VA - Putumayo Presents Calypso (Vintage Songs From The Caribbean) (2002)

Review by Adam Greenberg
This album of "calypso" from Putumayo was culled in large part from Harold Doane's old ART label. Despite the album title, this album actually only contains some three songs hailing from the Trinidadian calypso genre. The rest is Jamaican mento and Bahamian folk. Putumayo does a good job of explaining the direct lineage from calypso to the other genres in the liner notes, saving a possible loss of authenticity with the added information. The music switches between slower, blues-inflected material and higher-speed work, such as "The Limbo Song." At times, the influence of American jazz is made quite clear, with some of the Bahamian works featuring horn lines highly reminiscent of Cab Calloway's band. Between the influences of African rhythms, Trinidadian calypso proper, and American jazz and blues, the music remains surprisingly true to form, with a carefree feeling that Putumayo was hoping to showcase. Some of the legends of calypso are present, with Lord Composer, Mighty Panther, King Sparrow (before his better-known phase as the Mighty Sparrow), and Lord Beginner all providing works. Unfortunately, the master himself, Lord Kitchener, is only mentioned in reference as a friend to some of the other artists, and none of his legendary works are provided. Aside from this one glaring omission, the album is outstanding in providing what the intention was: collecting songs that can hark back to a simpler way of life musically (despite the actual state of affairs in some of the lands of origin of the songs), and taking another look at a musical craze that went around the world in the blink of eye and disappeared almost as quickly with the rise of rock & roll. As a basic introduction to the genre, the album does well, though more experienced listeners might want to dig around for more focused collections.