Customer Reviews

Discover America

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Pet Sounds is the first. Having said that, I have been playing this record since it first came out decades ago and it continues to entertain and surprise me. The quality of the musicianship is first rate. The late Clarence White stands out. Listen to Occapella and enjoy the incredible bass line (particularly on the fade out). The stereo tricks in G-Man Hoover. But can anyone tell me what the meaning is of the reference "I don't see why we should be Miss Howard's cat" in Your Own Comes First?

It's time to go to the reverse....

After reading reviews for other Van Dyke Parks albums on this site, I'm amazed at how easily this one gets overlooked; Mr. Parks certainly has many strong albums which deserve heaping amounts of credit (Song Cycle and Jump! come to mind first), but to me this one is the perfect blend of the artistic sensibilities of "Song Cycle" and the listenability and pop/catchiness of "Clang of the Yankee Reaper" (The albums released just before and after "Discover America"). To my ears, this one has just the right combination of elements from both albums, and has proven to be the one I come back to listen to the most. Some people may gripe that there are a number of covers on this album (as another reviewer mentioned, "Roosevelt in Trinidad" contains a number of the original versions): But this is where Park's talent for instrumentation, arranging and personalizing material shines through. This album swells and swoons in all the right places; it is a funky feverish haze with exquisite instrumentation, arrangements, and just the right mix of artistic pretention and outright feelgood funkiness. A tropical cocktail that'll shake you!

This album is simply amazing. I have this one and 'Song Cycle,' and it is my favorite of the two. His creativity is golden. The composition and arrangements are first class. I do not get tired of listening to this over and over.

i bought it on cassette for like $2. it is weird but that is what is so cool about it. the arrangements are very interesting. the production is a lo-fi. but it is melodic and has a cool version of 'sailin shoes', which was done in a better known version by little feat later on. i would say it was definitely a good purchase

This is another strange album by Van Dyke Parks. It features a storyline, of sorts, about the history of popular music and Trinidad. The music is played Caribbean style. Not as good as Parks' collaborations with Brian Wilson, but it's pleasant enough.