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Arrow – Hot Hot Hot (1982) (Arrow Records-019)

Arrow
Hot Hot Hot
1982 Arrow Records ARROW-019

According to my well-placed sources, there was a time where you couldn’t go to a party in the Caribbean without somebody playing this record, or at least the title cut.  Monserrat native and Pillies fan Arrow (Alphonsus Cassell) had been releasing calypso and soca albums since the early 70’s, but most people outside the region will probably know the title track from the tepid “Buster Poindexter” version by David Johansen.  It’s a classic summertime jam, now with year-round appeal as our planet boils toward climate catastrophe and mass species extinction.   (continued below) Arrow – Hot Hot Hot (1982) (Arrow Records-019)

Swallow – Party In Space (1983) (Charlie’s Records SCR 324)

Swallow
 Party In Space
1983 Charlie’s Records SCR 324

 

King Swallow is a famous Antiguan calypso and soca artist, but I confess that I picked up this album for the cover photo of the first Challenger space shuttle launch.  There is a rumor that when NASA became aware of this album, they tried to sue Swallow for the unauthorized use of a Department of Defense image (now in the public domain, you can see the original below).  They reached a settlement in which NASA received a thousand copies of the album and a promise not to do it again.  The copies were distributed to Challenger team members, and allegedly playing the record during launches became a tradition for the next nine missions.  Hence it is very likely that the sounds of “Party In Space” were last things heard by Challenger crew when it exploded a minute after takeoff in 1986.  You can hear it below.  Musically this is solid early-80’s soca.  But like nearly all soca albums, it probably works best if you drop a song here or there in a mix or a playlist.  Otherwise it can get repetitive.  These LPs were built around whatever song the artist was promoting to be a given year’s mas / carnival road march anthem, after all, so filler is nearly inevitable.

Swallow – Party In Space (1983) (Charlie’s Records SCR 324)