Step Aside & Give the Sparrow a Chance, or, A Brief Addendum

In a post about Van Dyke Parks a couple weeks ago, I wrote about loving his album Discover America, & said, “I’ve never had much urge to go educate myself about [its]* source material, which I think/hope speaks more to the record’s sui generis quality than to a general incuriosity on my part.” Since then, weirdly & totally coincidentally (through S’s virtual cratedigging, which is not at all concerned with Van Dyke Parks), I’ve stumbled across the estimable work of the calypso singer the Mighty Sparrow, and learned that “Jack Palance,” Discover America’s fantastic leadoff track, sprang from him. And that although it’s a mere snippet on the Parks record, in its original form it’s a real, full-bodied song.

It’s a happy day. Be happy, all you people. And buy some Mighty Sparrow here.

• The Mighty Sparrow, “Jack Palance”

* I can’t believe I not only just quoted myself but even marked a paraphrase with square brackets! Whatta wanker!