V/A Welcome To The Party (Jazzman) cd 17.98

V/A Well Hung: 20 Funk-Rock Eruptions From Beneath Communist Hungary - Vol.1 (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Back in stock, new lower price, now released domestically!
One of the most kick ass comps we've heard in a while! And there's been some good ones lately, of Nigerian '70s disco funk and French '80s electro punk, among others. But how can you beat funked up, progged out psych rock from Communist Hungary?? This comp resoundingly answers that question: you can't.
While this disc's title might be in poor taste this comp's curators exhibit EXCELLENT taste in groovy Hungarian psych/prog rarities from the sixties and seventies!!! Which is as you might expect, since these are the djs/diggers also responsible for such top notch sets as Welsh Rare Beat, Vertigo Mixed, and Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word. If you like those, you'll like this. (And, like us, will be eagerly anticipating volume 2, to be titled Hung Over, of course).
A couple of the bands here we know, only really 'cause of another B-Music related release, the disc by swingin' Hungarian sex symbol Sarolta Zalatnay, which featured her work with bands such as Locomotiv GT and Skorpios, both of which appear here along with a track by Zalatnay. In fact, the Hungarian scene was highly intertwined, as diagrammed by the handy "Well Hung Family Tree" that compiler Andy Votel has provided in the cd booklet... a cd booklet that by the way is super thick, packed with all the detailed liner notes from the knowledgeable Votel you could desire, color photos of the artists, album and singles covers, and a forward by none other than "Cini" herself, Sarolta Zalatnay! All the tracks are licensed from the source, Hungaroton Records, the whole thing sounds and looks great, it's an obvious labor of love. And what's not to love, 'cause all 20 tracks here are awesome. Tons of FUZZ guitar, swirling organ jamming, flutes going off, crazy instrumental breaks, wailing vocals, dancefloor filling beats galore. High energy stuff, man. Makes it seem like living under the heel of the Soviet boot of oppression wasn't all bad, at least these folks found the freedom of getting funky and freaky...
So, here's who's on here: Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser (the latter of whom has a big presence in many of these groups), Omega Redstar, Omega (2 cuts), Metro, Hungaria, Kati Kovacs (who sounds like Janis Joplin fronting Hard Stuff!), Katie Kovacs and Gemini, Corvina, Neoton, Tamas Somlo & Omega, Meteor & Demjen Ferenc, Illes (2 cuts from them too), Sarolta Zalatnay, Locomotiv GT, Nemenyi Bela and Atlantis, Piramis, Skorpio, and Bergendy.
From the fuzzy Bo Diddley shake of Omega Redstar, to the badass organ excess of Locomotiv GT, to the frantic funky synth sizzle of Illes (a band whom we recall from Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word as well)... well it's hard to pick highlights, they're all mega. Maybe Omega (sans Redstar) gets the nod for their epic 8 minute groover "Kergeskeziu Favagok", a full 3 minutes of which at least is occupied by a killer drum solo laced with field recordings of bird twitter! They also contribute a fuzzed out stomper a little later in the disc.
Ah, but it's all so good, Well Hung bringing together an amazing Eastern European melange of hard edged acid rock funk freakbeat that's part Chains And Black Exhaust, part wah wah '70s cop show kitsch, part Iron Curtain exotica... fun times in other words! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: CORVINA "A Tuz"
MPEG Stream: OMEGA "Kergeskeziu Favagok"
MPEG Stream: KATI KOVACS "Add Mar Uram Az Esot!"

V/A Welsh Rare Beat (Finders Keepers) cd 21.00
Compilations of long-lost '60s and '70s psych/pop/rock gems dug up from the far corners of the world by dedicated crate-digging record collectors are always considered a good thing here at AQ. We can just point to the Hava Narghile, Cambodian Rocks, Love Peace & Poetry and Thai Beat comps for some easy examples. But while we've been stoked on all sorts of stuff from Turkey, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, and elsewhere, there's always room for more, and for new unexplored territories to freak out about. For instance, what about Welsh psych/prog/folk??? Aha, that's what Welsh Rare Beat is devoted to, as you've already surmised. The 25 tracks here, all of 'em pretty fantastic, were selected from the vaults of the home-grown Welsh indie record label Sain, which could easily be (as this comp argues) the coolest record label you've never heard of before. As the liner notes put it: "You like prog-rock with blueprint trip-hop beats? So did Sain. You like ethereal girl groups with mystical acid folk overtones? So did Sain. You like psychedelic rock operas based on druidism and witchcraft? So did Sain..." And they're not kidding. Psyche-Celtic hoe-downs, dreamy folk singing, Cymru pride protest rock, and incredible grooves abound. These songs are all sung in Welsh (a pleasing tongue we trust you'll find), and due to the language barrier (and doubtless related cultural/political issues) these artists are pretty much unknown outside their own land, despite being just as good as a lot of better known folks from elsewhere in the UK. Really, looking at the names here, we'd only ever heard of Meic Stevens before. Never Bran, Heather Jones, Endaf Emlyn, Y Tebot Piws, or Yr Atgyfodiad, let alone Y Dyniadon Ynfyd Hirfelyn Tesog! But that's what's so great about discs like this, getting turned on to the denizens of a whole new realm of record-collector fantasy. The cd booklet helps mightily in that department, featuring a great deal of text -- there's very detailed track-by-track info plus a lengthy essay that treats this music scene in a political/historical context. VERY thorough indeed. And it even includes an annotated map of Wales. This really well put-together labor of love was compiled by Andy Votel (so recently responsible for the fab Vertigo Mixed comp), Dom Thomas, and Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals who of course hail from Wales, and is released on the same label, Finders Keepers, that also brought us those equally obscure and awesome Jean Claude Vannier and Yamasuki discs.
MPEG Stream: BRAN "Y Gwylwyr"
MPEG Stream: HEATHER JONES "Nos Ddu"
MPEG Stream: ELERI LLWYD "O Gymru"

V/A Welsh Rare Beat 2 (Finders Keepers) cd 23.00
That the Welsh well of groovy folk and psych rarities from the '60s and '70s hasn't run dry, is plentifully proven by this album. Finders Keepers presents a second volume of Welsh Rare Beat, again compiled by DJ Andy Votel and two of the guys from Super Furry Animals. Lots of w's and y's in the artist and track names here, there's tunes from the the likes of Galwad Y Mynydd (also the subject of a separate reissue on Finders Keepers), Y Gwenwyn, YNhw, Y Tebot Piws, Chwys, Meic Stevens, Bran, Sidan, Morus Elfryn, Heather Jones, Edward H. Dafis, AD 73, Bara Menyn, Hergest, and more. No, we haven't heard of most of 'em either -- and the ones we do know, we probably heard first on the original Welsh Rare Beat. And while we'd rate that volume a little higher, there's treats galore here, from rustic acid folk to glammy rock to disco prog! Even a kids TV show character takes a stab at rock n' roll. All with a unique Cymaru bent, often with glorious traditional melodies woven through, and gentle voices singing in the slightly phlegmy and certainly indecipherable (to us) Welsh tongue. Informative liner notes are provided, though, to clue us to who these artists were and what they were on about.
MPEG Stream: ELERI LLWYD "Cariad Cyntaf"
MPEG Stream: SIDAN "Ar Goll"
MPEG Stream: CHWYS "Gwr Bonheddig"

V/A Welsh Rare Beat 2 (Finders Keepers) lp 30.00
That the Welsh well of groovy folk and psych rarities from the '60s and '70s hasn't run dry, is plentifully proven by this album. Finders Keepers presents a second volume of Welsh Rare Beat, again compiled by DJ Andy Votel and two of the guys from Super Furry Animals. Lots of w's and y's in the artist and track names here, there's tunes from the the likes of Galwad Y Mynydd (also the subject of a separate reissue on Finders Keepers), Y Gwenwyn, YNhw, Y Tebot Piws, Chwys, Meic Stevens, Bran, Sidan, Morus Elfryn, Heather Jones, Edward H. Dafis, AD 73, Bara Menyn, Hergest, and more. No, we haven't heard of most of 'em either -- and the ones we do know, we probably heard first on the original Welsh Rare Beat. And while we'd rate that volume a little higher, there's treats galore here, from rustic acid folk to glammy rock to disco prog! Even a kids TV show character takes a stab at rock n' roll. All with a unique Cymaru bent, often with glorious traditional melodies woven through, and gentle voices singing in the slightly phlegmy and certainly indecipherable (to us) Welsh tongue. Informative liner notes are provided, though, to clue us to who these artists were and what they were on about.
MPEG Stream: ELERI LLWYD "Cariad Cyntaf"
MPEG Stream: SIDAN "Ar Goll"
MPEG Stream: CHWYS "Gwr Bonheddig"

V/A West Africa: Drum, Chant & Instrumental Music (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Originally released in 1976 as "Africa: Drum, Chant & Instrumental Music", this is a collection of recordings made in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Like the other CD in this series "East Africa: Ceremonial & Folk Music" there's a wide variety of instrumentation, given the wide geographical span from which the recordings were captured. Unlike that disc however, much of the tracks on here consist of solo improvisations on various instruments, drums and voice. Much of the tracks are subtly altered cyclical tunes which were recorded either during a musician's daily endless practicing or during an actual ceremony, such as the Tuareg Medicinal Chant which is intended to excite "the sick person to dance in an increasingly vigorous manner until either cured or exhausted." The warbling tones of the lead vocalist are accompanied by a droning chorus and percussion. The buzzing of the chorus and the warbling singer is made even more creepy by random screams which are said to represent the devil being chased away.
RealAudio clip: "Bounkam Solo"
RealAudio clip: "Tuareg Medicinal Chant"
RealAudio clip: "Kouco Solo"

