[.ca] 2003 Soca Gold (Bonus Cd)

Okay...:
I'm pretty happy with Soca Gold 2003, but I'm curious why Rudder's Trini to De Bone didn't make the list. As popular as that song was at Carnival, I'm surprised it was left off the album. Oh well, all in all, the cd is pretty good. My fave tracks are Display, Soca Bhangra and Ah Home. The first half of the CD is better than the second. I don't care as much for the remixed CD. Honestly, I thought the remix disc sounded just like the first disc. I can't remember what I have at home, I think it's D'Soca Zone and/or Soca Xplosion. Even tho' they're from 02, I think the compilations are better.

Absolute Bangers, Mixed With Mediocrity:
I just started really listening to soca earlier this year, and of course, annually the biggest soca release is the gold album, so I had to pick it up (putting Camille Marshall on the cover didn't hurt too much either). Now I'm Jamaican, by birth, and of course soca has always been around, mostly in the form of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, so I've always had an ear for it, i just never really got into it. All of that being said, i seperate this album into 2 halves. The mediocre half, which is just that, its not bad, its just completely in the middle. Songs like Ride It, by Krosfyah, Dom Perignon by dancehall's TOK, Power Drill by Burning Flames, and the Spanish Mi Droga by Kali, are all mediocre, i can still listen to them, and I even like some of them in spurts, but for the most part, they are completely mediocre to me. However,songs 1-8 with the exception of By the Bar by Treason (now called the 3 Suns)are exceptional. By the Bar is good as well, but having bought the Treason album, Word on the Street, its familiar to me, and i'm pretty much tired of it. There is a song on here called Soca Bhangra by monard Bunji Garlin and chutney artist Shammi was a song that I could not stand when i first heard it, now it is totally growing on me. Nasty by FLO PG is also very good and addictive, this album should be subtitled ADDICTIVE, as the word also describes my 3 favorite tunes here. Tempted to Touch by Rupee is a very good song that would undoubtedly blow up in the US if we loved Wayne Wonder's No Letting Go so much, and we did. The song that is probably my favorite here is Bounce by Dawg-E Slaughter, that tune is powerful and hard and to my ears has a dancehall tinge to it, which is always good to me. If Bounce (or Wine and Bend Over by Denise Belfon) isn't my favorite song then Ah Home by Iwer George is. I can (and have) played that song and strictly that song for about an hour and still have yet to tire of it, i think its that good. Later on in the album, songs like Doh Want to Know by KMC and Dance For Me are somewhere between mediocre and good. My only complaint is that, the number one soca tune in the world currently, Snake Oil, by Bunji Garlin isn't on here. VP usually is amazing at getting songs like that. Overall, I say sure get it, why not. With my beloved dancehall blowing up in the US, i'd be very interested to see if some of these songs wouldn't have a market in the US as well, especially Tempted to Touch. I DON'T KNOW WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE, OR WHERE THEY COME FROM BUT THEY ALL SEEM LIKE THEY'RE HAVING THE MOST AMAZING TIME EVER! The second cd is mostly specials and remixes which unlike reggae gold every year, is a welcome addition. Try something new, pick this one up.

perfect for a jam session:
this album was very well put together and the mix cd which was included was a good mix cd for soca. i used this cd the day it was released instores for a session a few friends and i put together and everyone was intrigued by the way song after song seem to fall right in place after the previous song. i think this was the best soca collabo put together yet. i wonder what 2004 has to give. also check out treason family's album

Good soca mix ...:
There are two CD's with the same songs in this package. I prefer the mix CD but you should also listen to the regular version since the DJ cuts a few of the songs short. The mix CD could kick just about any party with open minded party people. Caribbean music has a tough time cracking the US market. Sure Wayne Wonder and a few others get a song played here and there. However a trip to the caribbean showed me that there are hundreds of singers that deserve airplay here. How about David Rudder or Shadow? Ironically neither of them are featured on this CD. This CD has mostly younger more party oriented singers. I sometimes prefer soca to reggae due to its up tempo pace. However both are great to hear at a club on a big sound system... "Turn it up" by Square One is my favorite tune on this CD.

5 stars for V P's:
I love this collaboration of soca hits. I especially love the spanish version of Musical Jumbie "Mi Droga" I as a vocalist would like to see the lyrics given with the C.D. as done with other genres of music. V P's is infamous with releasing quality recordings and look forward to purchasing their products. signed Purple

• Display - Invasion, Fay Ann Lyons,
• Soca Bhangra - Bunji Garlin, Shammi
• 2 Nasty
• By the Bar
• Wine & Bend Over
• Tempted to Touch
• Ah Home
• Bounce
• Ride It
• Dom Perignon - T.O.K.
• Turn It Up - Andy "Blood" Armstrong, , Square One
• Power Drill - Burning Flames
• Be Humble - Maximus Dan
• Control - The Blue Ventures, Sanell Dempster
• Doh Want to Know - KMC
• I Still Need a Man - Visage
• Dance for Me - Christal Austin, Ruth Collymore
• Mi Droga - Kali