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| Poll: Which album is your favorite? Please listen to all ten before voting. |
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| Encore: Unheard Recordings Of Bahamian Guitar And Singing by Joseph Spence |
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0% |
[0] |
| Blow 'Way by Lancelot Layne |
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0% |
[0] |
| Creole Songs Of Haiti by Emerante De Pradines & Michele Dejean Group |
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0% |
[0] |
| Exuma by Exuma |
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100% |
[1] |
| Comienzo El Día by Noel Nicola |
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0% |
[0] |
| Sufferer Sounds by Dennis Bovell |
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0% |
[0] |
| Antillean Music: Jacobo Palm Toká Pa Robert Rojer by Robert Rojer |
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0% |
[0] |
| Sings Calypsos (With And Without Social Significance) by Lord Kitchener |
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0% |
[0] |
| El Inigualable by Benny Moré |
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0% |
[0] |
| Haitian Dances by Frantz Casseus |
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0% |
[0] |
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| Total Votes : 1 |
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| Author |
Message |
baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash
Age: 31
Location: Massachusetts 
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash
Age: 31
Location: Massachusetts
- #2
- Posted: 12/02/2025 04:07
- Post subject:
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PSA, the version of Blow 'Way on streaming is a full hour longer than the original we're listening to for this project, so feel free to skip the extra 11 tracks on the reissue. Unfortunately the order is all jumbled up, so making a playlist might be necessary.
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Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
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- #3
- Posted: 12/02/2025 09:46
- Post subject:
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Here's the playlist for Blow 'Way.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5w8F4oKf2fnHfbRWdhbBwf?si=2d3cfd5cf9814e0d
Encore is a really solid, unique take on acoustic blues with Carribean influences. Liked it a lot, it landed on my 2021 chart. Spence is such a weirdly charismatic vocalist and guitarist.
| Bandcamp wrote: | | 'Encore' is a new album produced from previously unheard archival recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence, made in 1965 at the height of his career. Spence’s radically innovative guitar style transformed elements of Bahamian traditional music into adventurous, joyful improvisations and influenced players worldwide. His powerful singing stemmed directly from the rhyming tradition created by Bahamian sponge fishermen early in the 20th century. The music is punctuated by Spence’s unique, sometimes otherworldly vocalizations including humming, short bursts of lyrics, and near-scat singing. Some of the recordings include singing by Spence’s sister Edith Pinder and her family members Raymond and Geneva Pinder. Producer Peter K. Siegel captured these performances at Spence’s only New York concert, at the performer’s cottage in Nassau, Bahamas, and at Siegel’s apartment in Manhattan. |
Blow ’Way deserves another listen, but my feelings about the compilation are mixed. It’s bloated even in the shortened version, and some of the songs don’t do much for me. On the other hand, the highs are incredible, and I like having a full overview of someone’s career, activism, and life through a compilation like this, even if some of the songs aren’t all that great (imo). Layne kickstarted the Rapso genre and social movement, and I absolutely love the idea of combining poetry, spoken word, protest lyricism, and an almost proto-rap or Jamaican deejay-like approach with the Trinidadian and Caribbean styles of calypso, soca, and folk, as well as American soul and funk. (Although deejay and hip hop cultures come from different backgrounds than Layne, but it's still fun to see some of the same ideas used in different musical context across the world). The album is way cooler than it is actually good, at least based on my first impression.
As a side note, I’ve heard of Lancelot Layne before, and I’ve probably even played a few of the songs, but I cannot for the life of me remember when or why. The only other band I've heard of before is (predictably) Exuma, a personal fave. Fantastic top 10, another masterful Hayden chart and I'm very much looking forward to the other 7 picks.
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Overall chart
Fake overall chart
2020s
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Hayden
Location: Vietnam 
- #4
- Posted: 12/02/2025 16:35
- Post subject:
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| baystateoftheart wrote: | | PSA, the version of Blow 'Way on streaming is a full hour longer than the original we're listening to for this project, so feel free to skip the extra 11 tracks on the reissue. Unfortunately the order is all jumbled up, so making a playlist might be necessary. |
Thanks for the note Baystate— don't want people being too intimidated by a 2h+ runtime 😐 — the OG version was on Bandcamp until not too recently... no idea why it was pulled. Suffering was available on streaming quite recently too, and it must have been pulled in the last month or two. If anyone wants a copy though, just PM me. No harm in getting bumped for Frantz Casseus' record though— a classic that deserves its flowers.
