", say the credits), did not have his vocals.
You can't keep a good man down, though: Sparrow's tunes are driving dance numbers with a chugging locomotive beat. Even his cover of an Otis Redding ballad (Try a Little Tenderness) is twice as fast as an original.
I will throw in another Byron Lee album without my endorsement. If you are a big reggae fan, go for it.


Mighty Sparrow and Byron Lee - Only a Fool
REUP: sharebee
210VBR, 52 mb
1. Maria (MS)
2. No Money, No Love (MS)
3. More And More Amour (instrumental)
4. Born Free (BL)
5. Sandra (MS)
6. Walk Away (BL)
7. Peace And Love (MS)
8. Only A Fool (BL)
9. Theme From Dr Zhivago (instrumental)
10. More (BL)
11. Make The World Go Away (instrumental)
12. Try A Little Tenderness (MS)


Byron Lee and the Dragonaires - Reggay Eyes
REUP: mediafire
128 kbps, 28 mb
1. Soul Serenade
2. Can I Change My Mind
3. More Scorcher
4. Long Shot Kick De Bucket
5. Square From Cuba
6. Another Scorcher
7. Musical Scorcher
8. Throw Me Corn
9. Bond In Bliss
10. Too Experienced
11. Games People Play
12. Pum Pum On A String

Trojan Calypso

A great Trojan compilation of the calypso classics from the golden age. Many great songs unavailable elsewhere, although it has some filler, too. My favorites are Nora Dean's The Valet, The Maytals' Bam Bam, Lord Invader's Cat'O'Nine, and the tracks by Count Lasher, Sparrow, and Lord Creator.
Read a thorough review here.


Trojan Calypso
192 kbps, 190 mb (all three CDs in one archive)
REUP: megaupload
or two parts on sharebee: one and two.

Vol.1 - Jamaican Mento, Calypso and Jump Up Sounds
1. Count Lasher with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band - The Weed (aka Man Pyabba)
2. Lord Kitchener - Love In The Cemetery
3. Lord Creator - Big Bamboo
4. Charlie Binger & His Quartet - Jamaica Is The Place To Go
5. Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Get Me To The Church On Time
6. Nora Dean - The Valet
7. Lord Spoon & David - Woman A Love In The Night Time
8. The Mighty Vikings - Do Re Mi
9. Aston & Yen - Skillamy
10. Phyllis Dillon - Nice Time
11. Count Alert with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band - In The Park
12. Derrick Harriott - Our Time Fe Celebrate
13. Marva Moore & The Gaysters - Great '68
14. The Maytals - Bam Bam
15. Count Lasher & Williams with Lynn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band - Bam Bam
16. Lord Kitchener - Jamaica Woman
17. The Undergrounds - Savito

Vol.2 - Caribbean Calypso Carnival
1. Lord Kitchener - Neighbour, Neighbour
2. Nora Dean - Must Get A Man
3. Count Lasher & Williams with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band - 'Mufridite
4. Charlie Binger & His Quartet - Country Gal
5. Lord Creator - Paint Up, Clean Up Time
6. Lord Spoon & David - The World On A Wheel
7. Derrick Harriott - Happy Times
8. Count Alert with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band - Hard Time
9. Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Reggae Merengue
10. Lord Cristo - Dumb Boy & The Parrot
11. The Mighty Sparrow - Village Ram
12. The Mighty Dougla - Teacher Teacher
13. Baldhead Growler - The Sausage
14. Mister Calypson - Muhammad Ali
15. Sampson The Lark - Undemocratic Rhodesia
16. Lord Kitchener - Kitch, You So Sweet
17. Lord Tanamo - A Dash Of The Sunshine

Vol.3 - Calypso War in the UK
1. The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians - Calypso War
2. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Me One Alone
3. Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights - The Water Gobbler
4. Ben Bowers & Bertie King's Royal Jamaicans - Not Me (aka Man Woman, Woman Smarter)
5. The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians - Brownskin Girl
6. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - You Don't Need Glasses To See
7. Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights - Belinda
8. The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians - Heading North
9. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - I'm Going Back To Africa
10. Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights - Africa, Here I Come
11. The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians - Little Jeannie
12. Ben Bowers & Bertie King's Royal Jamaicans - Naughty Little Flea
13. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Mahalia, I Want Back My Dollar
14. Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights - Lift The Iron Curtain
15. The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians - T.V. Calypso
16. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Teddy Boy Calypso (Bring Back The Cat-o-Nine)

Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener

I am a big fan of calypso music. I wrote about it at length elsewhere, so I'll keep it brief. It's a caribbean tradition that appeared early in the XXth century and is still alive, after a lot of permutations. Although calypso is played all over the Caribbean basin, the main source is Trinidad (and Tobago, too!). My favorite period is the 50's-60's, when calypso was musically influenced by the american bebop and the contemporary latin styles like samba of the neighboring islands. This was a time when a new, post-war generation of calypsonians appeared; it is comparable to the punk revolution of the 70s, with the shocking, lurid lyrics and a driving, danceable beat.

The Mighty Sparrow is my favorite calypsonian, and this is an album from his best period. May May could be his most sexually explicit song, with a deathless post-coital line "When a man is finish / I think it's foolish / to play licorice". I suspect that Maria borrows a riff from some jazz tune of the period (Gillespie?) but I can't quite place it. Leave the Damn Doctor is about the politics ("Doctor" is Dr. Eric Williams, trinidadian prime minister at the time, whom Sparrow supported). Cowboy Melo is a swipe at a famous calypsonian Lord Melody in the tradition of "calypso wars" (an equivalent of today's freestyle rap battle).


REUP: mediafire
192 kbps, 56 mb
1. Lulu
2. Keep The City Clean
3. Cowboy Melo
4. Maria
5. Charlie
6. Leave The Dam Doctor
7. Monica Doo Doo
8. May May
9. Benwood Dick
10. Raphaela

Here's a Lord Kitch / Sparrow split with their greatest songs. Jean and Dinah is the Sparrow's first hit that won him the calypso crown in 1956.


Mighty Sparrow / Lord Kitchener - 16 Carnival Hits
REUP: mediafire
160 kbps, 74 mb
1. Jean & Dinah (Mighty Sparrow)
2. Pay As You Earn (Mighty Sparrow)
3. May May (Mighty Sparrow)
4. Royal Jail (Mighty Sparrow)
5. The Road (Lord Kitchener)
6. Mama Dis Is Mas (Lord Kitchener)
7. My Pussin (Lord Kitchener)
8. Obeah Wedding (Mighty Sparrow)
9. Sixty Seven (Lord Kitchener)
10. Miss Tourist (Lord Kitchener)
11. Sa Sa Yea (Mighty Sparrow)
12. Margie (Lord Kitchener)
13. Mas In Madison Square Gardens (Lord Kitchener)
14. Drunk & Disorderly (Mighty Sparrow)
15. Rain-o-Rama (Lord Kitchener)
16. Tribute To Spree Simon (Lord Kitchener)