Belafonte harry

The Chicago drummer/producer/arranger mines the past to speak to the present

173 cuts from calypso's thrilling, if brief, mainstream heyday...

From Uncut's February 2013 issue (Take 189), the incredible Pete Seeger on Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the enduring power of protest songs. Interview: Neil Spencer

Black America’s militant years, captured on rediscovered Swedish documentaries. Right on!

Underground, overground: two subversive major label salvos from New York’s folk-punk-poets. Of their time, sure, but still worth yours...

While hanging out with calypso stars Mighty Sparrow and Lord Invader on the Trinidadian set of 1957's Fire Down Below, Mitchum hit on the idea of a cash-in album for Capitol execs eager to tap into the next big thing. Harry Belafonte aside, the craze didn't quite sweep, but old sourpuss' unlikely stab is commendable for its gusto, rum-cocktail swing and gentle innuendo (see "Tic Tic Tic"). Sinatra it ain't, but it sure beats Richard Harris.