V/A West Indies Funk (Music For Pleasure / Trans Air) lp 21.00

V/A West Java: Sundanese Jaipong and Other Popular Music (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
We just got the first batch of the Indonesia / South Pacific installment of Nonesuch's Explorer reissues, which total 12 in number. Ten of the discs are from either Java or Bali and just about each one features an entirely different form of gamelan. A Gamelan, as a cursory way of introduction, is an orchestra of primarily bronze (though bamboo gamelan are also common) percussion instruments -- metallophones, gongs, gong-chimes -- and drums. Quite often a gamelan will have a specific repertoire that it is exclusively built for the performance of, and certain ceremonial gamelan are limited to the performance of a single piece. On top of this, throughout Java and Bali there is an ever changing world of both village and court traditions which continue to defy definitions. These discs just in from Bali and Central & Western Java just scratch the surface of gamelan throughout Indonesia, but they're a fine introduction anyway.
Jaipongan and the other styles included on this disc are quite possibly some of the most interesting forms of popular music to develop in Indonesia or the world in recent times. Sunda (not to be confused by the geographically dyslexic with the Sudan) lies in Western Java and, as it seems holds true throughout Indonesia, has its own unique music, dance and dramatic arts exclusive to the relatively small geographic region in which it's contained. The story of Jaipongan's creation is almost as interesting as the music itself. And while it is thoroughly written about in the accompanying liner notes by none other than Philip Yampolsky (the man what brought us the 20 volume "Music of Indonesia" series on Smithsonian Folkways), I'll try to paraphrase as briefly as possible to pique your interest here.
As a catalyst for the creation of Jaipongan, a great deal is owed to Indonesian President Sukarno who, in the early 1960's, impressed upon Indonesians to cherish their traditional arts. In 1974, an inspired rennaissance man of an artist/entrepreneur by the name of Gugum Gumbira Tirasondajaja took Sukarno up on his challenge and put together a new genre of popular music that drew from traditional Sundanese music for its ingredients. What Sukarno probably wasn't looking for was a new popular genre built out of a dance genre in which a professional dancer -- often a prostitute -- invites men to dance with her. Gugum replaced the dance's accompaniment (limited to 3 small gongs) with a stripped down Degung gamelan common to Sunda. But most impressive was his addition to all this an impressive battery of drums played in a suitably flamboyant fashion -- much of the patterns taken from Wayang Golek (shadowless puppet theater which uses 3 dimensional puppets.) When you consider that the drummer in this ensemble, despite the expanded drums at his disposal, is still limited to a handful of two-headed barrel drums, it's enough to make Neil Peart blush at the way he plays them. Using pressure applied by the heel of the foot, or the forearm, the drummer can eke out glissandi or melodic fragments -- and they do so constantly. The ensemble wouldn't be complete, of course, without a singer. And the singer for this ensemble -- Gugum's Jugala Group -- is Idjah Hadidjah, probably the most famous in Sunda. Married to a famous dalang (puppeteer), she became somewhat famous herself singing during his Wayang Golek performances. Her silky and sensuous singing makes the perfect counterpoint to the frenetic drumming and is probably the single biggest reason why this album sold so well. Which reminds me... A lot of you have already probably noticed the nice new cover art these Explorer reissues are getting. As nice as the cover art is, it has already caused a little confusion here at Aquarius with customers who already own the previous CD issues of the discs in the Indonesian part of the series. This album, originally released under Idjah Hadidjah's name as "Tonggeret", was only just fairly recently released for the first time in the west in 1987. So just a warning to check your collections and make sure you don't have "Tonggeret" in there already. Unless, of course, you want this nicely remastered version with the cool Magnum cover photo.
RealAudio clip: HADIDJAH, IDJAH "Bayu-Bayu"
RealAudio clip: HADIDJAH, IDJAH "Daun Pulus Keser Bojong"

V/A What Remains Of Eden: Anatolian & Levantine Music 1928-1952 (Mississippi / Canary / Change) lp 14.98
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
It's practically raining Mississippi Records around here these days, no complaints, though sometimes it can be difficult for us to focus on which ones we want to review first! Not too difficult in this case though, as What Remains Of Eden, released in conjunction with Mississippi's Canary imprint and the Change label, focuses on Middle Eastern recordings made in the late 1920s all the way up to the early 1950s, which we are always curious to hear more of, as these sounds are still so incomprehensibly beautiful and exotic to our ears. This album is a great companion piece to Tompkins Square's massive To What Strange Place: The Music Of The Ottoman-American Diaspora 3cd set, though unlike those recordings which were made by immigrants living in New York, the records represented here were imported to America by labels who in the midst of the Great Depression found this method more profitable than having to actually pay musicians working in America. The notes bring up this unique aspect of the compilation, as these songs weren't culled from records found in the Middle East but instead from records sold mainly to Christian and Jewish minorities in the U.S., thereby representing specific market tastes.
The music within came from the regions making up present-day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, and the Ottoman roots are unmistakable. The deep spiritual nature of this region, home of the historical Garden of Eden, is reflected in each song, and anyone who has enjoyed previous Mississippi / Canary outings like the String Of Pearls compilation, Marika Papagika's The Further The Flame, The Worse It Burns and recent ROTW honoree Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, will find much to love. As always, highly recommended.

V/A Whaur The Pig Gaed On The Spree: Scottish Recordings By Alan Lomax 1951-57 (Twos & Fews / Drag City) lp 17.98

V/A Where Will You Be Christmas Day? (Dust-To-Digital) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Seems like most Christmas records are, justifiably, albums you want to run screaming from. Very few have weighed anchor at our port, Low's Christmas album being a notable exception, and I think we're probably one of the only stores that doesn't drag out the hideous Christmas/Holiday section every year. So it was interesting to see this new collection come in from the same label that brought us the wonderful (and gorgeous) Goodbye, Babylon box set. You'd think they've got a theme going here -- though the collection's producer Dick Spottswood states in the accompanying booklet: "in the spirit of fairness, we've tried to designate equal time for sacred and secular, for Christ and Santa Claus, and for respectable and rowdy". It don't matter though really. We're convinced these Dust To Digital fellas could come up with any theme and put out a kick ass collection, as this is just that -- x-mas or no x-mas. Some of the greats we all know and love are here: banjo player / singer Buell Kazee, Lead Belly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Maddox Bros. & Rose, and Bessie Smith. Along with all the great blues, country, gospel, and early jazz tracks you can expect, DTD has expanded their library beyond American roots music and have included some great tracks from Puerto Rico (a great guitar trio), Trinidad (a couple calypsos from Lord Executor and Lord Beginner), Italy (a bizarre instrumental belted out on a pair of strange bagpipe like instruments, the zampogna and the ciaramella), and The Ukraine (a hauntingly sultry violin, cymbaly, bass and sleigh bell tune). One of the highlights though, is a tune by the ever wonderful Alabama Sacred Harp Singers that'll stand your hair on end. I don't think there's another religious choir that sounds more possessed. Singing, nay practically yelling, in a sort of round fashion, this tune will have you shouting "Fuck Yeah!" The disc comes packaged in a fold out wallet and comes with a "Christmas In Jail" postcard (that you can actually use) and a cute little booklet.
MPEG Stream: LORD EXECUTOR "Christmas Is A Joyful Day"
MPEG Stream: ALABAMA SACRED HARP SINGERS "Sherburne"
MPEG Stream: PASQUALE FEIS "Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle"

V/A Who Will Buy (These Wonderful Evils) (Dolores / Virgin Sweden) 2cd 28.00
One disc old Swedish bands (like Charlie and Esdor), one disc new (like Dungen). Cool!!

V/A Who Will Buy (These Wonderful Evils)? Vol II (Dolores / Virgin Sweden) cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Great title, great comp! 21 tracks from 18 Swedish (and some invading British) '60s garage/beat/psych acts you've probably never heard of before, but who all pretty much ruled... Volume I of this (a double disc set featuring both '60s bands and their modern day emulators) was so expensive we never listed it, but Volume II is maybe cheap enough for us to stock a few...even though it really ain't cheap. Then again, try trying to track down the original 7" vinyl versions of all this tuneage! Anyway, this is one of those rare comps without a duff track really, for those into those '60s sounds. If you've got a Nuggets box set ('specially the second, internationally-oriented one) then you are a likely candidate to enjoy this. Bands include: Cheers, The Stringtones, Evil Eyes, Kings, Mascots, Iveys (not the pre-Badfinger Iveys), Vat 66, Les Fleurs, The Best, Bella And Me, The Mixers, Attractions, 14, Darling, Zoom, Ackes, Members Blues Band, and the Flying Dutchmen. Groovily graphically presented, with liner notes by expert Stefan Kery of the Subliminal Sounds label, whose own retro garage band in the '80s -- The Stomachmouths -- were certainly influenced by the some of the bands found here. If this sells, maybe we'll see about getting Vol. I back in stock... Warning for iPod'ers, cd burners and filesharers: this cd is supposedly equipped with some kind of sucky copy control technology thanks to the corporate powers that be at Virgin Sweden. That better mean all these bands are getting paid for this, eh?!
MPEG Stream: THE STRINGTONES "Don't Run And Hide"
MPEG Stream: 14 "Drizzle"

