Panorama from strictly a musical point of view

[Bugs]

 What is you musical take on this year's panorama?

[odw]

Panorama seem to have taken the Drumline approach to performance while I found the drill master role in Silver Stars distracting it may well be the direction that some feel Panorama should be going, to me even Robbie seem out character in front Despers so much for the days when Jit and others stood in the engine room and let their music speak for itself. Bradley turned this into an art form because he felt the music he created and it generated that carnival spirit from the audience, just take a listen to some of his Panorama classics they all speak for themselves…Panorama Masterpieces.

This years Panorama to me is a memorable one, for the first time I can play this music over and over and enjoy it, I have to agree with Bugs ‘Smooth Sailing’ was made for All Stars and I know ‘Smooth’ would have worked wonders with that song, I heard him speak in an interview about what inspired him to do ‘Large is Large’ he said it was based on the decision by PanTrinbago to reduce the number of players for the large bands but he had some concerns for the foreign players who came specifically to play in the bands of their choice and of course they were first one to be cut from the bands in order to meet the required amount of players, so I give it to ‘Smooth’ for taking such a stand.

Boogsie shows us why he’s a genius, to me this was Boogsie at his best, this is music to listen to outside of the context of competition I can listen to this performance over and over, you have to give him credit this was brilliant music and so was Despers. I also have to give a big up to Arddin Herbert and Yohan Popwell these guys as really creating a pathway in the big yard, the only problem I had with Yohan and I must say he did make a statement with Harmonites but his introduction on ‘Smooth Sailing’ the recreation of the waves was the Bradley take from ‘Sailing’ and that to me is a sacrilege you cannot touch the masters work, the attempt was good but the masters works are considered a works of fine art that tells a story, his masterpieces are untouchable. To me he should have used ‘Michael row de boat ah shore’ in the introduction also and that would have been his story telling of ‘Smooth Sailing.’ Just my humble opinion.

Thanks Bugs for encouraging this kind of dialogue.

[Pan Lover]

i felt that phase 2 had to play the song slow in order for the sweetness of the tune to be felt. they had a good chance of winning this years' competition and personally i felt they won. what gave silver stars d edge was d antics of the conductor as mentioned by sarah ann, but we need to be careful with that. we shouldnt judge a band by d antics of the conductor or even the players. and i firmly believe that is what fooled the judges. it played on their minds. i remember in previous years all stars frontline players...antics fuh so. lol. anyway, musically silver stars were lacking badly and with that said silver stars really did not win this years' competition, as far as music is concerned. a lot more bands had more music in their arrangement and not ah set of chromatics.

[momo]

your point is very well taken as a boogsie fan from the time phase II started i knew they was not going to beat silver stars playing at that tempo ???? if a boxer is in a boxing match and he is beating the hell out of his opponnant and the guy land one lucky punch and knock him out who won the fright??? people might not like what they silver stars played but it is not what they played but how they played it SILVER STARS won

[lennie tyson]

My congratulations to Silver Stars they put on a show for the finals but having said that we must be carefull of the musical direction we are taking for at the end of the day it is by the musical content not the showmanship we would gain respect of the world,(not Trinis or West Indians in the diaspora) in this regard a few bands are heading in the right direction namely Steel Xplosion, Birdsong, although they did not perform well i am talking content here, Forzata, Invaders Phase 11 and to a lesser extent Despers.
please people remember it is only my take on the issue nothing personal

I also agree with most of the sentiments of Bugs( well done brother)

[Sarah-Ann]

Boogsie is the better arranger, the arrangment of Pan Army was sweet. I am not a Phase11 or Boogsie fan just a pan fanatic and music lover.
Silver Stars performance and the antics of the conductor was good,tempo was good,content of arrangement not in the sphere of Boogsie. I have missed few Panoram's,(six to be exact) this year's will be a memorable one. It was a reasonably fair one, ten bands was a welcome bonus, I hope that Pan Trrinbagoo keeps it that way


aan

[Bugs]

I felt Phase II for the second year in a row got killed by their tempo. Too slow. All Stars chose the wrong chune - Smooth Sailing was perfect for them. They would have killed everyone with that song. Silver Stars did a lot of nice things as it relates to theme and a consistent storyline but musically I was not moved. Silver Stars use of speed seem to impress the judges. Desperadoes started nice but did not maintain my interest throughout. Some of their transitions were awkward. But they performed very well. Invaders stepped up big time. I still don't think Renegades belonged in the finals. Their arrangement was aimless. But they performed very well in the finals.

I don't think there was a need to put ten bands in the finals.

bugs

[Steppinraza]

Bugs- what makes Smooth Sailing perfect for All Stars? Please break the tunes down for us lay people, give me more than just "they would have killed everyone with that song". I genuinely love both tunes. Look forward to your response.

[Bugs]

Steppinraza you would put me in hot seat... LOL

I remember Basement Recordings talking about how each band had a unique personality and the importance of Basement understanding the personality of each band before they go out to record them. I think the same argument can be made for tunes that are written for panorama. Some songs are just better suited for certain bands personality. Defosto to me nailed every performance nuance of All Stars in "Smooth Sailing". Smooth's best work comes from song that have great melodies and changes. In addition, the song provide so much more room from a thematic stand point. When I listen to that song it screams out "All Stars". Smooth's own tune "Large is Large" was a good song and on any other year it might have been the best pick.

Desperadoes -- confident, aggressive, regal personality
All Stars -- slick, cutting and smooth - almost moon walking
Exodus -- precision , passive aggressive
Phase II -- chaotic cohesive controlled exuberance
Renegades -- Driving on top of the pulse, charging

[momo]

Bugs i agreed with you the PHASE was to slow i will tell you one thing silver stars played what they had to played very wel great performance