Review
Gone, Gone,
Gone, could today, be aptly re-titled Coming, Coming, Coming for its
prescience. Shorty laments the local preference for foreign music at
the time of the recording (circa 1972) and ironically, he too
dabbles in it on the same album. That, and the many messages in this
recording's short playing time - unintended pun - is
characteristically Shorty and examples of the experimentation that
was taking place musically.
Bajan Girl an unmistakable calypso love song is followed by
an Isaac Hayes sounding introduction to Loving You. The
Memphis soul sound is enhanced with a calypso type scat; but it is
soul music, as is This Song which has Otis Redding and Percy
Sledge stylings. Even I Who Have Nothing, which starts with a
calypso beat, succumbs to the contemporary soul style and electronic
gimmicks.
Shorty the innovator is inimitable in Bajan Girl, Soul Calypso
Music, The Art Of Making Love, and Indrani which
is plunked in the middle of Medley. The latter is a reprise at the
end of the CD of some of its earlier tracks, most likely added to
extend the CD recording.
The confusion, or extreme self confidence, surrounding the lack of
"cultural consciousness" as Shorty calls the paucity of support for
calypso music is remarkably obvious today. On the 40th Anniversary
of T & T Independence it is garishly manifest.
My first listen to Gone, Gone, Gone is on the same day that I read
that the Army band played a foreign song in the 40th Anniversary
Independence parade. It must be Trini self confidence at work in
this strange scenario. Perhaps Shorty, and others, are overly
pessimistic about how embedded is their local music in the local
psyche. How else can one open-mindedly reconcile the big, private
promotion of a hip hop artiste concert and the Army band playing a
rendition of an American based composition on Independence Day.
Gone, Gone, Gone also reminds its listener that today's technology
not only gives life to a "Collector's Item" as the CD cover
proclaims but is unforgiving to technical flaws evident in the
editing. Preserving the masters' work should be done well now, now,
now. [eCaroh/Ron] |