After listening to Money is King by Growling Tiger in class, I wanted to look up more of their music, as I thought it had a unique sound that I genuinely enjoyed listening to, plus, music with a message is always enjoyable. After listening to more of their discography, I decided to write about The Train Below.

Like most of Growling Tiger’s music, the song has a message and narrative structure. Its distinctive sound as calypso music sounds somewhere between ska and reggae, though with more brass. Notably though, the West-African roots of calypso are more easily heard in it than in its related musical genres.

While reading about the band, I learned that Growling Tiger was one of the first big calypso artists, and that he, even more than other calypso artists, tended to write about political and social problems of his time, which is probably why he appeals to me.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwomE1A2iDE