Skaject: Byron Lee and the Dragonaires – Come Fly With Lee
alright, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires had an album a year prior to this, but the band has shifted between several different genres over the years. 1961’s Joy Ride looks to have been primarily a rocksteady album, so we’re gonna be starting the look at this band’s 1962 release, Come Fly With Lee –
River Band Jump Up is a real fun and lively instrumental. v good time. Theme From the Apartment, covered from the 1960 movie (though it looks like it’s much older than that), is a more mournful track – some more drawn out organ chords here drive the song, which is cool, but i def prefer the second half of the track when the sax and the rest of the brass come in. okay Night Train (which im having a hard time tracking the origins of; i think its a common composition from a specific music label but the details are fuzzy) fucking slaps. comes out right the gate with that syncopation but brings along a really cool big band sound. plus its fun that this was a live performance and they still got that applause when the track swells, haha. More (from the film Mondo Cane, composed by Riz Ortolani and Nino Oloviero) is a nice mellow track here in the middle of side A. this feels like a moonlit patio near the beach. v good vibes. Dan Is the Man, which is a Mighty Sparrow cover, brings the vibes back up and its p good. Funny is a cover of Willie Nelson’s Funny How Time Slips Away, and they bring in a guest vocalist who does fantastic. neat cover. Sunset Jump Up kicks off the B Side, and looks to be original. fun track! East To West also appears original, and this one’s a neat song. Walk Like A Dragon may be a cover off the soundtrack of the 1960 movie of the same name but im not 100% on that. its a good listen for sure. Irresistable You is another track im not 100% on the origins of. not a lot of thoughts on this one. Forget Her is a Tony Bennett cover, its also aight. I Don’t Love You Anymore has a great rhythm to it, i really like this track.
faves – River Band Jump Up, Night Train, Funny, I Don’t Love You Anymore
dislikes –
glibly, im glad the ska cover album is as old as the genre itself, haha. its just nice to see! honestly a lot of these were still new tracks to me, so this could’ve flown right by me as an original release if i hadn’t known.
yeah i dunno. really good energy on this one. lot of really great performances here – i feel like the A side really steals the show… with the exception of the B side’s I Don’t Love You Anymore, which is one of the best tracks on the album in both composition and performance. neat record!
Come Fly With Lee – 5/10
we’re gonna be looking at Prince Buster’s 1963 album Feel the Spirit next!
previous: Forward March! | next: Feel the Spirit
this is the first Byron Lee record | next: Plays Jamaica Ska
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