5.0 out of 5 stars
Political Calypso? This is where to go., January 8, 2012
This review is from: The Political Calypso : True Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago (Hardcover)
This is the definitive text on the "political calypso", a brilliant form of music where the twists and turns of politics, and particularly the human foibles of politicians, are rendered in song. The problem, and the most brilliant aspect of the form, is that you need to know what's been happening in Trindad's complex, but never really changing, political world to understand most of these songs. Whenever I go to a "tent", the venues where the political calypsoes are typically performed, I take along a Trinidadian friend to run a whispered commentary while the calypsoes are being sung so I can understand the often subtle references in the songs.
Obviously, even regular trips to Trinidad for carnival can only give one a taste of the offerings of political calypso in Trinidad. When I received Louis Regis' "Political Calypso" as a Christmas gift I was intrigued, but also more than little skeptical. Frankly, I doubted that anyone could render the world of political calypso in text. I just assumed you had to hear it live to appreciate it.
Well, was I utterly wrong. Mr. Regis has conveyed the essential fabric of political calypso from the late 1950's until late 1980's with copious reprinting of lyrics, and a clear-headed explication of the historical events that are reflected in each calypso. I gobbled up this book on my long flight home from Trinidad, so caught up in the text that I read each and every footnote, so I would't miss anything. Thanks to Louis Regis for accomplishing what I had thought impossible.
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