Single Spotlight Long Over Due Leston Paul (self-released) Normal Freetown Collective (self-released) From the arranger who gave the world’s most popular soca song (Arrow’s “Hot, Hot, Hot”) a life of its own comes a new album that runs the gamut from Caribbean soul to smooth jazz to new soca fusion. Long Over Due has a technical gloss and aural sheen that suggest Leston Paul’s production values are on par with the best in the industry anywhere. In a style that can be seen as a Caribbean parallel to Quincy Jones’s during his Back on the Block era, Paul harvests the talents of a number of Trinidadian musicians and singers to the best of their ability to give an overview of the range of music that is celebrated in these islands. From the languid elegance of “Night and Day” to the tongue-in-cheek nod to the classicism of calypso legend Kitchener’s “Pan in A Minor” — complete with faux orchestral strings — to the soulful strut of “Lots of Talk” and “Mt Irvine Beach Jam”, this album is a satisfying exercise in Caribbean music genre fusion.
“Rob the bank normal and buy a Range Rover normal / Lie to the people normal, practice evil normal.” These lyrics, sung by Freetown Collective’s Lou Lyons and Muhammad Muwakil, suggest or possibly reflect a cynical take on life in modern Trinidad and Tobago. A generation born in the 1980s has struggled through the posturing of island politics to render its impressions and observed reality as a ceaseless litany of the agonies and ironies of woeful living for the ninety-nine per cent below the line. Freetown Collective are modern calypsonians unhinged from the melodic template of the past century, but aware of the lyrical tradition. With a trap music production aesthetic, the song’s angst-filled vision generates a head-bopping reaction reminding the listener that, just like calypso, behind every good groove there is a message that takes notice of another side of our local existence. Reviews by Nigel A. Campbell
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