CalypsoMusical Poetry In The Caribbean 1955-69

• Lord Cobra – Man On The Moon
• Young Growler – Pussy Galore
• Lord Hummingbird – Teenage Bossa Nova Girl
• Lord Byron – Yes Parrsin
• Cyril Diaz Orchestra – Voodoo
• Lord Flea – Out De Fire
• Brownie – The Bed Bug Song
• Count Zebra & The Seasiders – Cat 'O' Nine
• Carlos Malcolm – Elena
• Azie Lawrence – West Indians In England
• Lord Cobra – Negro Heart
• Lord Kitchener – Love In The Cemetery
• Charlie Binger Quartet – Jamaica Is The Place To Go
• Mighty Dougla – Exhange Is No Robbery
• Viper – Dog Better Than Man
• Lord Kitchener – Jamaican Woman
• J.B. Williams Band – Gee Bongo Lay
• Lord Ivanhoe – Lift The Iron Curtain
• King Fighter – People Will Talk

• 1. Lord Cobra – Man On The Moon
  MP3 £0.99
• 2. Young Growler – Pussy Galore
  MP3 £0.99
• 3. Lord Hummingbird – Teenage Bossa Nova Girl
  MP3 £0.99
• 4. Lord Byron – Yes Parrsin
  MP3 £0.99
• 5. Cyril Diaz Orchestra – Voodoo
  MP3 £0.99
• 6. Lord Flea – Out De Fire
  MP3 £0.99
• 7. Brownie – The Bed Bug Song
  MP3 £0.99
• 8. Count Zebra & The Seasiders – Cat 'O' Nine
  MP3 £0.99
• 9. Carlos Malcolm – Elena
  MP3 £0.99
• 10. Azie Lawrence – West Indians In England
  MP3 £0.99
• 11. Lord Cobra – Negro Heart
  MP3 £0.99
• 12. Lord Kitchener – Love In The Cemetery
  MP3 £0.99
• 13. Charlie Binger Quartet – Jamaica Is The Place To Go
  MP3 £0.99
• 14. Mighty Dougla – Exhange Is No Robbery
  MP3 £0.99
• 15. Viper – Dog Better Than Man
  MP3 £0.99
• 16. Lord Kitchener – Jamaican Woman
  MP3 £0.99
• 17. J.B. Williams Band – Gee Bongo Lay
  MP3 £0.99
• 18. Lord Ivanhoe – Lift The Iron Curtain
  MP3 £0.99
• 19. King Fighter – People Will Talk
  MP3 £0.99

Deluxe CD, 2xLP (+ free download) and worldwide digital

Available in all good retail and internet stores from 2 June 2014 or direct from Soul Jazz Records right now!

This new album features the music of Calypso in its many styles. Included is music from its birthplace - the island of Trinidad - as well as a number of other Caribbean islands (including Jamaica and the Bahamas) and its subsequent onwards journey (Britain, Panama and the United States), recorded during the years 1955-69.

Calypso is one of the most exciting and enduring forms of musical expression to emerge from the beginning of the 20th century - swinging, persuasive rhythm, brilliantly expressive melodies and lyrics of great humour and wisdom.

Calypsonians songs play out a role in society similar to the storytelling Griots of West Africa (and the corresponding music of Kaiso); with their own tales about popular and incredible news items, modern life, local politics all mixed up with sexual innuendo, one-upmanship, comedy and more.

At its source, Calypso is intricately and inextricably bound to the social history of Trinidad and its myriad of traditions, beliefs, folklore and fables. As the music spread around the world, both from the diaspora of many of its performers, as well as its commercial success, the subjects of songs similarly took on local topics.

The most notable singer of Calypso in England was the Trinidadian Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), who came to Britain in 1948 on HMS Empire Windrush (along with fellow Calypsonians Lord Beginner and Lord Woodbine).

Here on this album you will also find other members of Calypso’s aristocracy & royalty – including Lord Cobra, Lord Hummingbird, Lord Growler, King Fighter, Lord Byron, The Mighty Viper, Lord Ivanhoe & more.

The songs vividly capture the popular news stories and fashions of the era - the first Man on the Moon, James Bond’s Pussy Galore, bed bugs, Voodoo, love in cemeteries, West Indians in England, Bossa Nova, the Iron Curtain, and a story of a white man who had a black heart transplant operation.

This album celebrates a criminally unsung and under-documented art form in the modern age and comes with extensive sleevenotes on the history, social context and geography of Calypso, as well as exclusive and stunning photography, original artwork and notes on all the artists and songs featured.

CD with 50 pages of notes, labels and exclusive photos in slipcase. 2xLP gatefold heavy vinyl + full notes, insert, free download code. Worldwide Digital release.

REVIEW;

"Decades before hip-hop became black America's most visible news source, Caribbean and British calypso stars were singing about current events in lilting tunes so seemingly carefree you barely noticed how sharply they were sticking it to the man. With chatty and conversational voices front and center, carnival stars like Viper, Lord Hummingbird and Lord Flea delivered their sass amid suave, jaunty horns and percolating Afro-Caribbean percussion. This collection focuses more on pop culture than on politics: Lord Cobra's enthusiastic account of the 1969 moon landing, for example, is followed by Young Growler's bawdy celebration of James Bond consort "Pussy Galore." Calypso's predominant voice, Lord Kitchener, is represented by the hilarious "Love in the Cemetery," wherein a resident warns him, "Mister, you be brave / To be bringin' your girlfriend atop me grave."

Top 50 best reissues of 2014 - Rolling Stone magazine