V/A Wigwam, Cowboys, Roter Kreis (All Score Media) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The third and final (?) installment of soundtrack music from East Germany's notorious Indianerfilmen. The film genre was popular in the sixties through the seventies and consisted of the basic American Western film turned upside down -- with the Native Americans as the heroes battling the evil colonial Europeans. Great concept, albeit surreal execution since all the actors in these films were German (in dark makeup) and the terrain is all Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. **As an aside, local AQ customers can now rent these films on video (with subtitles) across the street from us at Lost Weekend Video. Everyone else should bug their local video store to pick them up, if just for kicks.** Musically, "Wigwam, Cowboys, Roter Kreis" is the most successful collection in the series. The bulk of the tracks here are taken from four films, the scores for which are all equally off kilter in their influences. The score for the film Tecumseh sounds akin to Isaac Hayes' Shaft but augmented by faux-native flutes and motifs. Then there's the bizarre Apachen which boldly attempts a "Latin" feel with it's marimba, flute, trumpet trios backed by orchestra, percussion and even wah-wah guitar. The odd jaw-harp percussion duet "Todesrennen" from the film Blutsbruder is without compare. And, of course, no Indianerfilmen collection would be complete without at least one Morricone homage, and included on this disc are a few tracks from the film Severino which lifts the theme to Once Upon A Time In The West with only the slightest in melodic adjustments. As a bonus there are a few vocal songs including an alternate version of "Love Your Brother" (which was featured on the first Wigwam collection) and a couple other Gram Parsons-on-the-Eastern-bloc cuts. Liner notes covering the composers and the film genre in general are included in both German and English.
RealAudio clip: FISCHER, GUNTHER "Reiter-Duell (from Tecumseh)"
RealAudio clip: HOSALLA, DIETER "Die Plaza (from Apachen)"
RealAudio clip: SASSE, ERNST "Todesrennen (from Blutsbruder)"

V/A Wizzz! (Musiques Hybrides) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This peppy French compilation is so good. So stylistic and classy, people in the store took notice immediatley when I put it on. The songs are fast and a bit psychedelic. There're silly backup vocals and sexy girl voices throughout. The years span 1966-1971, which were rumoured to be musically uninspired years in France. This is a handful of the the best France had to offer, which I find lovely. Total cocktail party music, but in a good way, not all lounge nation.
RealAudio clip: CHARLOTTE LESLIE "Les Filles C'est Fait"
RealAudio clip: LES FLEURS DE PAVOT "A Degager"

V/A Wolf's At The Door: Lost Recordings From The Spirit Of The South (Sutro Park) lp 17.98
When seeing this record, most people will assume it's a killer new comp from Mississippi. In fact, it is a killer new comp, only from the Sutro Park label, which gave us those amazing Sandy Bull lp reissues a while back. Wolf's At The Door features 12 field recordings from the late '60s and early '70s, when a 19 year old Swede named Bengt Olsson decided to travel through the depths of the American South in search of the authentic sounds presented here. All of the artists on this record are unknown to us, and as the liner notes point out, Olsson's odyssey was marked by his introduction to many of Memphis' older, more obscure bluesmen, and many of the performers' stories remain unknown. As far as we can tell these recordings were unreleased before this, and the material offers a stark, powerful glimpse into the lives of these performers. The edges are rough and raw, but the fidelity is surprisingly clear. The songs here are even more interesting when you take into account the time in which they were recorded, as they seem completely oblivious to the innovations that had been rapidly shaping the music industry for better and/or worse. What you have here are some real sounds representative of a culture that managed to avoid all that, and the results are quite powerful. Recommended stuff which will no doubt appeal to fans of labels like the aforementioned Mississippi, Monk, and the like.

V/A World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's A Real Thing (Luaka Bop) cd 14.98
About time this AQ Record Of The Week from about four or five years ago got repressed, it's been absent for much too long, considering all the recent interest in Afro-funk reissues! And this collection has got some ESSENTIAL jams on it for sure, so we're glad it's back, and you will be too if you didn't already get one. Here's what we wrote about this when we originally listed it:
It's hard to argue with this one. Indeed, we're gonna do quite the opposite and make it a Record Of The Week! This collection, the third in the World Psychedelic Classics series on Luaka Bop (David Byrne's "world music" label), after an Os Mutantes collection and that incredible Shuggie Otis album, is further subtitled: "The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa". Stress on the funk we thinks. Yup, authentic '70s West African funk with a 'delic bent. Really really hard stuff not to like.
The dozen tracks here have got it all: Afro-centric chants, polyrhythmic percussion, James Brown style raspy yelps, wicked organ workouts, and even hard wah-wah acid fuzz jams (Ofo & The Black Company's bad-ass "Allah Wakbarr" is about the last word in that department, though we'd like to hear more). Though some come closer to the compilers' stated concept than others, all the tracks are winners, from the moody, marimba-based soundtrack theme of Manu Dibango's "Ceddo End Title" to the Cuban stylings of No. 1 de No. 1's "Guajira Van" to the percolating political space-funk of William Onyeabor's "Better Change Your Mind". And Alison simply says that "Ifa" by Tunji Oyelana and the Benders is her favorite. Probably because it sets itself apart from the other tracks by utilizing a more scrappy electronic sound to back its stripped-down politically-bent Afro-pop-style lyricism.
All the tracks come from the decade of the '70s, and the bands that recorded them hail from the West African countries of Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Benin, and Nigeria (but only two tracks overlap with the now-out-of-print 3cd Nigeria 70 compilation). And we think the compliers did a damn fine job, though it seems any survey of West African psych shoulda included a track by Blo, the closest thing to Cream the continent produced as far as we know. Ah well... we can hope for a second volume someday perhaps. Meanwhile, anyone who digs James Brown, Fela, Funkadelic, Orchestra Baobab, or more recent AQ reviewees Konono No. 1 and Black Merda, for instance, will certainly find that love IS a real thing when it comes to how you're gonna feel about this compilation!!
The liner notes go on about the psychedelic aspect of these bands, and while this stuff is definitely far out and groovy it's way more James Brown than brown acid. Mention of Haight-Ashbury seems a stretch, and the music of these bands has got as much or more to do with their motherland than, say, the generally more Western-derived psych we've heard from Thailand, Cambodia, or Turkey on various other comps we've carried. Then again, when you look at rock music influencing African music, you've got a full-circle phenomenon to examine. And when we reviewed the (currently unavailable) Love Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music compiliation some months back, the stuff on this new comp is exactly what we felt was missing and should have been included.
In any case, proper psych or not, and with or without much fuzz, this is definitely FUNKY.
The attractive cd booklet includes notes on each track/artist, complete with color album sleeve art where available. Nicely done. Furthermore, this is an "enhanced cd", allowing those with the appropriate computer technology to witness a video of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey's track "Minsato Le, Mi Dayhome".
MPEG Stream: SUPER EAGLES "Love's A Real Thing"
MPEG Stream: MANU DIBANGO "Ceddo End Title"
MPEG Stream: OFO & THE BLACK COMPANY "Allah Wakbarr"

V/A World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's A Real Thing - The Sounds Of West Africa (Stones Throw / Luaka Bop) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl!! Minus two of the 12 tracks on the cd (they didn't have space for Manu Dibango and Gasper Lawai, unfortunately)...
What we said about the cd, a recent Record Of The Week: It's hard to argue with this one. Indeed, we're gonna do quite the opposite and make it a Record Of The Week! This collection, the third in the World Psychedelic Classics series on Luaka Bop (David Byrne's "world music" label), after an Os Mutantes collection and that incredible Shuggie Otis album, is further subtitled: "The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa". Stress on the funk we thinks. Yup, authentic '70s West African funk with a 'delic bent. Really really hard stuff not to like.
The dozen tracks here have got it all: Afro-centric chants, polyrhythmic percussion, James Brown style raspy yelps, wicked organ workouts, and even hard wah-wah acid fuzz jams (Ofo & The Black Company's bad-ass "Allah Wakbarr" is about the last word in that department, though we'd like to hear more). Though some come closer to the compilers' stated concept than others, all the tracks are winners, from the moody, marimba-based soundtrack theme of Manu Dibango's "Ceddo End Title" to the Cuban stylings of No. 1 de No. 1's "Guajira Van" to the percolating political space-funk of William Onyeabor's "Better Change Your Mind". And Alison simply says that "Ifa" by Tunji Oyelana and the Benders is her favorite. Probably because it sets itself apart from the other tracks by utilizing a more scrappy electronic sound to back its stripped-down politically-bent Afro-pop-style lyricism.
All the tracks come from the decade of the '70s, and the bands that recorded them hail from the West African countries of Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Benin, and Nigeria (but only two tracks overlap with the now-out-of-print 3cd Nigeria 70 compilation). And we think the compliers did a damn fine job, though it seems any survey of West African psych shoulda included a track by Blo, the closest thing to Cream the continent produced as far as we know. Ah well... we can hope for a second volume someday perhaps. Meanwhile, anyone who digs James Brown, Fela, Funkadelic, Orchestra Baobab, or more recent AQ reviewees Konono No. 1 and Black Merda, for instance, will certainly find that love IS a real thing when it comes to how you're gonna feel about this compilation!!
The liner notes go on about the psychedelic aspect of these bands, and while this stuff is definitely far out and groovy it's way more James Brown than brown acid. Mention of Haight-Ashbury seems a stretch, and the music of these bands has got as much or more to do with their motherland than, say, the generally more Western-derived psych we've heard from Thailand, Cambodia, or Turkey on various other comps we've carried. Then again, when you look at rock music influencing African music, you've got a full-circle phenomenon to examine. And when we reviewed the (currently unavailable) Love Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music compiliation some months back, the stuff on this new comp is exactly what we felt was missing and should have been included.
In any case, proper psych or not, and with or without much fuzz, this is definitely FUNKY.
MPEG Stream: SUPER EAGLES "Love's A Real Thing"
MPEG Stream: OFO & THE BLACK COMPANY "Allah Wakbarr"
MPEG Stream: ""

