I'm excited. I've been sent a compilation of Blind Blake by Stone Immaculate PR in the UK. No, he's not the one you're thinking of, he's the other Blind Blake, the one was the singer and leader of the house band at the Royal Victoria Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas from the Thirties to the Sixties.
He performed to heads of state (JFK, Harold MacMillan), but we don't hold that against him. Mahalia Jackson, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington praised his distinctive style, and that we do appreciate. Peer approval from folk we respect.
This new collection, Bahamian Songs, recorded in the Fifties for the ART label, has a genuine West Indies roots feel. Apparently. The music is a blend of folksong, calypso and early jazz. Apparently. I throw in these caveats because I haven't listened to the CD yet (last I tried, Isaac was too busy appreciating Play School ditties about buckling up for me to intrude)...but man, what with titles like 'Watermelon Spoilin' On The Vine' and 'Lord Got Tomatoes', can you blame me for being excited? I freakin' love old school Fifties West Indian calypso.
I ain't been looking forward to hearing something like this since the last Dust-To-Digital compilation....
I'm listening to this right now! Also really been digging this on Honest Jon's
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It's calypso from West Africa, so there's a touch of highlife/palm wine to it too. It's beautiful stuff, less polished than classic calypso.
[...] In constant rotation on the borrowed CD-player at True Manors are Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Blind Blake and Teenage: The Creation Of Youth [...]
ReplyDelete[...] better – the original of ‘Sloop John B’ by the incredible Bahamian calypso singer Blind Blake. Not 60s, but fuck it. Who’s making the rules around [...]
ReplyDelete[...] 2:02 Hunting tigers Out In india (Yah) – Hal Swain & his Band 2:49 John B. Sail – Blind Blake and the Royal Victoria Hotel Calypsos 2:57 Keeping It Clean – The Songs 2:27 Les Bicyclettes De Belsize – Les Reed 3:05 [...]
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