Alpha - "The Come Back Kid?"
Like me you too must have been hearing the talk of Alpha making a so-called ‘comeback’ this year. That’s what one of my close carnival liming buddies said to me recently. A comeback, I sharply retorted, why I didn’t know he was gone in the first place and come back from where? I asked.
Apparently my buddy, normally at the top of his intellectual game, had bought into the mistaken notion that Alpha had seen his best days in the calypso arena. That he was ‘over the hill’, living on pass glory and was done for. That was until he heard Alpha’s 2009 groovy track ‘Cyah Wait.’
Although not a musical maestro by any stretch of imagination, my buddy thought Cyah Wait was a masterpiece that showcased an excellent blend of melody and arrangement coupled with a perfect blend of music and lyrics. Thinking he was reading from the judge’s score sheet, I could only agree with him.
By now some of my other friends equally vociferous in their opinions, had joined the conversation. What I like most said one of them, is that you know how every year you look for this ‘one song’ to capture the entire carnival….the mood and feel. That particular song is not confined to genre meaning it’s not exclusive to power soca, calypso or groovy, it’s just a song that once you hear it, you know…that’s it. Deejays play it no matter what the occasion, from a wedding to a funeral and the people like it and cannot get enough of it. Yet another friend jumped in, what I like most is that when u heard that all encompassing song, you just cyah help move and grove and trust me, this song is it.
It was now my turn to remind my buddies that the so-called ‘washed-up’ Alpha was not left for dead at all and that he was and is still firing on all cylinders. I reminded them of him being always a strong contender for whatever competition he entered, be it calypso, power or groovy soca. That he is a three time (2004-2007) power soca monarch – a feat still unrivalled to date and that granted aside from the occasional shouting, Alpha is a well rounded and truly entertaining performer who could really sing…yes sing, something some of today’s artistes think to be unimportant in the music business, can you imagine.
I ended by paraphrasing one of my other intellectual buddies, aka ‘Slick Rick’, you know him simply as Mr. Universe - Rick Wayne, although he never ever comes to the tents…trust me am working on that. In true Rick style and fashion I reminded them of what we, as an audience and people had become and what had led us to talk of a possible Alpha comeback. In essence, we had gotten use to accepting mediocrity and general criticized and yes ostracised others, like Alpha, who strive to raise their game and take us to another level. Comeback, what comeback, this is and will always be Alpha.
By the way, am routing for Esteban with ‘Wine it for Esteban’. See you at Groovy Soca on Saturday July 4, it promises to be true independence for some and a real nail-biter for others.
