This new album features the music of Calypso in its many forms – from its birthplace, the island of Trinidad, as well as other Caribbean islands (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.

Here you will find Calypso’s aristocracy and royalty – Lord Kitchener, Lord Cobra, Lord Growler, King Fighter, Lord Byron, The Mighty Viper, Lord Ivanhoe and more. Their 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 white man who had a black heart transplant operation.

This album celebrates a criminally unsung and underdocumented art form in our 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.