A reissue that combines Bonds' debut album Dance 'Til Quarter to Three
(from 1961) and Twist Up Calypso album (from 1962) onto one CD. Bonds' debut album
was a typical recording for the era: a few hits (Quarter To Three, New Orleans,
School Is Out) surrounded by tunes not far removed from the style of the singles,
but not nearly as memorable. At least this one was mostly comprised of original material,
written by producer Frank Guida, Bonds, and saxophonist Gene Barge, with a few others
pitching in. The calypso and Caribbean beats that found their way into several Bonds
singles crop up with some frequency; Please Forgive Me, Don't Go to Strangers,
and I Know Why Dreamers Cry are Doo Wop/R & B ballads in a more traditional
vein than Bonds' usual approach; and Not Me would be covered for a hit by the Orlons
in 1963. For Twist Up Calypso, the success of Dear Lady Twist (included here)
inspired an entire album of songs derived from calypso music. Bonds and producer Frank
Guida, it must be said, didn't do it halfway: almost everything here employs prominent
calypso beats, and in addition to covers of the calypso tunes Day-O and Mama Look
a Booboo, several of the originals are obviously based on calypso riffs (such as A
Woman Is Smarter). Bonds pulls off his task with genuine exuberance -- the arrangements
are considerably hotter and more indebted to the "party" sounds of his hits than the filler
on his first LP -- though as usual it's the hits, Twist, Twist Senora!
and the fabulous Dear Lady Twist, that stand out. |