V/A Bed of Pain (Mississippi Records) lp 15.98
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
One of two amazing new compilations from Mississippi, along with the Sticks Over My Shoulder blues com found elsewhere on this week's list, there's Bed Of Pain, an amazing collection of Rembeteka and Greek folk music, all culled from 78's and all representing a specific time in Greek music, when due to government censorship, the style declined and records recorded in Greece were more difficult to get in the US, so musicians here, who were influenced by the music from back home, began recording their own version, what the liner notes here describe as the last of the 'good stuff'. These tracks are part of a collection belonging to Charles Howard, who has put together several other compilations, but for this one, Mississippi chose some of the neglected tracks that seemed to represent the era and the spirit of the music being made by the Greek diaspora. All from old 78's, none of which have ever been reissued on lp!
It's hard to know how exactly to describe this stuff, other than to say we love it. Gorgeous male and female vocals, acoustic guitars and buzzing bouzouki melodies, bluesy ballads and wild gypsy folk jams, dances and marches, some mournful and moving, others dramatic and moody, and still others wild and celebratory. Even for folks not that well versed in Greek music, this is a treat, and will no doubt have you hunting for more.
Housed in a thick old school style tip on sleeve, with a printed set of liner notes inside, written by Ian Nagoski, who has curated some of our favorite comps: Black Mirror, Brass Pins & Match Heads, String Of Pearls, Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts, among others.

V/A Between Or Beyond the Iron Curtain (Crippled Dick Hot Wax!) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the masters of dredging up obscure euro-pop and jazz, Crippled Dick Hot Wax takes you on a time warp behind the iron curtain to listen to late 60's & mid 70's jazz grooves -- mostly tracks from Poland and Czechoslovakia are represented here, though there is one from East Germany. The music on this disc generally ranges from electro-jazz funk, to lite prog rock and for some reason I can't get episodes of CHiPs out of my head whenever this gets put on. It's like a parallel universe where Ponchski and Johnovich must stop the decadent imperialist no goodnik from lowering the workers' productivity level. Includes several pages of detailed liner notes on the bands and tracks featured on this collection.
RealAudio clip: MARTIN KRATOCHVIL'S JAZZ Q "A Dance"
RealAudio clip: WOJCIECH KAROLAK "A Day In The City"
RealAudio clip: LABORATORIUM "Funky Dla Franki"

V/A Between Or Beyond the Iron Curtain (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) 2lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the masters of dredging up obscure euro-pop and jazz, Crippled Dick Hot Wax takes you on a time warp behind the iron curtain to listen to late 60's & mid 70's jazz grooves -- mostly tracks from Poland and Czechoslovakia are represented here, though there is one from East Germany. The music on this disc generally ranges from electro-jazz funk, to lite prog rock and for some reason I can't get episodes of CHiPs out of my head whenever this gets put on. It's like a parallel universe where Ponchski and Johnovich must stop the decadent imperialist no goodnik from lowering the workers' productivity level. Includes several pages of detailed liner notes on the bands and tracks featured on this collection.

