Bermuda: Gombay & Calypso 1953-1960

This double CD follows other Frémeaux recordings of 50s Caribbean popular music. But whereas the previous compilations Jamaica Mento and Bahamas Goombay revealed innovative, stylistic cross-fertilisations, this Bermuda set is far less engaging, mostly highlighting the derivative character of this cultural moment. Given that gombay is thought of as having West African essences – and percussive dexterity in particular – it's disappointing to hear that the Bermudan interpreters on this album seem largely beholden to pan-Caribbean trends such as calypso from Trinidad and Tobago. The first CD is dominated by the singer Sidney Bean and the five-strong Talbot Brothers. Bean has a lovely baritone but his lack of rhythm and subtlety leaves his tracks singularly pedestrian. The Talbot Brothers fare a little better, incorporating some swing and skiffle and, on ‘Bermuda Blues’, warm, engagingly offbeat vocal interplay. The second set is fractionally more memorable. Reuben McCoy & the Hamiltonians veer away from pastiche calypso with a racier beat and jaunty piano on ‘Limbo’, jazz guitar on ‘Freezin’ in New York’ and melodic jazz lines on ‘St Thomas Limbo’, a party favourite made famous internationally by Sonny Rollins. If you are curious as to what these Bermudans are singing about, it is largely how beautiful and fun their island enclave is. Much of this selection seems frozen in a quaint colonial mentality where a social stasis foregrounds musical laziness and lyrical triviality.