V/A Zanzibara 1: Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Back in stock!
We've been totally digging the always amazing Ethiopiques series, documenting the rich history of Ethiopian music, and it just keeps getting better and better with each volume. You think that would be plenty to keep the folks at Buda Musique busy, but apparently not, as they've gone ahead and launched a new series entitled Zanzibara, chronicling the Swahili popular music of the East African Coast. Future volumes will be more archival, but this first installment celebrates Ikhwani Safaa, Zanzibar's (and most likely Africa's too) oldest music club, which turned 100 in 2005. These recordings, captured in Zanzibar in 2004 and Dubai in 2005, feature some of the region's most revered singers and players, all gathered to play classic songs and celebrate the last 100 years. The music here is dramatically different than anything in the Ethiopiques series, much more moody and hypnotic, less festive and jubilant, but no less captivating. The interesting thing is that the music here sounds unlike any of the African music we are familiar with and instead sounds much more Indian or Arabic. The vocals especially, sound distinctly Indian, as well as the swooning soaring strings. Lush, moody, swirling, slightly saturnine, and absolutely wonderful.
MPEG Stream: "Vingaravyo Vyote Si Dhahabu"
MPEG Stream: "Cheo Chako"

V/A Zanzibara 2: L'Age D'Or Du Taarab De Mombasa - 1965-1975 / Golden Years Of Mombasa Taarab (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Second installment in this new series from the folks who brought us the absolutely essential and nearly perfect Ethiopiques series. This new series chronicles the Swahili popular music of the East African Coast. The first installment (now back in stock, see elsewhere on this list) celebrated Ikhwani Safaa, Zanzibar's (and most likely Africa's too) oldest music club, which turned 100 in 2005. This second volume is more archival and is drawn from recordings made from 1965-1975. Mombasa Taarab is a dizzying mix of African music with Arabian, Asian and European influences. Which is why this music sounds as Indian or Asian as it does African, in fact much of the time more so. There is a definite Bollywood influence, in fact Bollywood films had become very popular in Mobasa and many singers would take certain elements from those films, voice, melody, instrumentation, and then translate them into Swahili taarab songform. Fans of the Ethiopiques series should definitely be all over this series. As well as fans of Indian film music. We've been listening to this like crazy (and the first volume which we just got back in). We can hardly wait to hear the next one!
Massive booklet, with extensive liner notes, and in-depth notes on each artist.
MPEG Stream: MANTANO JUMA "Dada"
MPEG Stream: YASEEN MOHAMED "Ndege Kaa Ufkiri"
MPEG Stream: ZUHURA SWALEH "Ya Zamani"

V/A Zanzibara 3: Ujamaa - Le Son Des Annees 60 En Tanzanie / The 1960s Sound Of Tanzania (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Okay, it might seem too easy to say with this new volume of the Zanzibara series that if you dug the first and second you're gonna love the third, but it's true. Zanzibara 3 is another terrific compilation from the Buda Musique label (the folks behind the awesome Ethiopiques series). If you're new to the series, we'll let ya know that the spotlight shines a loving glow on the coastal music of Eastern Africa. As the title tells, this time it's from Tanzania in the '60s -- seventeen tracks from Jamhuri Jazz Band, Nuta Jazz Band, Atomic Jazz Band, Morogoro Jazz Band, and Dar Es Salaam Jazz Band! Although the names of the five groups featured here all have the words "Jazz Band" in them, holding them to that genre's commonly thought of parameters is far too limiting. Performed on guitars, horns, percussion, bass, and some amazing voices, these songs also possess a bright brassy shine akin to Caribbean Calypso music and gentle lilting rhythms like those of many Latin American artists of the same period. Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: NUTA JAZZ BAND "Nimechoka"
MPEG Stream: ATOMIC JAZZ BAND "Kaka Umenishinda"

V/A Zanzibara 5: Hot In Dar - Le Son La Tanzanie 1978-1983 (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Already up to number 5 in the Zanzibara series, obviously modeled after the amazing (and seemingly discontinued) Ethiopiques series, but focusing more on the the Eastern coast of Africa: Mombassa, Tanga, Zanzibar, the Comoros, etc. While in some ways the sounds are similar to the music in Ethiopia, like any region, the sounds of Tanazania, the focus of this volume, have their own distinct vibe and feel. Right off the bat, the sound is way more vocal based, jazzy too, with lots of horns, and very bright shiny melodies, in fact much of this reminds us of mariachi music, the same sort of shuffly rhythms, horn fanfares and vocal harmonies. The high life feel is all over these tracks, festive, celebratory, to these ears, it sounds like party music, dance music, music of love and happiness and sunshine, although like much music, even the happiest sounding on the surface, often carried with it deeper darker emotions. This music was the soundtrack of daily life in Tanzania, playing constantly on the radio, influenced by the West for sure, but so much it's own special and unique sound. Fans of the first few volumes will definitely dig, as might fans of the Ethiopiques releases, but really, anyone into high life and sunshiney African grooves, will no doubt find this collection fantastic.
Includes a big booklet, with incredibly in depth liner notes and tons of amazing vintage photos!
MPEG Stream: MLIMANI PARK ORCHESTRA "Visa Vimenichosha"
MPEG Stream: DAR INTERNATIONAL ORCHESTRE "Baba Anna"
MPEG Stream: VIJANA JAZZ BAND "Niletaka Iwe Siri"

V/A Zimbabwe: Shona Mbira Music (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Possibly the most highly represented ethnic group in this collection -- at least in the African portion -- the music of the Shona account for three separate albums in the Explorer Series. I suppose that may not be so surprising as the mbira -- or as it's more commonly called the "thumb piano" -- has enjoyed a certain preferential treatment in the U.S. when it comes to exposure, due to its dulcet tones. And if there ever was a group who could lay claim to being masters of the mbira, I suppose it would be the Shona. And the backlash that follows is a lament that mbira music is the type of music you can give your grandma as a present without offending her. A built in nu-age predisposition. But, so fucking what. Yeah, sure, a lot of opportunistic world beat and nu-age artists have exploited the instrument's disposition, but that doesn't make it any less worthy an instrument for our ears. And hearing it played in a cultural context sans nefarious commercial interests ought to wipe out any negative associations. Shona Mbira Music was originally released in 1977.
RealAudio clip: MHURI YEKWARWIZI "Nhemamusasa"
RealAudio clip: MHURI YEKWARWIZI "Nyamaropa Yekutanga"

V/A Zimbabwe: The African Mbira of the Shona People (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Another excellent reissue from the Nonesuch Explorer series, this one originally released in 1971. The mbira, in common vernacular often called a "thumb piano", is any number of instruments consisting of a board in which metal prongs of different lengths have been attached, the plucking of which produces a beautiful muted bell-like tone. The core of the songs here are repeated melodic patterns plucked on the mbira. The mbira player is accompanied by a percussive rattle (hosho), while the two players together form vocal melodies derived from the pattern meted out by the mbira. The songs are wonderfully cyclical, with ever subtle inflections added to the melody by gradual turns. Lulling, elliptical and simply wonderful.
RealAudio clip: MARAIRE, DUMISANI ABRAHAM "Misorodzi"
RealAudio clip: MARAIRE, DUMISANI ABRAHAM "Ndini Baba"

V/A Zimbabwe: The Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Possibly the most highly represented ethnic group in this collection -- at least in the African portion -- the music of the Shona account for three separate albums in the Explorer Series. I suppose that may not be so surprising as the mbira -- or as it's more commonly called the "thumb piano" -- has enjoyed a certain preferential treatment in the U.S. when it comes to exposure, due to its dulcet tones. And if there ever was a group who could lay claim to being masters of the mbira, I suppose it would be the Shona. And the backlash that follows is a lament that mbira music is the type of music you can give your grandma as a present without offending her. A built in nu-age predisposition. But, so fucking what. Yeah, sure, a lot of opportunistic world beat and nu-age artists have exploited the instrument's disposition, but that doesn't make it any less worthy an instrument for our ears. And hearing it played in a cultural context sans nefarious commercial interests ought to wipe out any negative associations. The Soul of Mbira was originally released in 1973.
RealAudio clip: ERICK & MONDRECK MUCHENA "Taireva"
RealAudio clip: MUCHATERA MUJURU "Nyamaropa Yevana vaVaMushonga"

V/A Zulu Stomp!! South African Garage Beats!! (Nosmoke) cd 25.00
There was a time when the idea of a record like this would blow our minds. "There was crazy psychedelic garage rock in South Africa in the fifties and sixties?" But by now, we're sort of spoiled, by the hundreds of world music reissue labels, not to mention the thousands of lost gems and rare records of all stripes from all over the world. So yeah, the fact that this record exists is not hugely surprising, but we are pretty thrilled that it's so good. That all these bands in white South Africa, still under Apartheid, emulating groups like The Beatles and Bill Hailey And The Comets, could come up with stuff this buzzy and psychedelic and super rocking. The root of the music on display here is definitely the early rock and roll we're so familiar with, but the bands here are fierce, the guitars buzz, the drums pound, even the simplest songs are transformed into barnstormers, almost uniformly these groups are characterized by super blown out, ultra distorted guitars, fuzzed out organs, and super intense yowled vocals.
Freedom's Children's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" is the perfect example. Covered probably thousands of times, it's barely recognizable here, until the vocals kick in, starting with a super distorted stop start intro, then some fuzzy psych leads over a dense groove, the verses are clipped and strangely arranged, with almost a new melody, played by a jagged guitar, the chorus too is drenched in distorted guitar, so goddamn good we almost forget that we're sick of that song. And the originals hold up just as well, the A-Cads, The Upsetters, John E. Sharpe & The Squires, The Bats, Finders Keepers, killer grooves, wild and rocking, loose and groovy and freaked out and frenzied, catchy as all hell and completely as good as if not better than the bands they were trying to sound like. Very few bands we'd ever heard of, but all of them kicking or asses. Maybe one of our favorite international garage rock reissues yet. Includes extensive liner notes, on the songs, the bands, and the political and social climate in South Africa at the time, and what part rebellious revolutionary music played.
MPEG Stream: A-CADS "Watch Yourself"
MPEG Stream: UPSETTERS "Daddy Rolling Stone"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM'S CHILDREN "Satisfaction"
MPEG Stream: JOHN E. SHARPE & THE SQUIRES "LSD"
MPEG Stream: RONNIE SINGER "I Want You"

