Name: Mighty Sparrow
Albums: Hotter Than Ever~
Knock Dem Down*
Years: 1972~
1973*
Style: Calypso, Island
Similar Bands: Harry Belafonte, Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener, Tom Jones
"One Word" Review: Non-stop shuffling-gameshow themes.
Based Out Of: Trinidad
Label: RA (Recording Artists)
~Hotter Than Ever - Cover & Record
~Hotter Than Ever - Back & Record
*Knock Dem Down - Cover & Record
*Knock Dem Down - Back & Record
~Hotter Than Ever (1972)
- Rope 3:45
- Toronto Mas 2:53
- Winer Girl 3:30
- Woom Poom 3:45
- Drunk & Disorderly 4:15 /
- Miss Ruby 3:54
- More Cock 3:43
- Melody 72 3:24
- No Love 4:03
- Donkey Can't Wine 3:38
*Knock Dem Down (1973)
- Priest 4:21
- Leggo Me Stick 4:22
- Lion & Donkey 3:04
- Brenda 4:29
- Trinidad Woman 4:58/
- Miss Mary 3:45
- Carnival Venders 4:56
- Funky Carnival 4:21
- No Future 3:34
- Bad Johns 4:27
Album Rating (1-10):~6.0
*5.5
Members & Other Bands:
Slinger Francisco (Mighty Sparrow) - Vocals, Composition, Musical Director, ~Arrangement
Sparrow's Calypso Troubadours - Musical Accompaniment
~A. Seaton - Vocal Accompaniment
~D. Hector - Vocal Accompaniment, Congas
~Ed Watson - Organ
~R. Bacchus - Drums
~N. Sampson - Trumpet
~M. Jarvis - Trumpet
~C.Lynch - Cowbell
~H. Jackson - Lead Guitar
~J. Bethel - Alto Sax
~H. Prince - Alto Sax
~N. Gill - Trombone
Earl Rodney - Arranger, ~Bass
Henry De Freitas - *Executive Producer, ~Assistant Engineer, Supervision
~Byron Lee - Recording Engineer
*Key Caribbean Productions - Graphics
~Asquith Clarke - Piano
Unknown-ness: I had never heard
of this artist before. Furthermore, I picked up both albums on different
occasions, forgetting I had the first one. I believe I purchased Knock Dem Down
first, and figured it would be some fun steel drum, Caribbean music (obvious by
the cover’s ‘superstar’ statement), and the second one, I thought would be some
soulful R&B, maybe even a little poppy too, with the psychedelic backdrop
to the dancer. So I am hoping it is somewhere between the two, but what do I
know (not much, apparently).
Album Review: So apparently,
The Mighty Sparrow, or Sparrow as he goes by on these albums, or Dr. Slinger
Francisco (a freaking amazing stage name, in its own right), is a majorly well-known
Calypso artist spanning a career beginning back in 1949 through to today, even
performing in Brooklyn last Jan 2014, despite being in poor health (having been
in a 2 week coma 4 months earlier). Known as the Calypso King of the World, his
title accurately explains what style of music he produces. He was not popular
in the US until the 70’s and while immensely popular in Trinidad, he recorded an
average 2 albums a year from 1960-1979.
“Rope” sounds
like game show music at the intro, and perhaps that’s just my lack of
understanding calypso music in general, and having a fondness for The Price Is
Right and Let’s Make A Deal. Loungey dancable strings, a funky bass, and a
dense percussive sound of shuffling metal bells. The vocals are smooth, bold
and confident, yet playful. My naivety and inexperience with the style only
draws a couple of comparisons to the likes of “Jump in the Line,” the Chiquita
banana commercials, or the spin-a-round section of the roller rink standard,
the Chicken Dance.
“Toronto Mas” continues
the lively flair, and features vocals that are a bit more rushed. The sax and
horns are more prevalent on this song. In a live setting, I have no doubt that
the continuing shuffle tempo keeps limbs moving and the crowd dancing, and is
as infectious as tropical drinks.
“Winer Girl”
carries the whole wood block, organ/keyboard, rhythm guitar steady skipping
organic beat. Further with horns standing out again, and a rising and falling
of emotion in the chorus vocals. The vocals balance out in the verse.
“Woom Poom”
sounds similar to Rope, with the soaring game show style themes. The vocals
have a slight echoing, distant effect employed. The vocal syllables don’t match
up perfectly with the music’s tempo, in a Sinatra sort of way. The energy
behind the vocals in bursts reminds me of the little I know about Tom Jones.
