CD Review

"D'Soca Zone 5th Spin"

Various Artists

[VP Records]

Review by Marlon Regis

You’ll have to memorize plenty more melodies than the ones on this D’Soca Zone compilation if you want to become an expert winer at Carnival 2005 in Trinidad. But this is not a bad start, especially as this 5th Spin series starts up with Jamesy P’s smash “Nookie Tonight” that already warmed up many in the Caribbean around Christmas 2004. Sing along now: “tonight I dey ‘pon di huntin’/all over town I now searchin’/somehow I must think of somethin’/tonight I mus’ pick a pumpkin!” Then when that chorus-hook soaks and soothes in after the verse, you're not going to want to dance this soca song solo. The sexiness continues to unfold as Krosfyah featuring Edwin Yearwood drives their sweet “Sugar Cane” forward to all begging for a nice, tall stump to suck. If you think dancehall music can be slack or rude, try island hopping to the other islands that revel in the sensuous themes that showcase the wittiness of double-entendre sayings, creating the pulse and backbone of soca music. Even though the obvious yet not that brilliant attempts by Extreme Band on “Wine on Me,” or Sheldon Douglas’ “Miss Sexy” blatantly duplicate the style and subtle, soulful settings of Kevin Lyttle’s successful songs, the ingredients of mid-tempo, R&B-like soca efforts by Meshach on “Shut Up,” Super P on “Calling For Kim” (try saying this phrase fast) and Troots N’ Ice on “Me Amore” all strengthen this LP’s enjoyment beyond the white sandy beaches and crystal clear coral reefs of the islands.

For pure undiluted soca energy, fans of the fast, waist-wining tunes will still have a handful left to quickly shed some last minute pounds before they bare it all under the sun in the streets of Carnival, building up the necessary stamina required for the 5-day, non-stop, no-sleep partying. Leading the speedy-paced masquerade is Mikey on “Come Together,” while De Blann with Claudette Peters on “Something in de Muzik” and Super P on his “Ivan” tribute take the vibe back to the 1980’s golden soca era of grooves that pump bass lines with the rhythm section, percussion profoundly pushed up front when accompanying it.