Shadow
"Sweet Sweet Dreams"
(Analog Africa (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK){)
Shadow is the Mighty Shadow, a.k.a. Winston Bailey, the now-elderly calypso singer from Trinidad and Tobago. "Sweet Sweet Dreams" is a dynamite reissue. The album, originally released (and not warmly received) in 1984, found Shadow moving away from the sociopolitical commentary he was known for and getting personal about suffering from a state of tabanca, or heartsickness. As with the recent reissues of 1980s Nigerian synthesist William Onyeabor on the Luaka Bop label, "Sweet Sweet Dreams," which sports a striking purple LP cover, finds Shadow mixing indigenous rhythms with electronic textures on delicious extended jams like "Let's Get Together" and "Moon Walking." What might have come off as jarring in the 1980s sounds remarkably fresh and in the electro-pop now.
_Dan DeLuca