“Drunk &
Disorderly” is a little looser of a melody, although the background percussion
does not quit. The chorus is a harmonized group of vocals singing along with
the lead, and supporting when they diverge in directions. It has classic lines
like: “A Hungry man is an angry man, but a drunk man is a happy man.” “Every
weekend I’m in jail” “Drunk and Disorderly / with Friends and Family.” Some low
impact words to live by.
“Miss Ruby” is
just a continuation of the party on side two. The vocals have some surprise
rises and falls in pitch, but despite that, the song is presented in a nice
looping, repetitive template. And the lyrics include the solid rhyming
derogatory word for a woman, which is not used as much anymore “Wench.”
“More Cock” does
not divert from the percussive tempo, but the horns introduce the dancing
melody. The song features a chorus of call and response between the lead, and a
multi-voice chorus of lines that rhyme with “More Cock.” The following melody
mimics the chorus minus the lyrics. I’m not 100% sure what if the title refers
to a bird or another man, because one line talks about killing the cock.
“Melody 72” has a
rolling vocal melody over the familiar calypso melody and rhythm. It has the
same choppy pace of “Jump in the Line,” and at times it feels like it could
flow right into the song.
“No Love” is not
much different, and again sounds like Love Connection is about to start. The
vocals are sung slowly, with emphasis on clarity of syllable. But the sentiment
of the song is about the state of argument and fighting with races and society.
It is a nice story song that is interesting to follow along with and has a
moral in the end: even if that message involves belief in a “lord above.”
“Donkey Can't
Wine” not much else can be said here, it kinda feels like a They Might Be
Giants song as the exit bridge from the chorus builds. It also sounds like the
sax is played to recreate a donkey braying at times too. But the melody, like
the rest of the album, always returns back to the starting note of the linear
melody. There is mention in the song of a lion, but it is a different song than
Lion and Donkey in the next album.
“Priest” starts
the album off with a typical calypso shuffling dance melody and it builds to a harmonized
chorus. This song tells a story about a girl going into town to dance and
misbehave. Her daddy is playing Priest, but she ain’t no nun.
“Leggo Me Stick”
is a horn heavy song, but I’m not sure what stick this Rosy character is supposed
to let go of quickly…if it is “adult” in nature, or if it is a drum or limbo
stick for Carnival day. Reminds me a little of Chuck Berry’s My Ding-a-Ling.
But perhaps I’m reading into it too much, and just don’t know the culture. Such
is the nature of these blind reviews.
“Lion &
Donkey” features a very fun melody to trace along with the vocals. The chorus
is sung in a deep harmonized African tribal style, and it pits a donkey and
lion to fight to find the king of the jungle. Obviously the donkey loses, but
is it just a set up? I like the line that the lion rips away the donkey’s
clothes to reveal a naked ass. Clever song.
“Brenda” builds
up and up in pitch right at the beginning of the song. And once the vocals
start, they are begging and pleading for forgiveness, ultimately asking for
Brenda to not go. There is a slight sentimental tone to the vocals, but they don’t
seem too sincere.
“Trinidad Woman”
starts with a gameshow style melody. I know I compare too many songs to this,
but again, there is a bit of the Jump in the Line melody in this song’s chorus.
This connection goes beyond the line Jump in the Water. In the instrumental
breakdown, whistles are used, like it might become a Spanish disco song…even
featuring some wah-wah electric guitars. It just seems out of place for the
previously set template for songs.
“Miss Mary” is
more tribal than Caribbean in the intro drums and percussive cowbell. But then
the horns come in, and the song takes off. The song mentions a Miss Mary, big
and hairy, which does not seem to be complementary. The composition allows for
the different melody making instruments showcase themselves for a few bars
before taking a back seat to the next set.
“Carnival Venders” follows the same pattern of a complete circle for the
melody. The song starts out rising and falling, and coming back to the starting
note, like a perfect rhyme. The instrumental section is a call and response battle
between woodwinds and horns. Apparently vendors at carnival in Trinidad sold
different forms of weed, per the song’s lyrics.
“Funky Carnival”
is a little funkier, as the title states. The tempo is slowed down a little,
and the vocals feature some interesting mutterings and sounds. In the
background it sounds as if there is a large swooping metal bird, which comes
off as a little odd. Also, the lyrics call for old men grabbing young girls at
the festival.
“No Future” is a
slow loungey song. It lays out the problems and reasons the person whom the
song is focusing on might not have a future. It is a light and airy cautionary
tale.
“Bad Johns” ends
the album with a bit more upbeat melody. This features a guitar heavily in the
instrumental section; not usual compared to the rest of the album. The emotion in
the vocals is stronger and bolder than the other songs on this side.
Stand Out Track: ~Rope
*Lion & Donkey
Links:
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