In the late 1930s, Decca records entrusted a boatload of recording equipment to producer Ralph Perez, and asked him to record the latest Trinidadian music he could find, to complement their already impressive collection and fuel the "calypso-mania" that was infecting the States. Perez collected a musicologist's wish-list of the island's most unique and beautiful sounds: chants, songs, hymns, dance numbers, folk tunes, etc. This amazing collection from Bear Family Records gathers 267 of these recordings, and includes a 316-page book with thorough notes and introductions.