Tabou Combo - Eighth Sacrement

[Charlie]

The big track by the Tabou Combo from Haiti is 'New York City' which I played a few times on Honky Tonk in the 1970s before I had started to play such music on the radio systematically

Unfortunately we have not been able to clear rights in time to include it on the forthcoming Honky Tonk compilation, but meanwhile I'm searching for a CD copy. On Amazon, it goes for £44 or £88, more than I'm ready to play.

Does anybody have a cheaper source?

[Gordon Neill]

http://www.allmusicimport.com/925689.html?GoogleBaseUK

£11.87 + postage from the US of A.

[jackdaw version]

Product warning on that one. New York City is, I think, a live recording, mostly of tracks from the 8th Sacrement release, but not identical. Quite a lot of crowd noise and so-so recording quality was my opinion based on the Amazon music sampler. It can be had for $14.88 from ImportCDs from whom I have bought many CDs.

Boy, was I disappointed by this info earlier today when I went through the process of gathering it. I was so close to clicking the "Proceed to Checkout" button. I heard a little voice in my head, "Check it out a little more carefully first. Think of all those other things you really want." It might be The Cosimo Matassa Story or it might be The Soul of Spanish Harlem — or it might be one of the Mod Jazz comps that I don't have.

Anyway, makes me think that it's time someone did a good Tabou Combo reissue program or anthology — and kept it in print.

[Gordon Neill]

Ah You might be right, Mr Jackdaw. There's a sound clip on the USA Amazon site. I think I can hear some crowd noise. Oh dear. http://www.amazon.com/New-York-City-Tab ... B00000B0IS

In the meantime.....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vmU8x_4f88[/youtube]

[jackdaw version]

Mind you, this article, http://www.africasounds.com/Tabou_Combo.htm, makes me wonder if it's not the same recording, despite my previous post. It mentions that "New York City" was a live recording. It might be worth a small outlay, Charlie, to find out for sure.

Here are the relevant paras:

When I explained to Yves that the only other T.C. album I owned was their all-time classic hit, "8th Sacrement," he smiled and shed light on the parralels to that classic recording’s success and the recent "360°." "8eme Sacrement," is basically a live and spontaneous band recording. That was our first number one hit. You see, every successful album that Tabou Combo has made has not been premeditated... its like we [just]did something and then [the public’s] response was great." Urging Yves to elaborate and explain a bit more about the timing and group dynamics behind "8th Sacrement," and the group’s early years. Yves continued, "we are talking about 1974, and we had just arrived in the United States beginning in 1970. We were all young and just playing music... whatever we felt like saying we just said it in the music... there was no real construction of songs, we just got on stage and started singing." But what was it about "8th Sacrement" that made it a hit and a million copy seller?

Yves: "This is basically what 8eme Sacrement is, [a youthful statement from a group having just migrated to the U.S.], and the song, "New York City," that made a number one hit, was [really] a nostalgic song... we had just left Haiti and come to New York City where people have no feeling for each other... everyone is doing their own business, and we just wanted to go back [home] to Haiti. New York was a hard place for us, we weren’t used to that type of atmosphere, and so that’s what we sang in the song. It all fell into a Disco rhythm that was in style at that time, and a big French label, Barclay, in Paris... they loved it, and they [decided] "New York City " this will be a hit for the Summer of 1974, and they made a hit out of it." Surpisingly, the song was only a huge hit in throughout Europe, and made few inroads into the United States. According to Yves, "T.C. has never had a hit in the United States... well, locally [in Brooklyn and the Carribean communities] we have... we are known in small pockets everywhere, we’ve been around for 30 years, so I think everyone who is into the music business, especially into the world music, has heard once of Tabou Combo."

[jackdaw version]

Great clip, Gordon. Proof that disco times were not all bad even in white suits. Thanks.

[jackdaw version]

Some further info:

Anonymous said...
Fantastic record !

I am not sure you did not invert A side and B side. This was re-edited on CD in the late 80's or early 90's (I own both) The CD track list is :
1 New York City
2 Couraj
3 Education
4 8ème Sacrement
5 Pace Domine
6 Come Back My Love
7 Respect/Zapaton.

I also own the 45 rpm EP where New York City is split in two parts : beginning on A side, end on B side !

You have probably noticed that English is not my mother tongue, forgive me for being French ...

This is taken from the comments on the What'sInMyiPod blog at http://whatsinmyipod.blogspot.com/2008/ ... -1974.html , which at first seemed to offer a download of 8th Sacrement. I confess I downloaded a copy of such a thing, strictly for research purposes of course. The link that works is http://rs379.rapidshare.com/files/11235 ... uCombo.rar if you are similarly evil and illegal in your inclinations — or need to do some research for yourself.



versus



The download turned out to be New York City and I got the sense that the posting had been edited after its original appearance. It strongly implies to me that New York City and 8th Sacrement are one and the same, or close to it. The sound on the download is a little thin, about standard for the time of the original recording, and not bad — no obvious surface noise from a vinyl transfer for example. There's moderate crowd sounds, generally not as bad as it first appeared on the Amazon Music Sampler.

The tracks of the download are exactly as Amazon lists for the New York City release. Checking the tracks of the 8th Sacrement release, I now see that some are probably just misspellings of the same tracks on New York City. Actually, I'd now about lay out a bet that the two releases are the same. So, Gordon was right in the first place! I should have known that.

The music is lovely. I don't listen to enough Haitian music these days. I used to listen a lot.

[Gordon Neill]

The Jackdaw confessed:

So, Gordon was right in the first place! I should have known that.

Yes, you should have known that. Er....and so should I.

btw the New York City track is a cracker!

[jackdaw version]

As an ex-Catholic, the Jackdaw confesses that he loves to confess!

[will vine]

The big track by the Tabou Combo from Haiti is 'New York City' which I played a few times on Honky Tonk in the 1970s before I had started to play such music on the radio systematically

Unfortunately we have not been able to clear rights in time to include it on the forthcoming Honky Tonk compilation,

Well that's knackered your sleeve note narrative Charlie, or is there a substitute track which rounds off Honky Tonk and prompts us in the direction of what was to come? Or does it let Chas and Dave in by the back door?

My vinyl copy of New York City is the poor quality live recording but the groove overcomes it all.

[jackdaw version]

Well? Anyone ordered the CD in question and have an answer as to whether it's the hot version or some substitute?

[Charlie]

Well that's knackered your sleeve note narrative Charlie, or is there a substitute track which rounds off Honky Tonk and prompts us in the direction of what was to come?

Indeed it did, Will, but Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa came to the rescue, and I did play that much more often than the Tabou Combo.

[Neil Foxlee]

For a vinyl copy with a slightly different cover again, see:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TABOU-COMBO-DE-PE ... 4001r24894

New York City was/is also available as a 12".

Meanwhile for a reunion clip from 2008 (the music doesn't start until 1:37), see

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHk9-dD4s0[/youtube]

There's more in 'related videos'.

[jackdaw version]

. . . New York City was/is also available as a 12" . . .

Oh, dear! I feel vinyl quest lust arising.

I'm curious about how Charlie first discovered Tabou Combo and when. Did somebody send him a record? Tell him? Grapevine? Did he just find it in a shop? If so, did he know what he was buying or just take a chance?

[Charlie]

I'm curious about how Charlie first discovered Tabou Combo and when. Did somebody send him a record? Tell him? Grapevine? Did he just find it in a shop? If so, did he know what he was buying or just take a chance?

I'm fairly sure I ran across it in a second-hand shop, soon after it was (surprisingly) released on the Decca label. Later, I found a Decca 45, with New York City divided into part 1 and part 2.