Review
SOCA GOLD Volumes 1-8
These eight volumes take you on a journey through the garden of Soca from the late seventies to the early nineties. If you were old enough to party between, say, 1979 and 1985, this collection will bring back fond memories of revels past. If you weren’t, it will open your ears to a more innocent time in Soca, when the music was less edgy and composers and arrangers like Leston Paul, Winsford Devines, Ed Watson, Art de Coteau and the late Dennis Williams (Merchant) ruled the roost.
With a few exceptions, most everything on Volumes 1-5 can be called a classic. You can also trace the early roots of tendencies such as the Bajan invasion (Ras Iley’s Spring Garden On Fire, Volume Two.) On Volumes 6-8, however, the gems (e.g. Johnny King’s inimitable Wet Me Down, Volume Seven) occasionally rub shoulders with some dubious selections. Most of the tunes are the original versions, though the producers sneak in the occasional cover. Some liner notes would have been nice, too, to provide context and tell (or remind) us when these songs were released. Many of us were too carried away to remember. (GP/eC)
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