Album:D' Soca Zone

Genre: Soca

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

There is no limit to the amount of dancing one will do while listening to D'Soca Zone as it is quite a lively compilation.

The album is a VP Records production and starts with Where will you be which shows Edwin Yearwood's love for soca.

In Bashment Freak, Jamesy P sounds like a dancehall artiste in parts but this did not take away from the soca element. When one listens to the track in its entirety, what he expressed was fully understood.

Zoelah sounds like a mix between Jamaican artistes Cherene Anderson and Etana. Her song, Go Down Low, is smooth but she makes some sexual suggestions that many Jamaican men would not be pleased with. She has company as Lima Calbio want someone 'to go down' on her. However, another female on the compilation, Rita Jones, suggests nothing of this nature as she merely sounds like an R&B artiste on a soca track.

Bomani follows in Ah Not Going that denounces what Zoelah might have been suggesting. It definitely tells a story as there are sections in which he narrates as opposed to strictly singing. Super P admitted that he would be 'going down'.

Peter Ram shows why he is a fast-rising soca artiste with Pumpin. The verses vary in speed but the rhythm is fast. This allows the listener to hear the words of the song.

Lil Rick in Can't Wait shows soca in all its colours and why carnival is 'right'. The rhythm is fast and keeps the listener dancing throughout the song and it has many variations.

Problem C definitely has a 'problem' as he has diagnosed himself with 'galarytis'. His description of the ailment came across nicely in song. I Know Carnival and Over and Over areunfamiliar but each has a decent sound with all the right elements of soca.

Water, Mr. DJ and Don't Mess Wid Me are somewhat new but have fairly earned their place. On Me is a slow grooving piece which requires the slow wining that the artistes suggest or some rocking would be fine.

The last track is a remix by Rich Lamotte. It is the perfect end to the CD as it has all the tracks. The pace of the slower songs is increased, thereby making it able to create frenzy in a club or party setting.

The songs on the album list the things that are characteristic of carnival like girls, music and liquor in the sun. They definitely show the artistes' love for carnival as they admit to being addicted to the art form.

Soca artistes must be com-mended for their ability to approach 'touchy' topics without being explicit. So the listener has to work hard at reading into the messages. Only a pity some of these songs were not heard more during the recently ended carnival season.

It is really D'Soca Zone, a zone that soca lover can get into at their own leisure when they buy this album.