SPARROW the outcast LP 1964 calypso National original

$

437

Rare vintage calypso LP featuring The MIGHTY SPARROW on the NATIONAL label, from 1964.

Title is “The Outcast.”  Catalog number is NLP 4199.   Pressed on thick vinyl, label is white with black/red photo logo with wide deep groove.

Track Listing:

Side One:

• The Village Ram
• Mr. Robinson & Lock Joint
• Bunny Grant & Charnley Fight
• Oh Gosh
• The Outcast

Side Two:

• Martin Luther King
• I'll Be Around (Bossa Nova)
• Castro Eating Banana
• You Don't Love Me
• Tour of Jamaica

Review by Eugene Chadbourne

The consistency of this artist is amazing in itself, and then there's the superb arrangement and bandleading from his sidekick Bert Inniss. The sound of the bands and the way they are recorded has the appeal of a plate piled high with steaming delicacies. This album also benefits from one of this genre's best aspects, the topical nature of the lyrics. In itself this might not be enough to make some of the songs into classics of calypso, but that is where the Mighty Sparrow comes in with his droll wit. There are two real masterpieces here, "Martin Luther King" and "Castro Eating Banana." In the former case, one can forget Dion and the maudlin "Abraham, Martin and John," because this is a tribute that won't quit, consisting in effect of a campaign song for a King presidency. The song about Castro is funnier, describing a photograph of the Cuban leader eating a banana and the shocking effect seeing it might have on small children. Other songs deal with local issues that might not mean much to most listeners, such as "Mrs. Robinson and Lock Joint," which deals with a controversy called the "Sewerage Scheme" and has nothing to do with the middle-aged floozy that Simon & Garfunkel sing about. Nonetheless, the singer's delivery and the snappy music will have listeners laughing, even if they don't know at what. "I'll Be Around" is a gentle, swaying bossa nova, extremely well played by the band. Elsewhere these mystery plays provide good sax solos and snippets of jittery percussion. The album is a bit on the short side, but some might overlook that because of the tough, hearty slab of vinyl it is pressed on.

Condition:

record: VG-, some visible surface marks which may cause some noise. Some small marks on the center label.

sleeve: VG, some minor shelf wear and edge wear