Customer Reviews

Pure Gold

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Do you know someone who is a grump? or who needs cheering up? is recuperating? babysat your pets while you were on vacation? has been a great mentor or friend? how about someone you know living in another country?

This CD is the perfect gift to give anyone. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like the music on this CD. Whenever I play it, my guests stop talking and start grooving. Embedded in the music is a spirit of infectious happiness that reaches everyone.

Songs on this CD can be classified in two categories: Just plain fun and melodious ballads - both types will have you humming all day long.

Fun songs: Day-O, Sweetheart from Venezuela, Angelina, Jump in the Line, Matilda, Jump Down Spin Around, Man Smart (Woman Smarter)

Melodious ballads: Jamaica Farewell, Kingston Market, Come Back Liza

ENJOY!

My dad bought Belafonte's Pure Gold LP in Jamaica in the sixties and we played it until it was completely worn out. I was delighted to see this music re-released on CD in 1992, so I could hear the buoyant rhythms of the Caribbean again. This is music that has not been dressed up in some studio; besides having great nostalgia value, it has a unique natural energy and vibrancy. Best songs: Day-O (of course), Kingston Market, Jump in the Line, Jump Down, Spin Around, and Jamaica Farewell. The urge to dance and/or sing along with these songs is irresistable.

This is a great CD with one glaring exception. The reproduction and manufacturing quality is mediocre. I find on listening to the CD that the sound is quite variable. Some songs are so soft that I have to turn up the volume; others are stronger, necessitating turning the volume back down. Terrific music marred by presentation.

If you loved the LP in the sixties, you'll be thrilled to hear the "Pure Gold" sound of Belafonte again in the nineties. Don't be put off by the occasionally harsh sound quality. "Jump in the Line" and "Jump Down, Spin Around" will have you dancing, and the lovely, evocative sound of "Jamaica Farewell" will make you want to hop on a plane for Kingston. A great voice and great songs; this is a must-have CD for Belafonte fans.

What a great natural performer Harry Belafonte is! The lively, colorful songs of the Caribbean are infectuous with their calypso beat. You want to snap your fingers, clap your hands and join in. Belafonte is in his element when he is telling a story through his music. Never taking himself too seriously, he is able to laugh at being 'taken' by "Matilda," accept the superiority of women with intuitive wisdom in "Man Smart, Woman Smarter," and in the beautiful and more serious "Kingston Market," pay tribute to the day-to-day simple life, lived close to nature, of the Jamaican people. This album is Pure Gold!

I wore out my cassette and needed to replace it..... so wonderful to ride along with Harry!!!!! This is my favorite CD by Harry!!!!!

Well, what can I say? Harry Belafonte is one of my alltime favorite artists. I love all his songs, and I feel so sorry for those people who haven't heard of him. "Angelina," and "Jump in the Line" are great dance tunes. I used to thing "Day-O" was written by Raffi, since he recorded that song on his Baby Beluga album, and it may very well be a better version, (no disrespect meant). But really, this CD is one that everybody should have in their collection.

I remember listening to this cassette on my grandparent's boat. My parents have a copy and I have both the cassette and now the cd. My children also listen to it. Timeless fun music for any age.

While I truly appreciate Belafonte's mastery of a variety of genres (American folk, spirituals, ballads, protest songs, etc.) it is my opinion that he's at his finest when belting out calypso tunes, which constitute the vast majority of this collection. "Pure Gold" is a title that barely does this compilation justice. Pure platinum is more like it! "Day-O", "Sweetheart from Venezuela", "Angelina", "Jump in the Line", "Matilda", "Come Back Liza"...Every song on here is a rocker! You can't miss!

The only downside to this great nostalgic album is that it's too short. There are only 10 songs and they go by as swiftly as the Jamaican wind (sorry about that). Harry Belafonte at his crooning best, dedicating 10 quality rythms (minus the female voice in "My Sweetheart from Venezuela") to Jamaica and in a lesser degree to Venezuela. Buy this album if you want to listen to how people partied in the Latin American 1950's and don't know "nada" of Spanish.

It doesn't receive the full 5 stars because one would think that 50 year-old music would be sold with a discount by now. But that's copyright and a completely different matter.