Anyway, this is very exciting 🥳 — hoping people enjoy diving into this one — it's fun! It'll be fun! Have fun! Do it! —
I've added country of origin, genre, and runtimes—
— Exuma - Exuma (Bahamas, junkanoo/goombay, 38:41)
— El Inigualable - Benny Moré (Cuba, rumba/bolero, 34:56)
— Antillean Music: Jacobo Palm Toká Pa Robert Rojer - Robert Rojer (Curacao, waltz, 32:37)
— Sings Calypsos (With And Without Social Significance) - Lord Kitchener (Trinidad & Tobago, calypso, 35:00)
— Comienzo El Día - Noel Nicola (Cuba, nueva trova, 31:33)
— Haitian Dances - Frantz Casseus (Haiti, classical, 22:04)
— Creole Songs Of Haiti - Emerante De Pradines & Michele Dejean Group (Haiti, Creole folk, 21:33)
— Encore: Unheard Recordings Of Bahamian Guitar And Singing - Joseph Spence (Bahamas, blues, 34:35)
— Blow 'Way - Lancelot Layne (Trinidad & Tobago, calypso/rapso, 84:08 )
— Sufferer Sounds - Dennis Bovell (Barbados/England, dub, 66:39)
If you've heard zero of these, I'd say 8 of these albums are pretty easy to knock-out, and Blow 'Way and Sufferer Sounds go down pretty smooth if you set aside some time on a Saturday afternoon— somewhere relaxing, course— I've also reordered the albums in the order I think they should be listened to, but that's just a personal rec—
In prep for this, this morning I listened to albums by Beny More and Noel Nicola that I hadn't yet heard 😁 — both were good... strange neither artist quite gets their dues — they epitomize two identifiable sides of the same coin of Cuban music, and they've just never really landed recognition outside of their home country— Noel Nicola's sound in particular is significant to representing the Cuban revolution, and More hit bolero out of the park— hoping everyone here enjoys those two—
Exuma is Exuma. He is the Obeah man. There's a song on this album called You Don't Know What's Going On, which is about how you don't know what's going on. Exuma knows though. He is the Obeah man. Playing Dambala and Mama Loi, Papa Loi on hi-fi speakers just to feel how colossal the mix on the kick is is also very recommended. Mama Loi, Papa Loi is a gem. Never understood why it's underappreciated. Might be the best track here—
Just a quick note on the Robert Rojer record— it's waltz from Curacao, written by Jacobo Palm, another Curacaoan— and it's lovely— go listen to a waltz record— how little we ever do that... why not?—
Selecting the calypso cut to make the top 10 was difficult— there are some great, maybe more obvious, classic picks from Wilmoth Houdini, Mighty Sparrow, Lord Melody, Lord Invader, etc— but this somewhat unassuming early 70s record by Lord Kitchener (give-or-take 15 albums deep into his career) immediately stood out to me as a showcase of the genre— it's a great record musically and lyrically, which always differentiates itself from the weight of reggae's influence at the time— yet as funny, raunchy and bold as he can be, it also manages to be a quiet and sophisticated record— When A Man Is Poor has this post-colonial cafe-in-the-rain atmosphere, and Piccadilly Folks is somewhat likewise— I think he just wanted to be heard a little differently on this one. Now, won't lie, I'd love to remaster the entire thing. The existing recordings aren't the best mix or quality in the world (it does somewhat come across like it was recorded 10 years prior to when it was), but I hope that adds to a bit of the charm— I feel it's a record that can take you elsewhere, and an easy rec for people who haven't ever clicked with calypso—
When I was doing my deep dive on the blues— primarily digging in the USA (99%), focusing on the delta, some Chicago, piedmont, etc— of which, I still do, and in the past five or so years it remains by go-to whenever I play guitar— I couldn't shake this one guy... Joseph Spence— the one dude outside the USA who seemed to understand the blues just as well as any legend from Mississippi— yet, by all means, examine how he's playing— chart it, learn the structure, scales, etc— as familiar as it sounds, with undertones of delta blues and calypso, he's doing blues in a way nobody else had done, nor has done since— give the man one bar, and you know it's him— gutturally frog-like often intelligible mumble-humming over what near sounds like two guitars at the same time, finishing a line, not finishing a line, not caring if the line is finished, you know how the line ends, just listen to another lick, etc— also, it's December, so remember, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town— over the years, Spence has become one of my favourite recording artists, and I'm thankful for every drop on wax we got from him—
Dennis Bovell is someone the world should know just a little bit more about than we currently do. You might know him as Blackbeard— he produced all the works of Linton Kwesi Johnson's prime— and had a phenomenal sound when he was producing in the mid-70s to mid-80s— but he just never quite broke through with a smash record— luckily, recently, we now have this great comp highlighting his career, and Game Of Dubs with Janet Kay is an exceptional stand-out— production's ace everywhere—
The two Haitian records are staples of the country. The Casseus record is a very easy, enjoyable listen that should appeal to practically everyone, but I have a feeling the album on the board that will be enjoyed the least will be Creole Songs Of Haiti, which is not an album with universal appeal. However, it acts as a document, and an invaluable one—
&, as always, if you like these, dive further past the top 10 😁 — Puerto Rico & Guadeloupe as just around the corner!
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Doubles & Conch
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash
Age: 31
Location: Massachusetts
- #5
- Posted: 17 hours ago
- Post subject:
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I've been listening in the prescribed order and I'm through the first four so far.
The only record I already knew on this chart is Exuma, which is just an incredible, otherworldly, mystical album. Apocalyptic and occult but also warm and inviting. Amazing vocally, lyrically, and instrumentally. It only grew on me this time, and it's perhaps only one or two listens away from breaking into my overall chart. 85/100.
The Beny Moré album is great, tons of fun to listen to. It really creates a tropical vibe and transports you musically. Apparently there's no jazz here exactly but it does have a jazzy feel. Makes me want to check out more from these genres. 75/100.
I wasn't expecting to like an album of piano waltzes and mazurkas so much, but it was surprisingly enjoyable and beautiful. It's interesting to hear classical music with a Caribbean flavor. 70/100.
Calypso is a really fun genre, and I quite enjoyed the Lord Kitchener record. Overall I prefer the songs with social significance to those without, and the double entendre songs are clever too. But sometimes the music is too driven by the humor for my taste. 70/100.
_________________
Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
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