Running strictly with recordings made before 1970s and of West Indian origin this time out.
This is the very early days of reggae. The range of recordings suggests that through the 50s and 60s it was more of a melting pot of different styles, before in the 70s and after reggae and its subsequent incarnations became the dominant sound for the islands.
I would love to know more about these different traditions. What did the calypso lovers think about the rhythm and blues influenced stuff when it came along? Was ska as big a deal in the Caribbean as it was over here - or bigger? Where did each piece of the musical jigsaw belong?
I will have to do some more reading, because listening to this music paints a picture but asks a lot of questions.
A lot of these tracks are on 60 year old 7 inches so there is a bit of noise (also when my mixer breaks at the end!) but hopefully that doesn't get in the way of some magical music.
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