The latest volumes in this highly acclaimed "London Is The Place For Me" series - Volume 7 - Calypso, Palm-Wine, Mento, Joropo, Steel & Stringband & Volume 8 - Lord Kitchener In England 1948-1962. Presenting the music of the Windrush generation: the post-war, London recordings of West Indians and West Africans, in the first wave of modern migration to Britain. Volume 7 - Calypso, Palm-Wine, Mento, Joropo, Steel & Stringband overflows with diverse musical styles, including steel band, stringband, calypso, joropo and mento. Volume 8 - Lord Kitchener In England 1948-1962 is devoted to the great calypsonian Lord Kitchener.

This well-rounded set features Monty Alexander exploring his West Indian heritage by utilizing the steel drum of Othello Molineaux and performing both straightahead jazz and calypsos. The music is often quite joyous and even the more familiar material (such as "Work Song," "Stella By Starlight" and a medley of "Impressions" and "So What") sounds fresh. Whether it be the Milt Jackson blues "S.K.J." or the Crusaders' hit "Street Life," this is a very successful outing that is quite enjoyable.

An actor, humanitarian, and the acknowledged "King of Calypso," Harry Belafonte ranked among the most seminal performers of the postwar era. One of the most successful African-American pop stars in history, Belafonte's staggering talent, good looks, and masterful assimilation of folk, jazz, and worldbeat rhythms allowed him to achieve a level of mainstream eminence and crossover popularity virtually unparalleled in the days before the advent of the civil rights movement – a cultural uprising which he himself helped spearhead.

This is the best record of the year and Minott is the best male vocalist of the decade. The Jolly Boys deserve a best vocalist Grammy, best cover song Grammy, best album Grammy, best all around Grammy and those who value solid music with raw power and hair-raising soulfulness deserve to honor their ears with this one. The Jolly Boys take some great songs on here and make them better as they own them, and they elevate some other mediocre pop songs (that until the Jolly Boys got hold of them were just whiny lyrics and plasticine substance around bubble gum basics) into the bluesy phenomenal stratosphere of hair-raising profound expressions of old school realism.