Calypso Awakening

Calypso Awakening

from the Emory Cook Collection

Live Recordings 1956 - 1962

67 minutes.

A flourishing of Calypso creativity, a dramatic period in Trinidad's history and an audio engineer inspired these exciting tracks, originally released on Cook Records between 1956 and 1962. Emory Cook used innovative recording techniques to capture the active interplay between calypsonians and their audiences. We hear classic song-duels between calypso legends like The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody, lively steel band processions, and a wide range of provocative calypso songs about life, love and politics. Live and studio recordings from Trinidad. 32 page booklet presents notes, song texts, Cook discography, bibliography. 67 minutes.

Track List

Saturday Night Blowout The John Buddy Williams Band

Carnival Celebration Small Island Pride

Booboo Man Lord Melody

Federation Small Island Pride

No, Doctor No The Mighty Sparrow

Taxi Driver Small Island Pride

Tuning of a Ping Pong Unknown artist

Yankees Gone Steel band procession

Yankees Gone (Jean & Dinah) The Mighty Sparrow

Picong Duel The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody

Cowboy Sparrow Lord Melody

Reply to Melody The Mighty Sparrow

Carnival Proclamation Lord Melody

P.A.Y.E The Mighty Sparrow

Turn Back, Melody Lord Melody

Teresa The Mighty Sparrow

Come Go, Calcutta Lord Melody

No Crime, No Law Commander

He No Dead Yet King Fighter

Bongo Man Wrangler

Neighbor Jacqueline Wrangler

CD Recording Description

The 32 page booklet presents notes and song texts of recordings taken from the Emory Cook collection.

A flourishing of Calypso creativity, a dramatic period in Trinidad's history and an audio engineer inspired these exciting tracks, originally released on Cook Records between 1956 and 1962. Emory Cook used innovative recording techniques to capture the active interplay between calypsonians and their audiences.

We hear classic song-duels between calypso legends like The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody, lively steel band processions, and a wide range of provocative calypso songs about life, love and politics. Live and studio recordings from Trinidad.

Review

Calypso Awakening captures a period of artistry that we have come to hold in very high regard. The combination of studio and live recordings from the Cook Collection feature classic songs by Sparrow, Melody and Small Island Pride. Other performances include King Fighter's "He Nah Dead Yet" and the live steelband rendition of "Yankees Gone", later renamed by Sparrow as "Jean and Dinah".

The superb live recordings place the listener in the audience at the tents and among the steelband chippers on the streets as far back as fifty years ago. One does not have to guess what it was like then. Calypso Awakening takes you there. [March 2006 - eCaroh/Ron]