V/A Zulu Stomp!! South African Garage Beats!! (Nosmoke) lp 32.00
There was a time when the idea of a record like this would blow our minds. "There was crazy psychedelic garage rock in South Africa in the fifties and sixties?" But by now, we're sort of spoiled, by the hundreds of world music reissue labels, not to mention the thousands of lost gems and rare records of all stripes from all over the world. So yeah, the fact that this record exists is not hugely surprising, but we are pretty thrilled that it's so good. That all these bands in white South Africa, still under Apartheid, emulating groups like The Beatles and Bill Hailey And The Comets, could come up with stuff this buzzy and psychedelic and super rocking. The root of the music on display here is definitely the early rock and roll we're so familiar with, but the bands here are fierce, the guitars buzz, the drums pound, even the simplest songs are transformed into barnstormers, almost uniformly these groups are characterized by super blown out, ultra distorted guitars, fuzzed out organs, and super intense yowled vocals.
Freedom's Children's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" is the perfect example. Covered probably thousands of times, it's barely recognizable here, until the vocals kick in, starting with a super distorted stop start intro, then some fuzzy psych leads over a dense groove, the verses are clipped and strangely arranged, with almost a new melody, played by a jagged guitar, the chorus too is drenched in distorted guitar, so goddamn good we almost forget that we're sick of that song. And the originals hold up just as well, the A-Cads, The Upsetters, John E. Sharpe & The Squires, The Bats, Finders Keepers, killer grooves, wild and rocking, loose and groovy and freaked out and frenzied, catchy as all hell and completely as good as if not better than the bands they were trying to sound like. Very few bands we'd ever heard of, but all of them kicking or asses. Maybe one of our favorite international garage rock reissues yet. Includes extensive liner notes, on the songs, the bands, and the political and social climate in South Africa at the time, and what part rebellious revolutionary music played.
MPEG Stream: A-CADS "Watch Yourself"
MPEG Stream: UPSETTERS "Daddy Rolling Stone"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM'S CHILDREN "Satisfaction"
MPEG Stream: JOHN E. SHARPE & THE SQUIRES "LSD"
MPEG Stream: RONNIE SINGER "I Want You"

V/A (ESHETE, ALEMAYEHU) Ethiopiques Vol. 22 : More Vintage! (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
When it comes to stunning consistency of excellence it doesn't get much better then the Ethiopiques series. Twenty plus releases and they have yet to release a dud. Last time out they focused their attention not on the vintage era of the grooves of Ethiopian pop but instead it was a brand new recording of tender and solemn solo piano by Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, a record which we totally fell in love with. With volume 22 the series flashes back to the past for another big dip into the vaults of Alemayehu Eshete, one of the biggest stars from the golden-age of Ethiopian music who alongside Mahmoud Ahmed, Tlahoun Gessesse and Mulatu Astatke helped define that sound. In fact Eshete was previously the star of the ninth volume of the Ethiopiques series as well. But judging from this release, the man left a very sizable legacy, as this disc is filled with absolute treasures without a throwaway track in sight.
With instrumentation that's so tight, and breaks that would make any lover of psych/kraut/rare groove's jaw drop, this is a collection that we've already been spinning over and over ever since it came in to AQ. Eshete's voice and presence feels so sure and confident, with a unique vocal style that's been compared to an Ethiopian James Brown crossed with Elvis Presley. There are moments in these songs that catch such deep grooves and moments that sound like they could be pulled straight from a Can song. You just can't beat the warmth of these stripped down analog recordings. You want to be in a room filled with smoke and candles when you listen to this. Eshete made such amazing songs that just drip with sweat, while oozing elegance too. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Tenageri"
MPEG Stream: "Yebeqanal"

V/A (FM3) HeXieFu (FM3) cd 25.00
Attention Buddha Machine obsessives, here's another sonic artifact / fetishistic release from Buddha Machine masterminds FM3 to collect and obsess over, and yeah, it is still Buddha Machine related. In fact it's another collection of Buddha Machine derived soundscapes, with FM3 removing the loops from the machine, and passing them around to various contemporary Chinese musicians to remix, rework, reinterpret and re-envision, there are a few names we recognize, like Li Jianhong, but so many that we don't, all offering their own interpretations, and the sonic breadth is fairly stunning.
From haunting folky drifts, to groovy Chinese pop, to gorgeous rhythmic percussive workouts, to crackly Philip Jeck like dronescapes, from haunting field recording flecked, reinterpreted traditional Chinese music, to hushed swirling ambience, from actual recordings of a Buddha Machine being played in a remote village, replete with the sounds of insects and wildlife, to minimal abstract dronemusic, from electronic flecked folk pop, to looped rhythmic post industrial electronic skitter, from mysterious spoken word to strange soundtracky sci-fi ambience, and from traditional sounding fluttery flute to super commercial electro pop, and that's just a sampling. It's a pretty amazing listen, varied to be sure, but it all works pretty well together as a whole, and in many cases, especially for the Buddha Machine obsessed, it becomes a game of spot the Buddha Machine loop, not always an easy feat in many cases.
And then there's the packaging. Totally over the top, and in many ways, subtly beholden to the machine that inspired it. First, everything is houses in a printed metallic oversized gold bag, normally used to hold oolong tea, sealed of course, it has to be torn to get inside, but fear not, there's another bag inside, however, that one is sealed too, so to reuse it, you'll have to tear open that one too. Along with the spare bag, there's the disc itself, which is mounted to a heavy textured board, printed front and back with Chinese characters, with a hole punched out of one corner, in which is mounted a metal coin, bearing an imprint of the Buddha Machine, and the coins were apparently cast in metal from the same factory that makes designer buckles, rings and necklaces, the label pointing out that "Your coin could have been a Gucci!", there's a little sticker, featuring more Chinese characters, and then there are a handful of members only "VIP" cards, which look like blank credit cards, and which are apparently ubiquitous in status-conscious modern China, each on a different color, the colors of the original Buddha Machines of course.
LIMITED TO 2000 COPIES.
MPEG Stream: HUANG JIN "Tong Nian Ju Gu"
MPEG Stream: B6 "Yu Qiu Yu"
MPEG Stream: LI JIANHONG "Buddha Machine In Li Village"

V/A (ROBERT MILLIS) My Friend Rain (Sublime Frequencies) cd + dvd 21.00
Yet another fantastic collection of fascinating sights and sounds from Sublime Frequencies, this time from Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, etc... filmed by Robert Millis, he of Climax Golden Twins, as well as a frequent Sublime Frequencies contributor / collaborator / curator and an avid collector of world music and lost 78s. And like past SF dvds, My Friend Rain is another fantastical journey through the streets of Southeast Asia, a travelogue of street musicians, town squares, temples, forests, people's homes, markets, food stalls, performances are interspersed with more seemingly mundane occurrences, which somehow still seem magical, a priest sweeping out a rainswept temple floor, food being assembled while a band plays wildly in the background, a glorious vocal and drum cacophony, crashing cymbals, and there's also some serious weirdness, a strange selection of statues, some all bloody with their guts pulled out, meat being chopped on a cart, boats being driven through barely enough water to keep them afloat... Like a series of abstract short films woven together into a fantastically impressionistic musical portrait of places and people. One of the coolest moments a guy who plays this incredible circular drum set, all these tiny drums hanging in a row, totally encircling the performer, and he plays them super fast, with his hands, and the sounds are so divine, somewhere between gamelan and steel drums. Would love to get a whole record of just that.
There's so much to see, definitely worth rewatching.
The dvd is also accompanied by a cd, a soundtrack, featuring all the music featured in the film, popular, traditional, culled from live performances, lp archives and old cassettes, including that amazing circular drum piece (the instrument is called a Hsiang Waing), as well as the blind musician who opens and closes the film, playing a strange guitar with a metal bowl affixed to the neck for percussion, there's also a gorgeous song performed with a small leaf held between the musicians fingers and played like a reed, and of course some Asian pop songs, fuzzy, poppy, funky, groovy, such good stuff. Like all Sublime Frequencies release, so very recommended.
MPEG Stream: ZAW WIN SHEIN (MYANMAR) "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?"
MPEG Stream: UNKNOWN BLIND STREET MUSICIAN (THAILAND) "Unknown"
MPEG Stream: LASHIO THEIN AUNG (MYANMAR) "Ugly Face With A Kind Heart"
MPEG Stream: MEAS HOKSENG (CAMBODIA) "Jomnes Jis Kor Aung (Khmer Remix Version)"
MPEG Stream: UNKNOWN ELEPHANT MAHOOT (CAMBODIA) "Improvisation With A Small Leaf"

