VA - Calypso Breakaway (1990, Rounder)

Have a happy new year!

This disc centers on some of the best Decca calypsos of the late ‘30s. Here are the songs and singers that sparked the calypso boom in the United States. They include Beginner, Lion, Radio, Invader, Caresser, Tiger, and Atilla. The notes are not very informative, but the transcriptions are good.

"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

Tracklist:

1 Keskidee Trio – Don't Le' Me Mother Know 2:58
2 King Radio  –Ma Maria 3:03
3 Felix And His Krazy Kats – Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen 2:44
4 The Growler – An Excursion To Grenada 3:03
5 The Lion –  Tina 2:21
6 Lord Executor – Seven Skeletons Found In The Yard 2:47
7 Al Philip Iere Syncopators – Little Gal, Mother Is Calling You 2:42
8 The Tiger – Maraval Girls 3:01
9 Lord Beginner – Anacaona 2:52
10 Atilla The Hun – Dynamite 2:49
11 Lord Invader – Caro At Point Cumana 2:30
12 Lionel Belasco's Orchestra – Violets-Venezuelan Waltz 2:39
13 The Lion And Atilla The Hun – Guests Of Rudy Vallee 2:49
14 Lord Executor – How I Spent My Time At The Hospital 2:51
15 King Radio – Old Men Come Back Again 2:52
16 Wilmouth Houdini And His Caribbean Orchestra – Johnnie Take My Wife 3:12
17 The Caresser – The More They Try To Do Me Bad 2:49
18 The Lion – Love Thy Neighbor 2:51
19 Codallo's Top Hatters Orchestra – Tropical Heat-Paseo 2:55
20 The Tiger – The Whe Whe Banker Wedding 3:05

VA - Calypso Breakaway (1990, Rounder)

(320 kbps, cover art included)