This anthology escapes the simplistic vision of fado as a purely vocal genre in following the instrumental flux of the years 1950 to 1962. The music drifts inexorably towards fado, which became over time the expression of the Portuguese soul, but it ventures also into the country's provinces, with their own rhythms and dances. Predominant here is the characteristic sound of the guitarra portuguesa, with virtuoso players in the Lisbon style alongside those of Coimbra, among them the brilliant Carlos Paredes.