V/A / ETRAN FINATAWA Rough Guide To Desert Blues / Introducing Etran Finatawa (Rough Guides / World Music) 2cd 14.98
Over the last several years, the access we've had to new sounds coming out of the Saharan desert have been so mind-blowing. Bands like Tinariwen, Tartit, Terakaft, Etran Finatawa, have all become some of our favorite bands, a sound so hypnotic, we're continually mesmerized by their warm grooves and trance inducing guitar playing and percussion. This collection showcases the best of these West African desert blues player, like all the aforementioned groups, as well as tracks by Amadou & Mariam, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Samba Toure, Tamikrest, and more. It's also very fitting that there is an Ali Farka Toure track included as it was really his music and influence that spawned the sound that these bands are keeping alive and expanding in such incredible ways. What makes this a must have is the bonus disc which is the first album by Etran Finatawa, whose latest disc we raved about last list. What a smoking debut it was, it shows that even from their beginnings there was something so intense, soulful and beautiful about their music. A total must have for sure, and the compilation disc is the perfect gateway for anyone looking to get turned on to the good stuff coming from the West African desert.
MPEG Stream: TARTIT "Achachore I Chachare Akale"
MPEG Stream: ETRAN FINATAWA "Surbajo"
MPEG Stream: BASSEKOU KOUYATŽ & NGONI BA "Bambugu Blues"
MPEG Stream: MALOUMA "Yarab"
MPEG Stream: ETRAN FINATAWA "Aliss"

VAINICA DOBLE s/t (Wah Wah) cd 19.98
We're so glad to finally see this available, the lovely 1971 debut of Spanish female psych-folk duo, Vainica Doble. One of Spain's most collectable and sought after soft-psych artifacts, Vainica Doble combine Beatlesy pop with Incredible String Band like whimsical flair, often sounding like the prettiest moments of Os Mutantes, the groovier moments of England's Sunforest or even early Abba at their most balladic, due to the singers' beautiful dual harmonies. Featured on the Finder's Keeper's comp, Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word vol. 2, it's about time that this venerable Spanish duo finally gets some deserved recognition outside of their homeland. Included here are the 12 tracks from their original album and 8 bonus tracks comprised of rare singles, including a track by their backing band, Tickets (who recorded a song written by the duo) as well as an awesome fuzz-pop stomper called "Someone Like Me", that makes this amazing reissue even more worthy of your time!
MPEG Stream: "Caramelo De Limon"
MPEG Stream: "Dime Felix"
MPEG Stream: "El Duende"

VALDES, MIGUELITO WITH NORO MORALES' ORCHESTRA Mr. Babalu (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another one of the top vocalists in Cuba, Miguelito Valdes probably received the greatest fame of any Cuban singer in the U.S. Having received his big break singing for Xavier Cugat's orchestra in 1940 - playing at Waldorf-Astoria's famous Starlight Roof in N.Y. The famous song Babalu, made so by performances of it by Cugat and Valdes, became so associated with Miguelito Valdes that he became known as "Mr. Babalu." The recordings here were made in New York City in 1949 (with Miguelito Valdes' orchestra) and 1951 (with Noro Morales' orchestra.)

VALENCA, ALCEU Molhado De Suor (Som Livre) cd 19.98
Last year was a rich one for some amazing Tropicalia reissues and rediscoveries of long lost classics. Whether it was the first five Os Mutantes records or classics by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso or more obscure gems from Luiz Eca, Som Imaginario, Rubinho E Mauro and maybe our favorite of the bunch the collaboration between Alceu Valenca and Geraldo Azevedo. Valenca's beautiful and mystifying vocal delivery and songwriting had us so hooked as that record became one of our most listened to treasures of last year. So of course we've been doing everything in our power to get our hands on more primo Valenca recordings and this one, recorded in 1974 is definitely another solid gold gem. A little more rocking and charged then the record with Azevedo, Mollhado De Suor shows a more extroverted side to Valenca, but still exploring a nice wide range of sounds, which is one of the things we love so much about Valenca. One song he is rocking and all you want to do is jump around in the grass and follow him wherever he decides to go, while the next song might be dreamier and more pastoral, painting him as an artist as comfortable with introspection as he is with bold and upfront fire. That might sound sort of like a modern day songwriter we love lots as well, Devendra Banhart. In fact last time Devendra was in the store he bought a copy of the Valenca & Azevedo cd and we have a feeling that he's been listening to lots of Alceu's recordings lately as a sneak peak listen to his forthcoming record made abundantly clear.
On Mollhado De Suor, Valenca is backed by some of the greats in the Brazilian scene of that time, Geraldo Azevedo actually appears on this record too, playing craviola and Brazilian acoustic guitar and AQ fave Lula Cortes is also in the mix playing dulcimer on most of the record. Another 70's gem from Brazil that demands your ears' attention!
MPEG Stream: "Punhal De Prata"
MPEG Stream: "Molhado De Suor"
MPEG Stream: "Borboleta"

VALENCA, ALCEU & GERALDO AZEVEDO s/t (Discos Mariposa) cd 17.98
One of the best reissues we've stumbled across recently, of a record we had never heard of. Alceu Valenca & Geraldo Azevedo were Brazilian musicians and composers from the Pernambuco region of Brazil who created a distinct style that mixed elements of psychedelic folk/rock with native northeast rhythms of freco, maracatu, xote, etc. There is something so totally sensual and sexy about this record. It's in their voices and playing and the glimmering recording. With mixing and arrangements in the talented hands of Rogerio Duprat (Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes) this has some trademark elements of some of the best and most creative elements of Tropicalia but for sure with their own unique and varied stylings. Totally not a one trick pony at all. What we love so much about this record is that it takes lots of twists and turns but everywhere it goes we more than willingly go right along with it. When it's sweet and sultry it succeeds by not being too polished and by subtly seducing you into its sounds. Almost like what Serge Gainsbourg would sound like at his prime if he was living in Brazil. We also can't stop thinking about how the folks in Blonde Redhead may borrowed a bit from this record as their sensual and compelling melodies seem to have their roots in this recording. Maybe. Just in time for summer, this has proven to be the perfect soundtrack for days filled with sun, romance and adventure. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Planetario"
MPEG Stream: "Ciranda De Mae Nina"

VALLE, MARCOS The Essential Marcos Valle (Mr. Bongo) cd 15.98
(from the liner notes:)
"Marcos Valle is a composer, arranger and singer from Rio, Brasil. This compilation covers his Samba 68 work, right up to his early 80s material. He was responsible for popularising bossa in the US, and struck gold with the Samba 68 LP... In the 60s Valle brought bossa to the masses, with protest songs talking about democracy ... and poverty in the language of the North."

VANNIER, JEAN-CLAUDE Electro Rapide (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Jean-Claude Vannier is best known for his amazing work as an arranger and producer for some of French pop's greatest stars like Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, Francoise Hardy, and Brigitte Fontaine. We also got a taste of his singular, warped and mind melting musical vision when Finders Keepers unearthed his fucked up masterpiece from 1972, L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
Now they've dug deep into his vaults for this short but sweet (under half an hour) collection of rare, unreleased archival recordings from 1968-1973, that demonstrate what a master of mood and sound Vannier is. With tracks that range from tribal and trance inducing ("L'ours Paresseux 1969") to the perfect soundtrack for an absurdist cartoon ("Claquez Klaxons") to a chant filled show stopper that sounds like an Ella Jenkins record doused in acid ("Le Ballet Des Accouchesuses"). You can imagine how folks in the Stones Throw crew, or the late J Dilla, would be drooling over the chance to sample so many of these tracks. Vannier's music is like an amazing crossbreed of David Axelrod, Raymond Scott, and Joe Meek, but with such a pronounced French sensibility.
MPEG Stream: "Bombarde Lamentation"
MPEG Stream: "Le Ballet Des Accoucheuses"
MPEG Stream: "Claquez Klaxons"
MPEG Stream: "Je M'Appelle Geraldine"

VANNIER, JEAN-CLAUDE Electro Rapide (B-Music / Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
Now on import wax!
Jean-Claude Vannier is best known for his amazing work as an arranger and producer for some of French pop's greatest stars like Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, Francoise Hardy, and Brigitte Fontaine. We also got a taste of his singular, warped and mind melting musical vision when Finders Keepers unearthed his fucked up masterpiece from 1972, L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
Now they've dug deep into his vaults for this short but sweet (under half an hour) collection of rare, unreleased archival recordings from 1968-1973, that demonstrate what a master of mood and sound Vannier is. With tracks that range from tribal and trance inducing ("L'ours Paresseux 1969") to the perfect soundtrack for an absurdist cartoon ("Claquez Klaxons") to a chant filled show stopper that sounds like an Ella Jenkins record doused in acid ("Le Ballet Des Accouchesuses"). You can imagine how folks in the Stones Throw crew, or the late J Dilla, would be drooling over the chance to sample so many of these tracks. Vannier's music is like an amazing crossbreed of David Axelrod, Raymond Scott, and Joe Meek, but with such a pronounced French sensibility.
MPEG Stream: "Bombarde Lamentation"
MPEG Stream: "Le Ballet Des Accoucheuses"
MPEG Stream: "Claquez Klaxons"
MPEG Stream: "Je M'Appelle Geraldine"