V/A Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock & Electronic Music 1972-83 (Soul Jazz) 2cd 21.00
Leave it to the fine folks at the Soul Jazz Label to bring us a stellar Krautrock compilation that is as heavy on obscurities as it is on classics. Don't let the fact that the Neu!, Faust and Amon Duul tracks will probably be familiar to the most casual krautrock listener, or that pretty much all the classic bands in the canon (save for Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze) are represented, deter you from this well-researched and beautifully sequenced compilation. Why? Well, because this compilation does a great job of showcasing the many diverse facets of the music that defined krautrock: Kosmishe electronica, hippie commune folk, motorik rhythms, proggy jazz-funk and lysergic cinematographic soundscapes. There are plenty of rarities from bands we've barely heard of such as Between, E.M.A.K., Michael Bundt, and Ibliss, as well as bands and artists we love like Kollectiv (aka Kollektiv), Conrad Schnitzler, Deuter and Gila that perhaps casual fans may not know much about. Plus many of the more well known groups are represented by less well known tracks or later periods. The Can tracks, for example. "Aspectacle" and "I Want More" are from later records, while the great Tangerine Dream track "No Man's Land" is from an early eighties record, a less seminal period for most classic Krautrock, but one filled with plenty of amazing discoveries for those brave enough to wade through some crud. Thankfully Soul Jazz did that work for us! Here is the full listing of bands: Can (2 tracks), Between, Harmonia (2 tracks) Gila, Kollectiv, Michael Bundt, E.M.A.K., Popol Vuh (2 tracks), Conrad Schnitzler, La Dusseldorf, Faust, Neu!, Cluster, Ibliss, Moebius, Roedelius, Amon Duul II (2 tracks) Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, and Deuter.
Comes with a full color booklet showcasing the history of the bands and music. Perfect for both newbies and longtime fans! Awesome!
MPEG Stream: BETWEEN "Devotion"
MPEG Stream: KOLLECTIV "Rambo Zambo"
MPEG Stream: MICHAEL BUNDT "La Chasse Aux Microbes"
MPEG Stream: CONRAD SCHNITZLER "Auf Dem Schwarzen Canal"
MPEG Stream: IBLISS "High Life"
MPEG Stream: TANGERINE DREAM "No Man's Land"
MPEG Stream: ASH RA TEMPEL "Daydream"

V/A Drinking Horns & Gramophones 1902-1914 (Traditional Crossroads) cd 17.98
Subtitled: "The First Recordings in the Georgian Republic." The Traditional Crossroads label is at its best when digging up and restoring historical recordings from the Middle East and elsewhere, such as those found here, 25 tracks recovered (and digitially remastered -- as wonderfully dusty and crackly as these are, I wonder what they sounded like beforehand!) from the archives of the Gramophone Company in Moscow and London. It's a treasure trove of complex, polyphonic choral folk music, a unique Georgian tradition dating back to the 4th century (predating the use of polyphony in Western music). These songs were recorded prior to the Russian Revolution and have been "lost" for many years... Work, wedding, and religious songs, and even improvisations based on nonsense words, all quite beautiful and mesmerizing. Packaged with 23 pages of detailed notes and photos.
RealAudio clip: CHOIR OF TBILISI "Ghmerto Mets Gadmomkhede"
RealAudio clip: CHOIR OF GURIA PROVINCE "Tsamokruli"

V/A European 60's & 70's Singers & Pop Groups Made In France (Magic Records) cd 15.98
Last year we highlighted a fab comp of groovy vintage musique "Made In France", now here's another volume of similar sounds put out by the same label, Magic, who've also brought us many other excellent, if budget-lookin', French ye ye/pop/psych reissues from Pussy Cat to Rene Joly. This 70+ minute disc's got 22 tracks, with an assortment of gems to be found among 'em if your tastes run to this sort of commercial yet cool stuff from French hipsters of the psychedelic era. Much of this is in the mode of orchestrated soft pop and dramatic balladry, with even the occasional music hall novelty, but it can rock out, too - for instance, the heavy groovin' stoner psych of "Come Along" by Les Variations (which previously appeared as one of the most badass bonus tracks on Magic's now out of print Nador/Take It Or Leave It double cd we listed a while back).
Less rockin' but equally rad are the backwards beats and hollowly piping flute of Time Machine's "Bird In The Wind", a weirdly haunting instrumental, mellow and melancholic... Elsewhere, Titanic funk it up on "Macumba", and Zoo mix fuzz and horns on their catchy "Hard Times Good Times". Another hit with us (and probably any Zombies fans in the house) is Classical M's "Such A Lovely Voice", which we already knew from their Bad Guys anthology. Another one that's sort of familiar is by paradoxically named Anarchic System, because they do an odd version of Gershon Kingsley's sixties Moog hit "Pop Corn"!
This collection's sundry other tracks range from the wonderfully moody n' gloomy, to upbeat bubblegum, providing plenty of both polished progginess and pop chart cheesiness, often at the same time. And all of it, charmingly, very much of its times. The full lineup of groups and singers, omitting those already mentioned: Total Issue, Wallace Collection, Jupiter Sunset, Alan Jack Civilization, Century, Trianglophone, Georges & Michel Costa, Holly Guns, Jo Sony Avern System, Pop Tops, Joel Dayde, Peter Haller, Laurent, Charles Brutus McClay, The American Breed, and Marvin, Welch & Farrar.
MPEG Stream: TIME MACHINE "Bird In The Wind"
MPEG Stream: CENTURY "Why (Did You Take So Long)"
MPEG Stream: TITANIC "Macumba"

