When I was four or five, I was a huge Raffi fan. I played his tape over and over in my My First Sony tape player until I simply misplaced it. Coupled with the fact that I watched the movie Beetlejuice so many times that I knew the “Banana Boat Song” by heart, it must have been fate that I came into the custody of Harry Belafonte’s career retrospective, Harry Belafonte (Pickwick/RCA/Camden Records, 1973).
Let me lay it down for you. Harry Belafonte is a genuine crooner. When I wasn’t completely melting in my chair while listening to Belafonte slowly instill a little romance in my life on this album, I was imagining how fun it would be to be Lucille Ball in the ’50s, dancing and falsely singing along to music from the islands. Calypso music is fun!
The text on the back blunted my perception of the music a bit, with one of his producers having written:
You envision a tall, athletic looking, immensely handsome man whose appearance in a low cut shirt and tights pants is a mere prelude to the total entertainment to follow … Harry Belafonte is a beautiful human being!
Clearly, the record execs envisioned this music for women. I am not one to beat that down. I fell in love with Belafonte on “Windin’ Road”, and secretly wished for a large teddy bear to hug while listening to the rest of the album. You go, Harry!
Verdict: Keep.