Flabbergasted Freeform Radio Hour # 8

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FLABBERGASTED FREEFORM No.8
April 2014

Well it’s about time for another podcast.  I hope you enjoy it.  You can listen to it on either Mixcloud , or get yourself a direct download from these links.

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Playlist

Lord Nelson – Garrot Bounce
Alejandro Duran – Cumbia Costeña
Latin Fever – Chirrin Chirran
Sly and The Family Stone – Jigsaw Puzzle
Chubby Checker – Gypsy
Gabor Szabo – Theme From Valley Of The Dolls
Shorty Rogers and His Giants – Chega de Saudade
João
Gilberto, Miúcha, and Stan Getz – Isáura
Conjunto
Ajiruteua De Marapanim – Da Cacaia
Blue Mitchell – Flat Backing

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Nelson Sargento – Primavera
James Moody – You Got To Pay
Paco de
Lucia – Quizás, quizás, quizás
Jackson do
Pandeiro – Nortista quatrocentão
Raul Seixas, Sergio Sampaio, Edy Star – Quero Ir
Isaac  Hayes –
Chocolate Chip
Alberta Hunter – Sugar
Prince Buster – Don’t Throw Stones (or Rude Rude Rudie)
Olodum –
Vinheta Cuba-Brasil
The J.B.s – The Grunt Pt. 1
Golden Gate Quartet – Same Train
Som Três – Oh Happy Day
Maysa – Quizás, quizás, quizás
Ijahman Levi – Are We A Warrior

in 320 

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Sparrow – Sparrow Vs. The Rest (1976)

Sparrow
Sparrow vs. The Rest
1976 Dynamic (DYLP 3001)

A1         How You Jammin’ So     4:50
A2         Music & Rhythm     4:00
A3         Saltfish     3:05
A4         Witch Doctor     4:15
A5         My Woman     3:10
B1         Fatman     4:10
B2         The Statue     4:45
B3         Pan Jam Fete     4:25
B4         We Kinda Music     4:05

Produced by Slinger Francisco
Arranged By – U. Belfast & Slinger Francisco
Backing Band –  The Troubadours
Photography – Aston Chin, Howard Moo Young
Recording engiener – N. Case
Remixed by B.Lee
Mastered by G. Goodhall
Album design – Moo Young / Butler Associates Ltd.

Recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios, 15 Bell Road, Kingston 11
to C. Wear and J. Francique, special thanks from The Dragonaires

Manufactures by Creole Records, London

Vinyl; Pro-Ject RM-5SE turntable (with Sumiko Blue Point 2 cartridge, Speedbox power supply); Creek Audio OBH-15; M-Audio Audiophile 192 Soundcard ; Adobe Audition at 32-bit float 192khz; Click Repair; individual clicks and pops taken out with Adobe Audition 3.0 – dithered and resampled using iZotope RX Advanced (for 16-bit). Tags done with Foobar 2000 and Tag and Rename.

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Well it is too late for Notting Hill Carnival but not too late to still enjoy some calypso!

Sparrow aka Mighty Sparrow aka Slinger Francisco (with a real name like Slinger Francsico, why do you even need a stage name??) has been one of the kings of calypso music for half a century.  Although he is known for political songs too (see Capitalism Gone Mad for a great example) he is probably most famous for ribald, raunchy double entendre songs like Big Bamboo (which I’m not entirely sure if he wrote, but he definitely made famous).  This album has no political songs but a few choice cuts from the latter category, like Salt Fish and Fat Man.  Some songs just celebrate the power of good music (Music And Rhythm) and one celebrates the Afro-Caribbean folk religion of Obeah, albeit it tongue and cheek, the wickedly glorious “Witchdoctor.”   This record is also probably one of his last 1970s records of straight calypso music as he transitioned into also singing the popular Soca style, at which he is also fantastic.   His band The Dragonairres are in top form and the horn arrangements are especially great.