V/A Folk Music In Sweden (Caprice) 3cd 44.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Three cd set of the earliest existing recordings of Swedish folk music - primarily solo fiddle, with occasional clarinet and dulcimer - recorded onto wax cylinders between 1913 and 1920. Includes a 39 page booklet with liner notes in Swedish and English along with archival photos.

V/A Funky Frauleins (Bureau B) cd 17.98
For all the stereotypes about how serious and rigid German culture is, we love how so many compilations in recent years have revealed just the opposite, revealing how damn fun and playful so much of the music bursting out of Germany during the '60s and '70s really was. We're talking full on go-go kaleidoscopic cocktail party galore! Much in the spirit of like minded compilations like The In-Kraut series and Disco Deutchland, Funky Frauleins puts its fun focus on the colorful groovy, funky, and disco sounds of the beat queens of Germany from 1968-1978. Just as fun, sassy and spirited as their French go-go counterparts but very much in the '70s with instrumentation that would sound right at home on a game show, in a porno, or even especially at a full on dance party. We only knew a few of these ladies: Su Kramer, Hildegard Knef and Caterina Valente, so we were introduced to a bunch of other super fun vixens. The booklet offers up great photos and bios of all the artists. This is one of those turn off your brain and step into a sweet and delicious cocktail haze kind of records. And we love it.
MPEG Stream: TOPSY KŸPPERS "Sagen Sie, Frau Zimmermann"
MPEG Stream: HILDEGARD KNEF "Ich Wart Auf Die Nacht"
MPEG Stream: SHIRLEY THOMPSON "Goldene Insel"

V/A Funky Frauleins (Bureau B) lp 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
For all the stereotypes about how serious and rigid German culture is, we love how so many compilations in recent years have revealed just the opposite, revealing how damn fun and playful so much of the music bursting out of Germany during the '60s and '70s really was. We're talking full on go-go kaleidoscopic cocktail party galore! Much in the spirit of like minded compilations like The In-Kraut series and Disco Deutchland, Funky Frauleins puts its fun focus on the colorful groovy, funky, and disco sounds of the beat queens of Germany from 1968-1978. Just as fun, sassy and spirited as their French go-go counterparts but very much in the '70s with instrumentation that would sound right at home on a game show, in a porno, or even especially at a full on dance party. We only knew a few of these ladies: Su Kramer, Hildegard Knef and Caterina Valente, so we were introduced to a bunch of other super fun vixens. The booklet offers up great photos and bios of all the artists. This is one of those turn off your brain and step into a sweet and delicious cocktail haze kind of records. And we love it.
MPEG Stream: TOPSY KŸPPERS "Sagen Sie, Frau Zimmermann"
MPEG Stream: HILDEGARD KNEF "Ich Wart Auf Die Nacht"
MPEG Stream: SHIRLEY THOMPSON "Goldene Insel"

V/A Funky Frauleins Vol.2 (Grosse Freiheit / Bureau B) cd 17.98

V/A Funky Frauleins Vol.2 (Grosse Freiheit / Bureau B) lp 17.98

V/A Greece: The Great Octotonal Chant to the Virgin (Ocora) cd 14.98

V/A Greek-Oriental Rebetica: Songs & Dances In the Asia Minor Style (Arhoolie / Folklyric) cd 15.98