VANNIER, JEAN-CLAUDE L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches (Finders Keepers) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK!
Some reissues of long-lost gems arrive here with little fanfare and turn out to be great nonetheless. This one though, came our way emblazed with blurbs proclaiming its immense awesomeness quoting the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Tim Gane, Jarvis Cocker and David Holmes. And guess what? Those guys do indeed know what they're talking about! This IS pretty fantastic. Here we have an action-packed instrumental concept album whose title translates into English as The Child Killer Of The Flies, which musically narrates a simple but creepy story by Serge Gainsbourg (written *after* he heard the album, not before, and included the liner notes, explaining each track title) about the horrific revenge of flies on a child who had tortured them. This musical story-telling is by way of schizoid arrangements of tracks that range in sound from groovy pop to jazz to avant-garde tape music to fuzz guitar rock! Sounds good, eh? Good n' weird for sure.
L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches is a "Fellini-esque psychedelic symphony" originally released (but poorly distributed and relegated to general obscurity) in 1972, credited to a unknown group called Isolitudes. The man behind Insolitudes, though, was one Jean-Claude Vannier, a musician and producer from the happening '60s French pop ("Ye Ye music") scene who had scored film soundtracks and collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg, most famously providing the arrangements for Gainsbourg's highly-rated L'Histoire De Melody Nelson album (the reissue of which we wish we had in stock also, but haven't been able to get a hold of lately). This record is thereby cited as the follow-up to that one-of-a-kind conceptual classic. Itself it's pretty much one-of-a-kind too. Funky and groovy, as well as deliriously, disorientingly hallucinogenic, this will hit you with lush string arrangements one moment, sound effects of sheer terror the next... it's psych, it's prog, it's funk, it's musique concrete. There's even a chorus of car horns put to good use here! It's the freakiest 'sploitation soundtrack that never was. This cd reissue includes two bonus tracks from a rare 7" single entitled Point D'Interrogation, and also boasts extensive and informative (and quite laudatory) liner notes by DJ Andy Votel. Very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "L'Enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes"
MPEG Stream: "Le Roi Des Mouches Et La Confiture De Rouse"
MPEG Stream: "Mort Du Roi Des Mouches"

VANNIER, JEAN-CLAUDE L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Alright everyone, once more with feeling! Last year (2005) we got this amazing reissued treasure in stock and it came with two bonus tracks from a rare 7" single entitled Point D'Interrogation. We simply couldn't say enough glowing things about it! Now just one year later the album has been reissued again, not only with the pair of extra audio treats but also with an exclusive video of "L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches Et Les Allumettes" performed live on the Roland Petit Show ('twas a musical accompaniment to Yves Saint Laurent's fashion show)!
Here's what we said about the 2005 edition:
Some reissues of long-lost gems arrive here with little fanfare and turn out to be great nonetheless. This one though, came our way emblazoned with blurbs proclaiming its immense awesomeness quoting the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Tim Gane, Jarvis Cocker and David Holmes. And guess what? Those guys do indeed know what they're talking about! This IS fantastic. Here we have an action-packed instrumental concept album whose title translates into English as The Child Killer Of The Flies, which musically narrates a simple but creepy story by Serge Gainsbourg (written *after* he heard the album, not before, and included the liner notes, explaining each track title) about the horrific revenge of flies on a child who had tortured them. This musical story-telling is by way of schizoid arrangements of tracks that range in sound from groovy pop to jazz to avant-garde tape music to fuzz guitar rock! Sounds good, eh? Good 'n' weird for sure.
L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches is a "Fellini-esque psychedelic symphony" originally released (but poorly distributed and relegated to general obscurity) in 1972, credited to a unknown group called Isolitudes. The man behind Insolitudes, though, was one Jean-Claude Vannier, a musician and producer from the happening '60s French pop ("Ye Ye music") scene who had scored film soundtracks and collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg, most famously providing the arrangements for Gainsbourg's highly-rated L'Histoire De Melody Nelson album (the reissue of which we wish we had in stock also, but haven't been able to get a hold of lately). This record is thereby cited as the follow-up to that one-of-a-kind conceptual classic. Itself it's pretty much one-of-a-kind too. Funky and groovy, as well as deliriously, disorientingly hallucinogenic, this will hit you with lush string arrangements one moment, sound effects of sheer terror the next... it's psych, it's prog, it's funk, it's musique concrete. There's even a chorus of car horns put to good use here! It's the freakiest 'sploitation soundtrack that never was. The insert booklet boasts extensive and informative (and quite laudatory) liner notes by DJ Andy Votel. Very very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "L'Enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes"
MPEG Stream: "Le Roi Des Mouches Et La Confiture De Rouse"
MPEG Stream: "Mort Du Roi Des Mouches"

VANNIER, JEAN-CLAUDE L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches (Finders Keepers) lp 27.00
Repressed! Some reissues of long-lost gems arrive here with little fanfare and turn out to be great nonetheless. This one though, came our way emblazed with blurbs proclaiming its immense awesomeness quoting the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Tim Gane, Jarvis Cocker and David Holmes. And guess what? Those guys do indeed know what they're talking about! This IS pretty fantastic. Here we have an action-packed instrumental concept album whose title translates into English as The Child Killer Of The Flies, which musically narrates a simple but creepy story by Serge Gainsbourg (written *after* he heard the album, not before, and included the liner notes, explaining each track title) about the horrific revenge of flies on a child who had tortured them. This musical story-telling is by way of schizoid arrangements of tracks that range in sound from groovy pop to jazz to avant-garde tape music to fuzz guitar rock! Sounds good, eh? Good n' weird for sure.
L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches is a "Fellini-esque psychedelic symphony" originally released (but poorly distributed and relegated to general obscurity) in 1972, credited to a unknown group called Isolitudes. The man behind Insolitudes, though, was one Jean-Claude Vannier, a musician and producer from the happening '60s French pop ("Ye Ye music") scene who had scored film soundtracks and collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg, most famously providing the arrangements for Gainsbourg's highly-rated L'Histoire De Melody Nelson album (the reissue of which we wish we had in stock also, but haven't been able to get a hold of lately). This record is thereby cited as the follow-up to that one-of-a-kind conceptual classic. Itself it's pretty much one-of-a-kind too. Funky and groovy, as well as deliriously, disorientingly hallucinogenic, this will hit you with lush string arrangements one moment, sound effects of sheer terror the next... it's psych, it's prog, it's funk, it's musique concrete. There's even a chorus of car horns put to good use here! It's the freakiest 'sploitation soundtrack that never was. Very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "L'Enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes"
MPEG Stream: "Le Roi Des Mouches Et La Confiture De Rouse"
MPEG Stream: "Mort Du Roi Des Mouches"

VARIATIONS, LES Nador / Take It Or Leave It (Magic) 2cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Last list we featured Docdail and Triangle, now here's more rare Francais Metal de Proto for y'all, this time from Les Variations! That's right, another French band from the late '60s/early '70s playing an unexpected blend of hard rockin' proto-metal, psychedelic freakiness, Moorish exotica, and groovy pop. This double disc set includes Variations' first two albums -- Nador (1970) and Take It Or Leave It (1973) -- plus 13 bonus tracks.
Nador is the primary reason to get this, as Take It Or Leave It more-or-less lives up to its title. But Nador is a seriously smokin' album, with the exception perhaps of one cheesy commercial pop tune and a detour into oldies rock n' roll territory (the Jerry Lee Lewis piano-pounding of "Mississippi Woman"). At its best though, which is most of the time, Nador is the high-energy, heavy-duty French answer to the likes of Led Zep, the Rolling Stones, and the MC5! Zut alors! Pounding stormers like "Generations" and "What A Mess Again" are gonna please anyone into long-haired, bell-bottomed riff-rock. Meanwhile, Variations mix it up with segues into mysterious Moroccan hippie-raga, as on the acoustic instrumental title track. Basically imagine Leaf Hound with some North African ancestry. We've read that Nador was the heaviest album from a French band ever when it was originally released, and we believe it.
The bonus tracks following Nador are also equally badass, with lots of wild psych guitar and headbangin' rhythm action goin' on. "Come Along" sounds pretty much *exactly* like something by local San Francisco retro-stoner power trio Genghis Khan, actually. There's also the excellent psych-pop ballad "Down The Road" as well.
Disc two's Take It Or Leave It certainly rocks and rolls too, but starts to suffer from some of the fashion faux pas the '70s were known for, shall we say. Way too much honky tonk piano this time around, and overproduced arrangements. The psych side of things is long gone. But it has got its moments though. And several of the bonus tracks found on this disc most definitely live up to the killer standards of disc one ("I Was Down" and "The Jam Factory" ferinstance). So while Nador's great by itself, we're happy to have these two discs worth of Variations! Vive la Francais Metal de Proto!!
MPEG Stream: "What A Mess Again"
MPEG Stream: "Waiting For The Pope"
MPEG Stream: "Love Me"
MPEG Stream: "The Jam Factory"

VELASQUEZ, ANIBAL Y SU CONJUNTO Mambo Loco (Analog Africa) cd 19.98

VELASQUEZ, ANIBAL Y SU CONJUNTO Mambo Loco (Analog Africa) lp 21.00

VELOSO, CAETANO Araca Azul (Lilith) cd 21.00
This is certainly an unexpected surprise! Caetano Veloso's misunderstood experimental outing from 1972 (the same year he returned to Brazil following a three year exile in London, and recorded the mostly English album, Transa) prompted massive refund requests from his diehard fanbase when it was released, but has remarkably withstood the test of time. Saying that he wanted to record an album without thinking, Araca Azul is marked by exuberance as well as a kinetic sense of urgency. Wordless vocals, concrete sound effects, strange serpentine song forms that appear and dissipate, bits of orchestra, and percussive passages followed by psych-tinged rockers and sublime ballads. It's all over the map but always exciting and interesting. It may not be the best album to start with for those new to Veloso's discography, but it's becoming one of our favorites. We think perhaps Devendra Banhart listened to this a lot while recording his latest record. So Awesome!!
MPEG Stream: "Gilberto Misterioso"
MPEG Stream: "De Cara / Eu Quero Essa Mulher"
MPEG Stream: "Sugar Cane Fields Forever"

