Stanley
Beckford
Plays
Mento
2002
Tracks:
1. Big Bamboo
2. Hold My Hand
3. Rich Man
4. Broom Weed
5. Dip Dem Jah Jah
6. Guava Jelly
7. Three Little Birds
8. Kisiloo
9. Brown Gal
10. Soldering
11. Fi Mi Gal
12. Hold Him Joe
13. One Love
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This is a good example of the way things used to be. Stanley has captured the essence of roots going right back to the early Mento style of Jamaican music. Its like a Jamaican country music with very basic instruments Like banjo,acoustic guitar,clarinet, shakers and of course the instrument that holds it all together the rhumba box. Stanley's nazal vocals bring it all together for an ensamble that is truely pure musical pleasure, its like an orgasm of the ears. Stanley does three covers From the late great Bob Marley which are really well done. I highly recommend this album for all lovers of music.
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Mento is often confused with
calypso, a musical form from
Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. In part, the differences stem from the differing colonial histories of the two
West Indian Islands, as Jamaican music lacks the
Spanish influences found in other
Caribbean musical styles.
Mento draws on musical traditions brought over by
African slaves. The influence of European music is also strong, as slaves who could play musical instruments were often required to play music for their masters. They subsequently incorporated some elements of these traditions into their own
folk music. The lyrics of mento songs often deal with aspects of everyday life in a light-hearted and humorous way. Many comment on poverty, poor housing and other social issues. Thinly-veiled sexual references and
innuendo are also common themes. Although the treatment of such subjects in mento is comparatively innocent, their appearance has sometimes been seen as a precursor of the
slackness found in modern
dancehall.
Major 1950s mento recording artists include Louise Bennett, Count Lasher, Harold Richardson, Lord Flea, Lord Fly, Alerth Bedasse with Chin's Calypso Sextet, Laurel Aitken, Denzil Laing, Lord Composer, Lord Lebby, Lord Power, Hubert Porter, and New Yorker of Jamaican origin
Harry Belafonte, whose massive hit records in 1956-1958, including "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" and "Jamaica Farewell" were really mento songs sold as calypso. Previously recorded Jamaican versions of many Belafonte's classic "calypso" hits can be heard on the Jamaica - Mento 1951-1958 CD released in 2010.
The golden age of mento was the 1950s, as records pressed by Stanley Motta, Ivan Chin, Ken Khouri and others brought the music to a new audience. In the 1960s it was overshadowed by
ska and reggae, but it is still played in Jamaica, especially in areas frequented by tourists.
Lloyd Bradley, reggae historian and author of seminal reggae book Bass Culture said that he felt Lee “Scratch” Perry’s 1976 album ‘Super Ape’ contained some of the purest mento influences he knew. It was repopularized by the
Jolly Boys in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the release of four recordings on
First Warning Records/
Rykodisc and a tour that included the
United States. Stanley Beckford and Gilzene and the Blue Light Mento Band also revived rural mento in the 2000s.
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