VA - Calypso Breakaway 1927-1941 (1990)

The second volume of early calypso music on Rounder brings us twenty classic tracks, each an eloquent and witty musical observation on the issues, events, and scandals of the golden era of calypso. Here are 1927-41 recordings by Lord Beginner, Atilla the Hun, the Lion, the Tiger, King Radio, Lord Executor, the Caresser and more.


Born out of the postslavery kalinda songs 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 Breakaway is both a great introduction and a priceless, carefully mastered record for the aficionado, despite uninformative liner notes. --Derek Rath