Various Artists - Calypso Breakaway 1927-1941 - Amazon.com Music

Born out of the postslaverykalindasongs of stick-fighting competitions, Calypso has evolved into today's techno-tinted soca, with several major shifts along the way. These 20 songs are representative of an extremely musically sophisticated period in the evolution, with references from swing jazz and Cuba in abundance. They are transcribed from vintage recordings, and there is plenty of humor, wisdom, and wit inherent in the Calypsonians' lyrics to relate to the human condition in any age. Calypso has always documented politics, weather, and news stories (intermixed with racy double-entendres), and these tunes are no exception, save being from a slower, more naive period of history. Although the instrumentation has changed over the years, much of this classic music swings hard and will stand the test of time long after the overly synthesized treatments of today's "road songs" have been forgotten. Many of these artists performed in cabarets and nightclubs in New York and London at the time, and several went on to great international acclaim.Calypso Breakawayis both a great introduction and a priceless, carefully mastered record for the aficionado, despite uninformative liner notes.--Derek Rath