Soca developed in Trinidad and Tobago, and while it's a music that has been documented, there are many areas in its history that are relatively murky. Bear Family's 2015 compilation Nappy: Music Man shines a spotlight on Richard "Nappy" Mayers, a singer, guitarist, producer, and arranger who began his career with a band called Embryo and had some solo singles in addition to working with other artists. Bear Family's disc – which is exceptionally well-annotated by Dave Elcock – contains 19 of these sides, all recorded between 1975 and 1981, drawing heavily from Embryo's discography and containing a fair share of singles from Nadie La Fond, in addition to singles by Ceasar, Sound Revolution, and Nappy himself.

There's a wide variety of artists and the sounds are diverse, too, more than a soca novice might expect: it's Caribbean but it often plays like exceptionally lithe disco or smooth gossamer soul, dipping into perhaps expected funk and reggae, but there's also a bit of country-rock/soft rock on the closing "Let Me in Your Life." This wide range of sounds underscores how Nappy was indeed a music man but it also winds up sounding like an album of the greatest soulful ideas of the late '70s.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracklist
1. Embryo – Wajang Woman (03:17)
2. Embryo – Soca (It's Soul Calypso) (04:13)
3. Embryo – Light The Light (03:13)
4. Nadie La Fond – 3 Way Situation (04:10)
5. Embryo – Nothing Is Impossible (03:04)
6. Embryo – You're Too Easy (03:40)
7. Embryo – Go Down Dancin' (04:15)
8. Nadie La Fond – Wanna Make Love To You (03:06)
9. Nappy Mayers – Ebony Girl (03:42)
10. Sound Revolution – Poor Man's Son (04:05)
11. Nappy Mayers – Music Man (03:38)
12. Embryo – I Like To Make Love (03:38)
13. Embryo – Easy Breezy (06:27)
14. Nadie La Fond – Wanna Believe In Love (07:15)
15. Nadie La Fond – Hot For Your Love (04:38)
16. Nappy Mayers – Let Yourself Go (05:51)
17. Ceasar – Makin' Bacchanal (Cd Version) (03:31)
18. Embryo – Love Is New (04:22)
19. Embryo – Let Me In Your Life (03:49)



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