Customer Reviews

Calypso: Vintage Songs From the Caribbean

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I don't know much about "authentic" calypso music. Some of the other reviewers have panned it based upon those aspects, but I LOVE THIS CD! The music is happy and upbeat. I found myself singing along after one listening. So regardless of whether or not it is authentic or not, it is highly enjoyable and one of the best Putumayo CDs I have heard. I am definately ready for a trip to the islands now!

As a Trinidadian, I find your interpretation of Calypso Music insulting since you're forgetting the fact that calypso originated right here in Trinidad. I would compare your review to offering 311 or No Doubt as Reggae Music. Anyway, maybe you should include some Shadow, Lord Relator, Lord Kitchener, Roaring Lion, Growling Tiger and the Mighty Sparrow if you intend to sell any Calypso Music on Amazon.com.

Folks if you want true vintage Kaiso (Calypso) then dont listen to anything that wasnt made in Trinidad and Tobago, the place where Calypso and steelpan (steel drums) were invented. The songs from Bahamas and Barbados tend to be the tourist's sanitised versions. Jamaica's ska and own versions are more acceptable, Byron Lee being excellent. For a proper introduction to TRUE calypso one need not look further than three names, The Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener and The Mighty Shadow. Earlier works by Atilla the Hun, Mystic Prowler and Roaring Lion are very difficult to come by with David Rudder forming the best of the modern era. The authenticity of calypso is Trinidad and Tobago calypso...there is no other kind.

I was looking through my father's collection of 45's and ran across one that was signed by George Symonette in 1959. I didn't know who that was so I "googled" the title. You might not like the music, but you cannot say that it is not authentic! George Symonette was called the Bahamian Troubadour and played at several leading hotels in Nassau in the 1950's.

Look no further, if..you want a horrible compilation of Calypso. The stuff there from Barbados is no where near as upbeat, the stuff from the Bahamas isn't authentic. If you want some real dancy Calypso, I would reccomend the album "The Party Classics", which is a compilation of The Mighty Sparrow's party hits. As a second generation Canadian (my family is from Trinidad), most of this was quite insulting to the origins of Calypso.

This album captures the best of the islands, with a vibrance that friends and family (including my 2 year old!) have enjoyed. It's music to enjoy while you're sipping a goombay punch and getting into the mood for a warm night breeze to sweep over your world.

I have been listening to Bahamian calypso since my mother took me to hear Blind Blake at the Royal Victoria when I was in grade-school. This compilation is a favorite, with Blind Blake doing "Little Nassau" (though they edited out the last few lines: "My mama get drunk till she couldn't get drunk no more") and some other wonderful singers doing great Bahamian songs. The Mighty Sparrow's contribution is also terrific, and other others are good to great. One of my favorite CDs.

Both side are right in the ongoing disagreement about the quality of this CD. Yes, it has quite a few pleasant songs on it, with some Caribbean character, that many will like to hear. And, no, this isn't calypso by any conventional definition. At the very best, one could pick out maybe two or three songs that more-or-less fit into that classification - "No More Rocking and Rolling" and "Barbados Carnival", at least - although even those are not especially characteristic of the style. It's decent music, but not good calypso.

Horrible CD. I can't believe that this is what people are passing of as vitage calypso. Don't get this CD.