This album has been at the front of the stacks for a long time before I finally got around to this blog post – here’s hoping that I manage to post a couple more Sparrow albums sooner rather than later.  In fact this particular LP was a gift from the lovely Bertha Xique-Xique, to whom I owe much inspiration.  Have you noticed that this is also one of the most bad-ass album covers ever?

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Panama! Latin, Calypso and Funk on the Isthmus 1965-75 (2006)

From ‘Dusted’ online magazine
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One might guess that Panama’s strategic geographic location between continents, cultures, oceans and seas would contribute to a local music flowing with varied streams of influence. Proof of such a supposition can be found on this engaging collection. Focusing on the fecund 1960s and ’70s, Panama! reveals an effusion of hot and cool grooves that draw from various blends of indigenous styles and rhythms, Afro-Latin jazz, and funky American soul.

The collection begins in high style with strong descarga-style blowing by sax-man Jose “Chomba” Silva on Los Exagerados’s “Panama Esta Bueno Y Ma.” With a big-but-gentle Sonny Rollins tone, Silva lays down lines that dance with the rhythmic facility of Antillean Beguine. Rafael Labasta adds searing, stratospheric Cuban-style trumpet to the dialed-in montuno laid down by piano, upright bass and percussion. It’s Latin jazz with a few surprising – and very appealing – twists. (The Afro-Cuban/Puerto Rican/Salsa continuum was obviously beloved in Panama during those decades, and related approaches show up on many of the tracks collected here.)

There are other directions represented, too, including the sort of soul-funk workouts exemplified by the likes of The Exciters, Los Fabulosos Festivals, and Los Mozambiques. Here we are treated to some ripping, heavily-effected guitars to go along with a distinctively Latin/Caribbean poly-rhythmic spin on funk and rock, and, perhaps best of all, some compelling and soulful Spanish-inflected vocals that are quite unlike anything else in the Afro-Latin Diaspora. There’s a certain accent and timbral warmth in these vocal tones that seems unique to the region.

Papi Brandau Y Sus Ejecutivos’s “Viva Panama” offers up a taste of the accordion-driven cumbia that is the music of the nation’s interior, and it also features some fine vocals, in this case a mix of male and female voices with a definite country tinge.

The collection also opens up what might be a whole new direction worthy of exploration: Panamanian calypso and mento. Los Silvertones’s “Old Buzzard” is a smooth mento with sweet, skipping high-life horns, elegant vocals, and a little taste of charanga flute. And sung in a rasping, story-telling style over rippling string band accompaniment, Lord Cobra’s reading of the Calypso classic “Rocombey” is an attention-getting tale of love and Voodoo .

As musically engaging as Panama! is, its overall appeal is enhanced by excellent liner notes. Roberto Ernesto Gyemant does a fine job of setting up the cultural and musical contexts of the records he and label honcho Miles Cleret selected. Even better, he tells some good stories about his own connections and how his quest turned up some interesting sources, conveying with passion and honesty the way his own heart led him to the heart of this not-so-well-known music. For those seeking “new” sounds in vintage Afro-Latin music, Panama! might well be one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

By Kevin Macneil Brown

 

This is an exceptional compilation from my favorite traffickers in rare grooves, Soundway Records. This one has inspired a second volume (which I don’t have), that’s how good it is! It’s hard for me to say much more than the Dusted review above, in all truth.

I swear the tune “The Exciters Theme” by The Exciters here made it onto a soundtrack somewhere, $5 to anyone who can clear that up for me.. Two of my favorite tracks on this are from The Exciters actually. Aside from the tunes, the liner notes are really something special. As mentioned in the review above, they are both personal and informative. Written by Roberto Ernesto Gyemont, they contextualize the music historically and culturally and in a very flowing and readable style. I *highly* encourage everyone who grabs this to take the time to read them, as it’s not everyday you come across this amazing combination of words, music, and also rare photos in a compilation like this. The sound is also excellent, surpassing much of the rare African material on other Soundway compilations. (This is not a criticism — a great deal of Soundway’s material is extremely rare and sourced from the best vinyl available, which often is not in perfect shape….). I have yet to come across a Soundways comp that isn’t worth getting hold of, and this is one of the best they’ve done.

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