- Audio CD (13 Mar 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Honest Jon
- ASIN: B000068GU3
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 39,807 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. London Is The Place For Me |
| 2. I Was There (At The Coronation) |
| 3. Mix Up Matrimony |
| 4. My Landlady |
| 5. Kitch's Bebop Calypso |
| 6. Victory Test Match |
| 7. Birth Of Ghana |
| 8. Aguiti |
| 9. Jamaica Hurricane |
| 10. Kitch in The Jungle |
| 11. No Carnival In Britain |
| 12. The Underground Train |
| 13. Housewives |
| 14. Some Girl Something |
| 15. Saxophone No. 2 |
| 16. Fed-A-Ray |
| 17. Bulldog Don't Bite Me |
| 18. Spanish Calypso |
| 19. If You're Not White You're Black |
| 20. Sweet Jamaica |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
London Is the Place for Me is a remarkable collection of the varied and irrepressible music that London's calypsonians were producing in the first half of the 1950s. Lord Kitchener himself sings on nine of the 20 tracks while Lord Beginner has five and the rest are shared between Lord Invader, Mighty Terror, Young Tiger, the Lion and someone who bucked the trend by simply calling himself Timothy. Apart from the different voices what impresses most is the variety in both words and music. The best-known of these songs is surely Lord Beginner's "Victory Test Match" (...cricket, lovely cricket, at Lord's where you find it...) but the others cover subjects ranging from landladies and the Underground to independence in Africa, the colour problem, a hurricane in Jamaica and, very topically, the Coronation. The record also exhibits extraordinary musical skill. Such fine Caribbean jazz musicians as saxophonist Bertie King, trumpeter Cyril Blake and clarinettist Freddie Grant have ample opportunities to shine and on some tracks the music seems to foreshadow the Brazilian bossa nova's meeting with jazz a few years later or the joyous sound of the African Jazz Pioneers. Jazzmen with West Indian origins continue to flourish these days but this sort of wide-ranging approach to lyrics and their content seems to have died out. So this release is a timely reminder that (as Bob Dylan also demonstrated subsequently) there is more to life than romance and sex and can be much more to lyrics than the "love" and lust that preoccupies most commercial music. --Graham Colombé
Album Description
Long before there was reggae, or even ska, the official soundtrack of black Britain was calypso. Not just records coming from "back home" into newly-arrived immigrant communities, but a genuine London/Port Of Spain hybrid with some of the Caribbean's greatest entertainers composing songs about Lyon's Corner Houses, riding on the Underground, nosey landladies and--of course--the British weather. Calypso provided a vibrant, exciting, often hilarious commentary on 1950s London life. This music couldn't have happened anywhere else, and yet it is customarily forgotten. Until now, that is. Honest Jon's has unearthed recordings by the likes of Lord Kitchener, Lord Beginner and The Lion and put them together as London Is The Place For Me. A timely reminder, in such proximity to the 40th anniversary of Jamaican independence, that 50 years ago the voice of Britain's West Indian communities had a distinctly Trinidadian lilt. Spin a few of these tunes and you'll find out as much about life in the mother country in those days as you could from any textbook--and you can dance to them.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly magnificent!!,
By
This review is from: London Is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956 (Audio CD)
This is an excellent compilation of calypso from Britain's post-war West Indian emigres. I bought this album purely out of curiousity, not knowing what to expect. I can report that this is a wonderful and varied collection of songs. Many of the songs capture the innocence and optimism of the new immigrant communities. For example, Lord Kitchener's 'London is the place for me' is cheerful and up-tempo, and an excellent choice for the opening track. A lot of humour, sophistication and intelligence emanates from this album. It opens up one's eyes to an important period of history, and some of the songs deal with the downside of British life like racism and unfriendliness: 'If you're not white you're black'; 'My landlady', and 'Mix up matrimony'. There are also some humorous songs such as the bawdy 'Saxophone No. 2', and the hilariously funny 'Bulldog don't bite me'. To all readers of this review, I suggest that you must listen to this wonderful CD, and not put calypso into a pigeonhole. Calypso is vibrant, lively, sharp, witty, and intelligent. It's only racial stereotyping that has portrayed calyso as silly and sentimental. If you want to hear calypso, then forget Harry Belafonte and try Lord Kitchener instead.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just buy it - for its history and its music. Superb,
By Dr Dai "dr_dai" (Cardiff, Wales) - See all my reviews
This review is from: London Is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956 (Audio CD)
I had recently bought the Kings of Calypsocompilation essentially to get Lord Invader's Bed Bug. As someone who had only perhaps heard somewhat watered down Harry Belafonte-esque calypso previously I wasn't expecting a great deal. How wrong I was. I was struck both by the vitality of music and the insight and relevance of the lyrics to the days in which they were composed. So when this came out I got it and again wasn't disappointed. From Kitch's opening title track to others such as I Was There (At The Coronation) and If You're Not White You're Black, this is a great album tracking the feelings and emotions of newly-arrived Trinidadians in grey, austere fifties Britain through the medium of often really uplifting music. Great lyrics, great musicianship and a historical record to boot. Get it and enjoy and also get Kings of Calypso too at a real bargain price.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uplifting!,
By
This review is from: London Is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956 (Audio CD)
My husband and I really love this album. The songs are easy to listen to and are very uplifting. If you have an open mind about music then give it a try - you're sure to love it!
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