Robert Mitchum Calypso Is Like So Capitol LP 1957 RARE

$

71

Hello vinyl junkies, I’m knee deep (elbow deep?) in grease and rusty or missing parts while restoring a classic car (and have another waiting in the wings if I EVER finish the current one) so I'll be slowly selling off the bulk of my record collection to finance these projects… therefore I'll be continuing to list hundreds of LPs over the next few months, so please keep checking back

Anyway, let's continue with this one by Robert Mitchum Calypso- Is Like So released by Capitol Records in 1957. (T-853 Monophonic) First pressing turquoise label with silver print. 

Yes, actor Robert Mitchum sings Calypso favorites in this fun album. Recorded at the height of the Calypso fad in the United States, Mitchum puts his unmistakable mark on twelve favorite folk songs from Trinidad...including arguably the best interpretation of "Mama, Looka Boo Boo" ever recorded. If you are a fan of wacky "golden throats" recordings, your collection is incomplete without this gem!

Surprised that Robert Mitchum sings Calypso? It would be stranger if he couldn't. Fact is, he was learning the fascinating language of Calypso long before it became the rage in the U.S.A. And he was learning it in its true home, Trinidad. Deep down, Robert Mitchum is a wanderer, and he probably would have gone to Trinidad anyway, but actually it was Hollywood that sent him there, "on location" for two feature films...to Port Of Spain, a colorful and sunlit place where people have come from many corners of the earth, mingling accents and spilling out their hearts in a unique idiom called Calypso.

In Trinidad, the sharp Mitchum ear was quick to hear the subtle coloration of word and melody that gives this native song its special sound. And, expert mimic that he is, he qas quick to give it voice, in every characteristic detail. For ten months of the kind he likes best, Mitchum followed his Calypso trail, listening acutely to local champions like Lord Melody and Mighty Sparrow, memorizing newer and more intricate lyrics in some small native bistro, absorbing rhythmic excitement of such festivals as the annual Jump Up Carnival.

Returning to the States, he was happy enough mearly to spread the gospel of the Calypso style among the entertainment fraternity. But show-wise listeners soon recognized the quality of the Mitchum demonstrations, and insisted Bob record the songs himself.  The result: this album.

Not all the songs he sings here are absolutely as he first heard them (the censor wouldn't stand for it). A couple of tunes are already known; a couple are newly written for the occasion. But every one has the authentic flavor, the beat and the vitality of the real Caribbean thing. All are products of great talent and great enthusiasm. Calypso, Robert Mitchum says with considerable authority, is like so...

This LP contains the following tracks:

1. Jean and Dinah
2. From A Logical Point Of View
3. Not Me
4. What Is This Generation Coming To?
5. Tic, Tic, Tic
6. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep
7. I Learn A Merengue, Mama
8. Take Me Down To Lovers Row
9. Mama, Look A Boo Boo
10. Coconut Water
11. Matilda, Matilda
12. They Dance All Night

I grade on a stricter scale than Goldmine! (or at least the watered down version that seems to exist here on eBay). I'll take the time to describe any flaws rather that give a letter grade that means something different to seemingly every record seller and buyer... I've received too many LPs graded by sellers VG++ or NM that were pretty beat up, and I'm willing to bet it's happened to your too.

Sorry if the cover looks washed out in the photo below…this is caused by a reflection from the camera flash… the colors are brighter and bolder in person.

If this LP caught your eye, please check my other auctions over the next few months for several other albums including space age pop, lounge, bachelor pad, exotica and weird & strange recordings and more. I will combine shipping on multiple purchases.

Please feel free to e-mail with any questions.

The Fine Print:

Payment is due within seven days after end of auction. - Ebay has recently changed it's payment regulations making it against the rules for sellers to accept any form of mailed payment. From now on, Paypal is the only payment method I am able accept. I am sorry, but this is eBay's policy - not by my choice.

Due to overwhelming requests, I generally ship domestic packages by Media Mail. However, please keep in mind that while media mail is the cheapest shipping method it is also the slowest. Media mail can take up to one month or MORE to arrive. Media Mail shipping within the United States is $3.50 including mandatory Delivery Conformation.

I do combine shipping for multiple purchases. The $3.50 covers between one and three albums. Additional albums (over three) are an additional 25 cents each. (Please wait for an invoice from me, as the Paypal system does not calculate the combines shipping)

If you need your purchase quicker than Media Mail will provide, please e-mail me and I'll let you know the Priority Mail shipping cost. Depending on your location Priority rates range between $4.80 to $8.75 for one LP.

I do not charge any "shipping" or "handling" fees... you pay what the post office charges me.  I usually ship within 48 hours of receiving Payment.

Insurance is available on domestic packages for an additional $1.70 as I cannot be responsible for any package that is lost or damaged after it has been shipped. 

Overseas shipping is by Air Mail Only (surface mail is not available!) Shipping for one LP to Canada is $7.00, Mexico is $11.00. Anywhere else in the world is $14.00. Overseas shipping is by regular air mail and can take anywhere from one and four weeks to arrive.  I do combine shipping for overseas purchases also - I will send an invoice with the shipping amount if purchasing more than one LP.

Sorry, I no longer ship to Italy due to the high number of "LOST" packages.

All records are mailed in cardboard record mailers with cardboard inserts to prevent damage. LP will be removed from cover for shipping to prevent seam splits while in transit.

I usually ship within 48 hours of receiving Payment.

I do offer a money back guarantee if you are not pleased with your purchase. I don’t do this for a living, it is supposed to be a fun hobby, so If there is a problem at any point during the transaction, please let me know so we can work out a solution!  

Thanks for looking and good luck!