Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Tropical Gangsters (CD)

All Music Guide

Tropical Gangsters was the third album by Kid Creole the Coconuts, released in the U.S. under the title Wise Guy, Kid Creole being the onstage persona of August Darnell, the Latin Lothario dressed in a sharp suit and widebrimmed hat backed by a troupe of female singers dressed for a Caribbean holiday, which included his wife, Adriana Kaegi. It was the thumping bassline and irresistible beat of the song "I'm a Wonderful Thing Baby" that finally broke him through to the big time, but even better was to come as Kid Creole released two of the better fun pop songs of 1982, "Stool Pigeon" and "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy," totally irresistible, danceable, easy to sing along to, and guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of pop dominated at the time by synthesizers and goodlooking young men who looked more like girls. Darnell brought a cool sense of style to the charts of 1982, hitting number three with the album Tropical Gangsters and remaining in the Top Ten for 11 weeks. Unfortunately, the... Coconuts are given little to do, although the female sassiness came through on the track "Loving You Made a Fool Out of Me." When it was finally released on CD in 2002, six extra tracks were added to the album, although these were mostly the 12" remixed versions of the hit singles and the track "Double Back," originally the Bside of "Stool Pigeon." - Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide Read more Less