Discover America

Van Dyke Parks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Ada
• ASIN: B000005JB2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,089 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Calypso
  • #86 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Baroque Pop

Track Listings

1. Jack Palance

2. Bing Crosby

3. Steelband Music

4. The Four Mills Brothers

5. Be Careful

6. John Jones

7. FDR in Trinidad

8. Sweet Trinidad

9. Occapella

10. Sailin' Shoes

11. Riverboat

12. Ode to Tobago

13. Your Own Comes First

14. G-Man Hoover

15. Stars and Stripes Forever

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You gotta hear this album!, June 4, 2002

By 

Shawn Sutherland (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discover America (Audio CD)

While this is without a doubt one of the most bizarre albums of all time, it is also one of the best. Themes of 20th Century Americana (FDR, the Mills Brothers, Bela Lugosi, Mae West, Bing Crosby, etc.) rolled up in Trinidadian rhythms. Who could pass that up? You can't help but enjoy this one!

Recommendation: if you like "Discover America", be sure to check out the CD "Roosevelt In Trinidad: Calypsos of Events, Places and Personalities, 1933-1939" also available via Amazon. Aside from featuring the original versions of the title track and "The Four Mills Brothers", "Roosevelt in Trinidad" and "Bing Crosby", it contains some (older) calypsos you're liable to not hear anywhere else.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album is a lost classic!, January 5, 2000

By 

Michael Goodman (Astoria, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discover America (Audio CD)

This album is even harder to describe than most...simply, you must hear it! Not being familiar with anything other than his work with Brian Wilson, I can only say that Van Dyke Parks on THIS album delivered an amazing, exotic sonic experience. It's hard to peg the album down, a blend of beuatiful steel drums, real funky grooves, delirious string and horn arrangements, wild but never-intrusive-always-subtle production, great melodies delivered by what sounds to be a very amused and havin'-a-whole-lotta-fun Van Dyke Parks with three great back up female singers...it's like Van Dyke is your host for the album(and the singers flank his shoulders!) if that makes any sense! The whole thing is linked thematically in the lyrics (and music) through Trinadad and American history, culture and relationships with the rest of the world-not to mention just plain ole dancing and partying(there's a great cover of Lee Dorsey's Occapella and Lowell George's Sailing Shoes for a start) It all makes for a very distinct, kind of quirky, fun listening experience and though it may not be for everyone, there certainly is no other record like this in your collection! GAURANTEED!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, December 17, 2001

By 

Patrick Crain (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discover America (Audio CD)

While I dig "Song Cycle" quite a bit, I prefer "Discover America," Van Dyke's sprawling, tropical fever dream. What does it sound like? I liken it to giving a bunch of Disney characters lost in Trinidad with nothing but a bottle of booze and a bag of coke. I dunno. It's a whole hill of fun and a big kick in the rubber parts. Light the tiki torches, crank it up, and relax.