This album with Jamaican Calypsos, also called ‘mento’,
came to me in a wrong sleeve. I went online and found
the correct sleeve at Discogs. It was a little puzzle to find
the names of the artists but that also fell in place a little
later. What do we have ? 12 songs of which you may
know a couple from Trinidad calypso’s, but this time
done by Jamaican artists. Listen & enjoy ..

Deze plaat, waarop Jamaicaanse calypso, ofwel ‘mento’,
kwam ooit in de verkeerde hoes bij mij terecht. Online
vond ik de juiste omslag bij Discogs. Het was nog even
puzzelen naar de namen van de vertolkers, maar ook dat
kwam uiteindelijk goed. Wat hebben we? 12 nummers
waarvan je er enkele zult kennen uit Trinidad, maar nu
uitgevooerd door Jamaicanan. Luister en huiver ..

Lord Flea, Swinging Calypsos 1957

01 – The Wigglers – Linstead market, Day o
02 – Hubert Porter – Old lady, you mash me toe
03 – The Wigglers – Jamaica mermaid
04 – Lord Lebby – Mama don’t want no peas, no rice, no cocanut oil
05 – Hubert Porter – Ten penny nail
06 – Hubert Porter – Miss goosie
07 – Hubert Porter – Rum and coconut water
08 – Lord Tickler – Limbo like me
09 – Hubert Porter – Man smart, woman smarter
10 – Lord Flea & his Calypsonians – Solas Market , Water come from me eye
11 – Lord Lebby – Dr. kinsey report
12 – Hubert Porter – Mary’s lamb

This is the band of Norman Thomas, better known as Lord Flea.
They were very popular playing in Jamaican nightclubs during
the fifties and moved to the United States of America. While
Trinidadian calypso was upcoming Lord Flea was Capitol’s
trump card, he appeared in tv shows and in films. This
lp was made in 1957, only two years later he was victim
of Hodgkin’s disease and died just 25 years old.
I think this is one of the best mento
albums I ever heard, enjoy..

tracks;

1 Shake shake sonora
2 Shi-du-bi-du-bab
3 Bachelor’s wife
4 I can’t cross over
5 Out de fire
6 Mister, give me de rent
7 Monkey
8 Love
9 Calypso be bop
10 Pretty woman
11 Magic composer
12 Naughty little flea

Track 12, Slide Mongoose, sounds very much like another well
known song. I first heard it as ‘All for you’ by E.T. Mensah,
being Highlife from Ghana. A couple of albums ago we heard Sami
Kamara from Sierra Leone doing it as ‘All for you tete’.
Mento, Calypso and Highlife are very much alike, and with this
song, Sugar Belly demonstrates that fact very nicely.
Although this album is on ‘Port-O-Jam’, we could say it is an
early ‘Studio One’ recording, Clement Coxone Dodd is the man
behind it all.

tracks;

1 Linstead market
2 Wings of a dove
3 River Ben come down
4 Land of sea and sun
5 Soldering
6 Jamaica farewell
7 Archie
8 Rucumbine
9 John Tom
10 Yellow bird
11 My pussin
12 Slide Mongoose