Hot & Sweet

Mighty Sparrow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tornado Records
• ASIN: B00009YXKV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,126 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #59 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Zouk
  • #73 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Trinidad
  • #93 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Soca

Track Listings

1. Chinese Love Affair

2. English Diplomacy

3. Hello People

4. Jane

5. Maria

6. Memories

7. More Cock

8. Mr. Walker

9. Sparrow Dead

10. Who She Go Cry For

Editorial Reviews

The Mighty Sparrow's career spans over 40 years and 70 albums. He continues to redefine the true meaning of Calypso power through his amazing ability--not only to put into words and tempo the exploits of society, but to crown it all with showmanship and appeal. He utilizes his medium not just to entertain, but also to edify, enlighten, and educate.

"The Mount Olympus of Calypso ... It's not just the good Calypso I like. I like the naughty stuff too, you know. My aides didn't understand the lyrics, and they were too dirty for me to translate." -- Colin Powell

"As far as concept and intelligence and warring with words, Mighty Sparrow was and probably still is the king ... his shows are like prize fights and he always comes out on top, all this and a fifteen or twentypiece band just blasting away ... he's fantastic." -- Bob Dylan, as quoted by Cameron Crowe, on the Biograph box set notes

"A legendary singer known as `the master of the naughty phrase.'" -- New York Times --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best all-round Sparrow record out there, August 24, 2000

By 

"dm164" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hot & Sweet (Audio CD)

I was amazed and delighted to find that this long out of print LP is now available as a Japanese import. Hot and Sweet represents the unlikely pairing of two enormous, idiosyncratic talents: arranger Van Dyke Parks (collaborator with Brian Wilson/Beach Boys), and the Calypso King of the World, the Mighty Sparrow. For this project, Parks wrote new, dense and funky orchestral arrangements for some of Sparrow's greatest hits from the 60s and 70s. They recorded everything in a state-of-the art LA studio, so the sound and balance are far superior to any of Sparrow's New York or Trinidad recordings from this period (I believe the original release was in 1974 or thereabouts).

The record soars! Sparrow's voice is in its prime, and Parks' playful arrangements bubble with the delight of someone who's discovered the pleasures of calypso for the first time.

ALthough there are a number of Mighty Sparrow retrospectives now available on CD, I'd recommend this one as a starter. Every song on here represents some of Sparrow's wittiest work, and the music rises to the high quality of the lyrics. A great Sparrow record, a terrific party record. I'm gonna dig out my vinyl copy of this one right now and revisit one of my old favorites.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The 1972 "Van Dyke Parks Album" Returns At Last, October 16, 2003

By 

Milo Miles "doctornork" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hot & Sweet (Audio CD)

Although it's not evident, this is a straight reissue of the 1972 Warner Bros. album produced by Van Dyke Parks and reportedly recorded in a single overheated evening during a hurricane, with much later fiddling by Mr. Parks. These are remakes of established Sparrow classics, but it's one of the all-time sublime remake albums, with the dense arrangements, horn sections, chorus singers and the rest of Parks's Beach-Boyish studio fantasy swirling gracefully around Sparrow's bravura vocals. A calypso record unlike any other. (For some reason, the track list is a mess and does not reflect the song sequence on the disc. But all 10 tunes are there.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mighty Sparrow soars!, April 24, 2008

By 

Josh Z. Bonder "a sound painter" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hot & Sweet (Audio CD)

As a fledgling calypso fan who'd only been exposed to vintage recordings (1920's-1950's), this album was a revelation for me. I came to calypso music (oddly enough) through two recordings by Van Dyke Parks, "Discover America" and "Clang of the Yankee Reaper". His enthusiasm for the genre was contagious, and led me to a number of early calypso collections, namely "Roosevelt in Trinidad" (which features versions of some of the songs from "Discover America"), and "Calypso Awakening" - my first exposure to the Mighty Sparrow. Being well aware that this was a Mighty Sparrow album produced by Van Dyke Parks, I knew I could do no wrong in making the purchase. I don't mean to brag, but I was right.

Word has it that this album was recorded in a one off meeting between Parks and Sparrow during a stormy evening in the early 1970's. Parks then laboured over the material to give it the lush and multi-faceted production values which permeate his two aforementioned albums. The result is a resounding success! Sparrow delivers some astounding and often hilarious vocals, pontificating on a variety of subjects - from his own death, to entertaining American troops in Vietnam, to marrying an ugly woman for her money ("When she dress, she like a monkey in a beauty contest"). The music is always expertly performed and frames Sparrow's voice and ideas beautifully. They swoop and soar to very dramatic effect, and his hooks are as catchy and clever as anything else I can recall in recent memory. Parks knew how to serve these songs, and provided a rich context for each one which never detracts from Sparrow's vocals and ideas. Parks definitely left his mark on this album, but one is always aware of the admiration and respect he held for Sparrow.

So...if you're a fan of Mighty Sparrow, Van Dyke Parks, and/or calypso music, this album is highly recommended. If you're not, it's still highly recommended!