Personnel
Produced by: Van Dyke Parks
Arranged by: Van Dyke Parks, The Rev Fr John Sewell, Kenrick Headley
Panmen: Clyde Borde, Winston Callender,
Godfrey Clarke, Keith Davis, Caspar
Durant, Norris George, Allan Gervals,
Linton Harper, Harold Headley, Kenrick
Headley, Michael Kernahan, Stephen
Kinsale, Edward Kinsale, Courtney Leiba,
Gerald Logie, Mervyn Maule, Raymond
Phipps, Frank Shephard, Rufus St Rose, Derrick Timothy,
Lennox Timothy, Knolly Williams
Track List
Apeman (Ray Davies)
If You Let Me Make Love to You Then Why Can't I Touch You?
(B Courtney-P Link)
Ride On Sammy (Ernie Smith)
Simple Calypso (Lord Blakie)
Cecilia (Paul Simon)
I Want You Back (The Corporation)
Sabre Dance (A Khachaturian)
Come To The Sunshine
(Van Dyke Parks)
Erasmus B Black (Slinger Francisco)
If I Had The Wings (Like a Dove) (Traditional)
Singer Man (C Bernard-D Harriott)
Aquarium (Saint-Saëns)
Other Info
Catalogue No: MKY BNR 102
(Originally released in 1971 as Warner Bros LP WS1917)
Art Direction and Photography:
Ed Thrasher
Design: Dave Bhang (Bananastan Reissue Design: Jimmy Hole)
Paradise Found
Click the images below to view the newsletter that was to be included with the original album but not used (each image opens in a new window):
Van Dyke Parks Presents
The Esso Trinidad Steel Band
The legendary 1971 Warner Brothers album produced by Van Dyke Parks now comes with the original sleeve art and includes the classic Calypso recording of the Jackson 5 tune 'I Want You Back' and Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'.
The bonus DVD features the 30-minute 1971 self-titled documentary, a film by Van Dyke Parks and Bud Smith. The film follows the Grammy Award-winning Esso Trinidad Steel Drum Band from Carnival Trinidad through their historic 1971 American tour. Featuring live performances, interviews, and a travelogue from the sunny islands to the snowy American winterscape, follow a tour bus loaded with 23 panmen and 23 steel drums as they travel the roads of the USA.
"This is One Prime Example of Calypso's power. Totally High Octane! Running on Twelve Cylinders! The Esso Trinidad Steel Band is The GOLDEN AGE of Steel Band, a Wide Screen Technicolor." — Van Dyke Parks, from the sleevenotes
"Produced by Van Dyke Parks, the Esso Trinidad Steel Band's self-titled LP is a wonderfully funky collection of calypso-inspired renditions of pop hits like the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' and Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'. The sheer magnitude and intricacy of the steel drumming is astounding. The two-dozen percussionists are like cogs in a colossal machine, each working in perfect harmony with the others and all of them essential to the outcome. Parks' sun-kissed production contributes mightily to the overall party vibe. The music is the tropical fantasia of the collective unconscious." — All Music Guide
"A celebration of the musical culture of the West Indies." — Rolling Stone
"The Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steelband album, with over two dozen men, is the finest steel band recording I've ever heard. It was nominated for a Grammy [ethnic/traditional]. Done 30 IPS, the nuanced timbres reflect a golden age of recording (circa '71)." — Van Dyke Parks
