Calypso Man is the high point of a transitional period for
Ros. The immediately preceding albums were dreck, and subsequent material would be recorded in stereo for London's new Phase 4 division. In this period the fourteen tracks have diminished to the standard twelve. And Ros' London West End club is now the
Edmundo Ros Club instead of the New Coconut Grove. In
Calypso Man, vocals are emphasized, appropriately enough;
Ros undoubtedly used up some tape to get his best performances. The sound quality, at least, is superior to his earlier calypsos, and as usual
Ros covers some uncommon songs. "The Funeral Undertaker" describes an overly zealous man interring the living, and "Jacob" is another one about jumbies and cemeteries. "Sweetie, Sweetie," actually "Matilda," is the only song not also on Edmundo Ros Plays the Limbo. ~ Tony Wilds