4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great, for the most part, January 22, 2003
This review is from: Calypso Calaloo (Audio CD)
This was my introduction to prewar calypso, together with the book by the same name, now regretfully out of print. I have since bought several collections, the ones from Rounder records and a few others. But this is still my favorite, even if it is a bit uneven. Some of the instrumantals are of quite low fidelity and therefore less enjoyable, but the the good ones are some of the greatest examples of prewar calypso availiable on CD!
"Yaraba Shango" by The Growling Tiger and "The Lajobless" by The Lord Executor are two wonderful examples of dramatic minor-key storytelling songs. The recording of Lionel Belasco's piano solo "Trinidad Carnival" is a modern-day transcription of a unique piano roll. It's fun to listen to The Lort Invader's version of the song he claims was stolen from him, Rum and coca cola, even if the performance of the song here is a bit ragged. My favorite part of that recording is the introduction: "that song which has the world upset, Rum and Coca Cola - in the way it was intended to be sung". In other words: not like the Andrews Sisters did it. Other good ones: "Lis Camille" and "Uncle Jo' Gimme Mo'" by the underrated (in some quarters) Wilmouth Houdini, and a couple of others.
I would rate this CD a 5 for these tracks alone, but some of the instrumentals are not quite on that level.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
calypso callaloo, October 20, 2001
This review is from: Calypso Calaloo (Audio CD)
truly gives you a feel for what early calypso was like. the steelband piece by Invaders is great.It gives you a true carnival feeling.
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