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artist.....: Shadow
album......: Sweet Sweet Dreams
year.......: 2016
label......: Analog Africa
AALP082
source.....: WEB
moodswing..: Reggae
releasesize: 97.31 MB
tracks.....: 07
length.....: 42:27
encoder....: LAME
quality....: 320kbps
scenealized: 12.15.2016
It's November 5th, 2106. The generally
crackly phone connection between Dublin
and Port-of-Spain, the capital city of
Trinidad and Tobago, was as good as I'd
expected it would be. I'd finally
managed to 'hook' the legendary Shadow
- also known as Mighty Shadow - whose
very first sentence in a thick
Trinidadian accent was; 'I take my
guitar and strum and sing some tings
and blow people's mind. But I ain't
trying to do anybody's music. I'm doing
what I feel'.
When it came out in 1984 the far-out
album Sweet Sweet Dreams by Trinidad &
Tobago's Shadow (aka Winston Bailey)
was described as 'way ahead of its
time'. Undeservedly it was panned by
critics and, unable to reach markets,
disappeared into the dusty record
collections of a few music aficionados.
Now, more than three decades later that
cosmic dance-floor UFO is about to take
off again, change all that and set the
record straight. Remastered and cut by
Frank Meritt at The Carvery the album
is truly a masterpiece.
But who is this Shadow behind Sweet
Sweet Dreams? Shadow is a man of
understated magnitude. A truly
enigmatic artist, he first emerged in
Trinidad and Tobago during the 1970s,
becoming a part of the tapestry of
Caribbean music and reinvigorating
calypso at the time. Calypso, the
indigenous folk music of Trinidad and
Tobago, has roots in West African kaiso
rhythms, French Creole influences, and
the hardships endured by the African
slaves brought to Trinbago, whose
descendants still use it as a tool for
satire, self-expression, and social
commentary. Calypso has also given
birth to several other music genres,
including soca, with its uptempo beats
and festival context. Shadow
effortlessly moves between both.
Shadow came from a humble but musical
family and started writing songs as a
youth while tending cattle in the
fields. To his family's initial chagrin
he chose calypso over church music but
his talent and drive were undeniable.
In the early days of his career
Shadow's style was cramped when working
with some of the more conservative
music arrangers who felt that calypso
and soca should fit a mould. But after
a while Shadow teamed up with more
innovative arrangers, including Arthur
'Art'de Coteau, who followed their and
Shadow's intuitions resulting in a long
line of hits.
ôThe first time we met for me to
arrange his music we had a heated
argument on the arrangement for one of
his songs; I was theoretically correct
but Shadow was musically right. Shadow
broke all the traditional musical rules
and made his own and that made him a
musical giant. He changed the face of
Calypso music in 1974 with the release
of "Bassman" a tune in which Bass and
magnificent horn line took central
stage changing Soca music for ever.
What Shadow did with his music was to
put calypso on the International Dance
circuit, giving it a totally different
groove. You could take his music and
swing it in any direction; Disco, Pop,
Calypso, you name it. His music was
different from anything that existed
beforeö. - Carl "Beaver" Henderson,
one of Trinidad's veteran producers.
This inert creativeness culminated in
Sweet Sweet Dreams which was arranged
by Shadow and deals with burning and
ever-relevant themes like love and the
ups and downs of relationships. a
surprising fact for someone mainly
known for his satirical and political
lyrics. It prompted his manager to
wonder if Shadow had written the lyrics
while in a state of "tabanca" (a word
used in Trinidad and Tobago to describe
lovesickness).
Sweet Sweet Dreams was recorded at the
legendary SHARC studios, located on a
hill in Chaguaramas (near Port of
Spain) and despite a fantastic sound
and monster Soca-boogie tunes like
"Lets get it together", "Lets Make it
Up" and "Way, Way Out" the album was a
commercial flop, probably due to the
fact that it didn't sound like anything
else coming out of Trinidad & Tobago at
the time: It fused a range of different
rhythms and new sounds, primarily heavy
synth riffs.
Shadow took the album's lack of success
in his stride with usual aplomb:
'When I did Sweet Dreams I expect
something could happen. But nothing big
happen because I have no big market and
no distribution and all this thing now.
So I just cool myself and move on to
another song. I wasn't doing just one
song. I used to always have plenty
songs at the one time. And be writing
music'.
What Shadow didn't realise back then
was that the proto-electronic cocktail
he had mixed in 1984 would only find
the recognition it deserved three
decades later. Life has swung full
circle: Sweet Sweet Dreams has come
true and been elevated to holy grail
status becoming one of the most
sought-after Caribbean disco records in
existence. Asked about this turn around
Shadow mused 'I'm trying to understand
that part. A lot of people ask me for
it over a few years now. But I never
give anybody it. That music wasn't for
then. It's for now'.
For this re-release we carried out
extensive interviews with Shadow and
the musicians and have included as
bonuses exclusive photos from Shadow's
personal collection.
As a bonus track we've added none other
then Shadow┤s most sought after
dancefloor track - the monstruous
Soca-Boggie dancefloor filler tune
"D'Hardest" (12" Version)
Long live the "The King from Hell" !
Url:https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/a
lbum/sweet-sweet-dreams
NB: Download with the LP order.. Enjoy
this beauty.. Oh, and i tagged it
reggae, fits better than other i
suppose.
psst, more info at analogafrica.bandcamp.com
01 Let's Make it Up 06:09
02 Let's Get it Together 06:27
03 Dreaming 07:05
04 Moon Walking 05:46
05 Without Love 04:48
06 Way, Way Out 04:36
07 D'hardest (12' Version Bonus Track) 07:36