London Is the Place for Meis a remarkable collection of the varied and irrepressible music ... more
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 seemsto 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
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Advantages: Excellent central location; good bars and restaurants Disadvantages: Rooms a bit old fashioned; a little pricey
stacked high with a traditional beef or lamb or turkey (or all three!) roast, carved by a very friendly and funny chef who served us.
As mentioned earlier, Covent Garden is less than 5 minutes walk away (the tube station a couple of minutes more), and most of the theatres are within 5 minutes walk. It was an ideal place to stay. During the day we did the cheesy tourist thing and got on one of the tour buses (a stop is just around the corner from the hotel). We also went on the London eye, but got to this using the tour bus, but I believe it is around 15 minutes walk from the hotel.
All in all a good central location for siteseeing and theatre breaks, hence giving it a recommendation, but a little disappointed in the room (especially after paying for a "club" upgrade). If you've stayed in a typical London hotel before then the style ...
Advantages: Brilliant rooms, service, food, internet etc Disadvantages: expensive!!!
do have are of a high quality.
What is near the Grosvenor?
To me the most outstanding thing about the hotel, is that is right opposite the Apollo Victoria Theatre which is home to my favourite musical ever- Wicked. (Review to come soon...). For me this was a plus point as we were going to see it and it meant we could leave our hotel at say 7.20 and still make it in time for the 7.30 show. (We didn?t do this though..we were there way too early!...what can I say? I was excited!!!). The Victoria Palace Theatre home to Billy Elliot is also only a two minute walk from the hotel, which is great. I?d recommend both these musicals.
Buckingham Palace is a short walk away too which is a great place to visit and there are often events going on at or around the palace. The hotel is also within walking distance of the London Eye, Covent ...
Advantages: Very central, well connected, good value, comfortable Disadvantages: none to speak of other than the rooms could be bigger
This hotel isin a superb location whether you are inLondon for work or play. The West End theatres are literally round the corner along with all the other central London famous sights. Needless to say transport links are good be it by bus, train, underground, foot or bicycle. Of course driving is not recommended!
I found the concierge helpful and polite. The entrance seemed quite grand to me and you immediately felt transported out of the hussle and bussle and into a sanctuary of tranquility.
The room was fine by my standards. Not palatial but neither was it offensive. Relatively neutral decor and a comfortable bed. Everything was clean and tidy and the facilities were good and all working.
I even found the shower more impressive than most and was able to have quite a pleasurable soak before hitting the town that evening. ...
Product Information for "London Is The Place For Me Vol.1 (Trinidadian Calypso In London 1950-1956) - Various Artists" »
Product details
Title
London Is The Place For Me Vol.1 (Trinidadian Calypso In London 1950-1956)
Performer
Various Artists
Genre
World Music
Sub Genre
Trinidadian
Release Date
24/06/2002
Recomended Retail Price
14.99 GBP
Original Release Year
2002
Label / Distributor
Honest Jon's / EMI Operations/CEVA Logistics
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Mono
Format
Collection
EAN
724354034329
Catalogue Number
HJRCD 2
Additional notes
Album Notes
Full title: London Is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956. Includes a 40-page illustrated booklet.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (12/12/02, p.103) - "...Born out of the heartbreak, as well as the hopefulness, of immigrantsin a cold and sometimes unforgiving new land." Spin (2/03, p.102) - "...Wicked with cocktails..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
London Is The Place For Me - Lord Kitchener
2.
I Was There (At The Coronation) - Young Tiger
3.
Mix Up Matrimony - Lord Beginner
4.
My Landlady - Lord Kitchener
5.
Kitch's Bebop Calypso - Lord Kitchener
6.
Victory Test Match - Lord Beginner
7.
Birth Of Ghana - Lord Kitchener
8.
Aguiti - Lord Invader
9.
Jamaica Hurricane - Lord Beginner
10.
Kitch In The Jungle - Lord Kitchener
11.
No Carnival In Britain - Mighty Terror
12.
Underground Train - Lord Kitchener
13.
Housewives - Lord Beginner
14.
Some Girl Something - Lion
15.
Saxophone No 2 - Lord Kitchener
16.
Fed A Ray - Lord Beginner
17.
Bulldog Don't Bite Me - Timothy
18.
Spanish Calypso - Lion
19.
If You're Not White You're Black - Lord Kitchener
20.
Sweet Jamaica - Lord Kitchener
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11/06/2005
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