VELOSO, CAETANO CE (Universal ) cd 17.98
Last year was a pretty great year for Tropicalia. With a reunited Os Mutantes touring all over the world, a killer Soul Jazz compilation that helped more ears fall in love with the thrilling sounds coming from Brazil in the oh so turbulent late '60s / early '70s. So it makes so much cosmic sense that one of the founders of Tropicalia, Caetano Veloso, starts off this year releasing one of his best and most rocking records in years. While his last few outings have veered towards the easy listening schmaltz side of the sonic spectrum with far too many ballads, Ce finds him all stripped down and exuding a youthful energy that we haven't seen or heard for years. Such vibrancy and color! It's so hard to believe he's 64 years old, and we'd be hard pressed to think of many other people his age still making music as compelling as the sounds on Ce, as this blows away anything folks like Bowie, McCartney or Young have made in recent years. Worth it alone for the opening track "Outro", a scorching almost indie-rock sounding anthem, which has our vote for one of the best songs of the year. The album as a whole is so solid and listen after listen we keep falling in love again and again with Veloso's song writing prowess. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Outro"
MPEG Stream: "Rocks"

VELOSO, CAETANO Cinema Transcendental (Philips / Polygram) cd 16.98

VELOSO, CAETANO s/t (A Little More Blue) (Lilith) cd 27.00
A Little More Blue is an understatement. This is some heavy sadness. Beautiful but really sad. Recorded in London while in government imposed exile, this record, mostly sung in English except for the final track, finds Veloso trying to cope with being a stranger in a strange land. Of course abject times can be deep sources of inspiration as two of his most popular songs, "London, London" and "Maria Bethania", are found here. The latter song, a tribute to his sister, a popular singer in her own right (and who by the way, has been grossly under-appreciated in the whole Tropicalia / MPB revival), has the most moving lyrics: "Maria Bethania, send me a letter / I want to hear that things are getting better."
Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "London, London"
MPEG Stream: "Maria Bethania"
MPEG Stream: "Asa Branca"

VELOSO, CAETANO s/t (Irene) (Lilith) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It is with no small significance that we end this year highlighting one of our very favorite artists of all time, Caetano Veloso. If we were anything like Time Magazine, we could definitely see ourselves making him Man of the Year, because indeed, it has been a stellar year for Veloso. Not only have some of the many highlights of his extensive back-catalog been made available once again, but he also began the year, at age sixty, releasing one of the best rock albums of the year (Ce) that has made many of our top ten lists. If you were lucky enough to catch his performance at this year's San Francisco Jazz Festival, he shocked and delighted the audience by performing with just a stripped-down rock band, three young men on electric guitar, bass and drums, barely over a third of Veloso's age, his voice in amazing form, running from one side of the stage to another working the audience into a frenzy, causing a seemingly endless string of female (and one male) fans to jump on the stage for a quick kiss. Here was someone who could of easily just sat on his laurels and played his popular hits with the kind of over-orchestrated band you see in concerts on PBS, but instead embraced his forward-thinking musicality playing mostly new songs with a tight killer band and still managed to sway his oldest fans to cheer along. One of the best shows of 2007 for sure!
Years ago, when we first discovered the sounds of Tropicalia, it was through the more blatant psychedelic spectacle of Os Mutantes and their first three well-beloved records. But while we were aware of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil being the main songwriters and architects of the movement, most of their songs, until recently, we got to know through compilations and cover versions rather than through their full length records. While we have seen in the past couple of years so much amazing music being dug out of the far reaches of that fertile period and the post Tropicalia boom from Alceu Valenca, Jorge Ben, and Lula Cortes, as well as the amazing Soul Jazz comp, Brazil '70, it's been nice to see some of the best full length albums from Gilberto Gil and Veloso becoming available again. Earlier this year, Lilith reissued Veloso's first solo record from 1967 and his post-exile experimental jaunt from 1972, Araca Azul. So for a year that began with a return to musical form from this beloved Brazilian musical master, it's even more fitting that by years end we see the reissue of arguably the most important and most essential album of his vast discography, the second self-titled solo album from 1969.
Notice the blank cover with just a signature? Much different from most of Veloso's records which almost always feature his picture. That's because when he recorded this album, Veloso and Gilberto Gil were in captivity by the Brazilian Government for violating recently imposed orders against artists performing non-nationalistic music or expressing any statements that could be perceived as antigovernment. While confined, their long hair was shaved off, hence the decision to not display a picture. Allowed to play acoustic guitar and record songs through a masterful use of the media to keep a connection with the public for fear of being "disappeared" or tortured, both Gil and Veloso recorded albums (Gil recorded his masterful 1969 album as well at this time) using just voice and guitar and then sending the tapes to Rogerio Duprat, who added all the arrangements: electric guitars, strings, flutes and rhythm tracks. For such a strange and backwards production process, what results is a fervently articulate statement of politics and personal freedoms, with some of his first songs sung in English, namely the very pointed, "The Empty Boat".
Of course with time, it may be difficult to understand how radical the situation was, especially with the language barrier. Album opener "Irene" may seem like a pastoral groover with its opening flutes and guitars, but when he sings in Portuguese, "I want to see Irene laughing", it's rumored that the "Irene", he was referring to was the name of the machine gun of Tenario Calvacanti, a robber famously celebrated in leftist circles. While "Os Argonautas" is based on the belief that all oppressive dictatorships are fated to be temporary (Let's hold on tight to that belief!). The penultimate track "Acrilirico" is Veloso's response to the Beatles' "Revolution #9", a track very fitting to be on Veloso's own white album.
Like most Tropicalia albums, the urgently emotional song writing is tempered by a need to unite multiple populist musical forms together. So there are bits of Fado, Tango, Carnival music, psychedelic rock, with lyrics sung in English, Spanish as well as Portuguese. Veloso through the Tropicalia movement understood that the politics of freedom are best communicated through the musical language of the people. This record is more prescient than ever!
MPEG Stream: "Irene"
MPEG Stream: "The Empty Boat"
MPEG Stream: "Nao Identificado"

VELOSO, CAETANO s/t (Irene) (Lilith) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Also on vinyl! Here's what we said about the cd version, last time: It is with no small significance that we end this year highlighting one of our very favorite artists of all time, Caetano Veloso. If we were anything like Time Magazine, we could definitely see ourselves making him Man of the Year, because indeed, it has been a stellar year for Veloso. Not only have some of the many highlights of his extensive back-catalog been made available once again, but he also began the year, at age sixty, releasing one of the best rock albums of the year (Ce) that has made many of our top ten lists. If you were lucky enough to catch his performance at this year's San Francisco Jazz Festival, he shocked and delighted the audience by performing with just a stripped-down rock band, three young men on electric guitar, bass and drums, barely over a third of Veloso's age, his voice in amazing form, running from one side of the stage to another working the audience into a frenzy, causing a seemingly endless string of female (and one male) fans to jump on the stage for a quick kiss. Here was someone who could of easily just sat on his laurels and played his popular hits with the kind of over-orchestrated band you see in concerts on PBS, but instead took the forward-facing position playing mostly new songs with a tight killer band and still managed to sway his oldest fans to cheer along. One of the best shows this year!
Years ago, when we first discovered the sounds of Tropicalia, it was through the more blatant psychedelic spectacle of Os Mutantes and their first three well-beloved records. But while we were aware of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil being the main songwriters and architects of the movement, most of their songs, until recently, we got to know through compilations and cover versions rather than through their full length records. While we have seen in the past couple of years so much amazing music being dug out of the far reaches of that fertile period and the post Tropicalia boom from Alceu Valenca, Jorge Ben, and Lula Cortes, as well as the amazing Soul Jazz comp, Brazil '70, it's been nice to see some of the best full length albums from Gilberto Gil and Veloso becoming available again. Earlier this year, Lilith reissued Veloso's first solo record from 1967 and his post-exile experimental jaunt from 1972, Araca Azul. So for a year that began with a return to musical form from this beloved Brazilian musical master, it's even more than fitting that by years end we see the reissue of arguably the most important and most essential albums of his vast discography, the second self-titled solo album from 1969.
Notice the blank cover with just a signature? Much different from most of Veloso's records which almost always feature his picture. That's because when he recorded this album, Veloso and Gilberto Gil were in captivity by the Brazilian Government for violating recently imposed orders against artists performing non-nationalistic music or expressing any statements that could be perceived as antigovernment. While confined, their heads were shaved of their long hair, hence the decision to not display a picture. Allowed to play acoustic guitar and record songs through a masterful use of the media to keep a connection with the public in fear of being "disappeared" or tortured, both Gil and Veloso recorded albums (Gil recorded his masterful 1969 album as well at this time) using just voice and guitar and then sending the tapes to Rogerio Duprat, who added all the arrangements of electric guitars, strings, flutes and rhythm tracks. For such a strange and backwards production process, what results is a fervently articulate statement of politics and personal freedoms, with some of his first songs sung in English, namely the very pointed, "The Empty Boat".
Of course with time, it may be difficult to understand how radical the situation was, especially with the language barrier. Album opener "Irene" may seem like a pastoral groover with its opening flutes and guitars, but when he sings in Portuguese, "I want to see Irene laughing", it's rumored that the "Irene", he was referring to was the name of the machine gun of Tenario Calvacanti, a robber famously celebrated in leftist circles. While "Os Argonautas" is based on the belief that all oppressive dictatorships are fated to be temporary (Let's hold on tight to that belief!). The penultimate track "Acrilirico" is Veloso's response to the Beatles' "Revolution #9", a track very fitting to be on Veloso's own white album.
Like most Tropicalia albums, the urgently emotional song writing is tempered by a need to unite multiple populist musical forms together. So there are bits of Fado, Tango, Carnival music, psychedelic rock, with lyrics sung in English, Spanish as well as Portuguese. Veloso through the Tropicalia movement understood that the politics of freedom are best communicated through the musical language of the people. This record is more prescient than ever!
MPEG Stream: "Irene"
MPEG Stream: "The Empty Boat"
MPEG Stream: "Nao Identificado"