Who knew that Curaçao was such a musically happening place in the early '50s? Those who were unaware of the richly varied music scene of that time and place can be happily brought up to speed by this excellent compilation, which was lovingly put together by sound restorationist Tim De Wolf. Working at times with multiple copies of individual 78-rpm discs, he cleaned and balanced these 50-year-old recordings and brought them up to a surprisingly high aural standard. The music itself is completely charming: dated, to be sure, but in all the right ways. Bands like Conjunto Cristal, Estrellas del Caribe, Conjunto Happy Boys, and Sexteto Gressmann deliver a generous program of merengues, boleros, tumbas, pambiches, and guarachas, all of them replete with massive (and gorgeously arranged) horn sections, multi-layered percussion, and vocals that sometimes hint at a norteño-style melodrama and sometimes evoke the refined showrooms of Batista-era Cuba. The album's title track pays tribute to the central marketplace in Willemstad, Curaçao's capital city, where food and products would come in from all over the Caribbean to feed the booming local economy. The musical influences on display here are equally varied: you'll hear hints of Venezuela, Cuba, Africa, and Trinidad all over the place, and just about every selection on this 24-track collection will make you want to dance around the room with fruit on your head. ~ Rick Anderson