Dr. Ring Ding is well known for his versatility as a performer and
producer in the most varied of musical styles. However, a large part of his
heart belongs to the Caribbean sounds of the sixties – including, besides
Jamaican Ska and Rock Steady, the Calypso from Trinidad.
With
Kalipso Times, he covers several preferences and varieties of this genre. Four
tracks that show different facets of the music and the doctor – adequately
presented on ten inch vinyl, topped off with appropriately humorous artwork.
Perky
grooving bass lines, sparkling percussions and glistening horn section, along
with tongue in cheek and sometimes equivocal lyrics. This is music that makes
you feel good and that conjures the carefree joy and the spirit of the
Caribbean Carnival of the good old days.
The
musicians (besides the Doctor himself) are a great bunch of versed musicians:
members of Jazzkantine, the Swiss Reggae band The Scrucialists, Dr. Ring Ding
Ska-Vaganza and, straight from the variety show stages, Götz Alsmann, Markus
Paßlick and Altfrid M. Sicking.
The
great respect for the legendary calypsonian Mighty Sparrow is documented twice
on here. First in the original composition “The Cat And The Rooster”, a song
crafted in the style of the master. Melodically and musically on one hand, but
most of all lyrically on the other: the quarrel between two animals that
symbolizes the battle of the sexes at the same time. Playing with different narrative levels has a
very old tradition in the history of Calypso, and here, it is cultivated
further.
The
other one is a reprise of the Sparrow-classic “Obeah Wedding” from 1966, the
‘Road March’ (most frequently played song in the Trinidadian Carnival) of that
year and still a hit. Here, it is presented with a balladic intermezzo.
The
original Composition “All Because I Love You” is a Reggae-Calypso that can also
be found on the current Ska album of the Doctor (Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza –
Piping Hot). It is written in the tradition of the Jamaican Stanley Beckford,
who gets a ‘hats off’ in the last line of the song.
“The
Needle” is a Reggae version of the tune “Dr. Kitch” by Lord Kitchener, along
with Mighty Sparrow one of the greatest Calypsonians in History. This song from
1964 was already interpreted in a Reggae version by the British Reggae singer
Judge Dread in 1974, here, you get a version with real horns. Dr. Ring Ding has
accompanied Judge Dread as a musician for a few years at his shows in Europe;
ever since he has presented his own version, it stirs some controversy
sometimes…