V/A Lukk Opp Kirkens Dorer: A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980 (Plastic Strip Press) cd 17.98
Maybe this will make up for all the Satanic Norwegian church-burning music we sell! A compilation of, as the subtitle puts it, "A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980". And it's quite fantastic. Quasi-kitschy Xtian funky and folky fun, with an acid-rock edge, really good stuff indeed, and 'cause the lyrics are all in Norwegian, those of us with an aversion to God-talk can comfortably listen to this without feeling like we're being preached to! Well you can tell when they sing "Hallelujah" and "Jesus" but the accent makes it cool. Apparently, there was quite a burgeoning youth-oriented Christian music scene and attendant recording industry in Norway in the '70s, kickstarted in the late '60s by something called the Ten-Sing or Teenage Singing movement, a kind of Norwegian version of Up With People!, further powered by the whole Jesus Freak thing that came along when hippies everywhere started to find God. So, this music, while Christian, isn't exactly square. It's full of fuzz guitars and fuzzy analog synth, gorgeous female vocals and bombastic brass, and is moving not just in spiritual way, but also movin' in more of a GROOVY kind of way. And is very delightfully very seventies sounding, from jazzy disco fusion to rock opera to delicate singer-songwriter stuff. There's 20 tracks in all on this import cd (13 on the vinyl version), sunshiney testifyin' from the following artists: Joyful Singers, Good News, That's Why, Arnold Borud, Keryx, The Crossing, Angelos, Sky Sing, The Heralds, Jan Simonsens, Kari Hansa & Gregers Hes, Grete Salomensen, Soli Deo, Reflex, and Presens. The digipak cd comes with a 36 page booklet, and the lp too has a printed insert, featuring extensive liner notes and vintage photos.
Hip '70s Norwegian groovy gospel music, who knew? Hallelujah! Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: JOYFUL SINGERS "Kort Appell"
MPEG Stream: GOOD NEWS "Konklusjon"
MPEG Stream: THAT'S WHY "Dyp Av Nade"
MPEG Stream: GRETE SALOMENSEN "I Ham"
MPEG Stream: SOLI DEO "No Smoking"

V/A Lukk Opp Kirkens Dorer: A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980 (Plastic Strip Press) lp 23.00
Maybe this will make up for all the Satanic Norwegian church-burning music we sell! A compilation of, as the subtitle puts it, "A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980". And it's quite fantastic. Quasi-kitschy Xtian funky and folky fun, with an acid-rock edge, really good stuff indeed, and 'cause the lyrics are all in Norwegian, those of us with an aversion to God-talk can comfortably listen to this without feeling like we're being preached to! Well you can tell when they sing "Hallelujah" and "Jesus" but the accent makes it cool. Apparently, there was quite a burgeoning youth-oriented Christian music scene and attendant recording industry in Norway in the '70s, kickstarted in the late '60s by something called the Ten-Sing or Teenage Singing movement, a kind of Norwegian version of Up With People!, further powered by the whole Jesus Freak thing that came along when hippies everywhere started to find God. So, this music, while Christian, isn't exactly square. It's full of fuzz guitars and fuzzy analog synth, gorgeous female vocals and bombastic brass, and is moving not just in spiritual way, but also movin' in more of a GROOVY kind of way. And is very delightfully very seventies sounding, from jazzy disco fusion to rock opera to delicate singer-songwriter stuff. There's 20 tracks in all on this import cd (13 on the vinyl version), sunshiney testifyin' from the following artists: Joyful Singers, Good News, That's Why, Arnold Borud, Keryx, The Crossing, Angelos, Sky Sing, The Heralds, Jan Simonsens, Kari Hansa & Gregers Hes, Grete Salomensen, Soli Deo, Reflex, and Presens. The digipak cd comes with a 36 page booklet, and the lp too has a printed insert, featuring extensive liner notes and vintage photos.
Hip '70s Norwegian groovy gospel music, who knew? Hallelujah! Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: JOYFUL SINGERS "Kort Appell"
MPEG Stream: GOOD NEWS "Konklusjon"
MPEG Stream: THAT'S WHY "Dyp Av Nade"
MPEG Stream: GRETE SALOMENSEN "I Ham"
MPEG Stream: SOLI DEO "No Smoking"

V/A Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs And Folk Tunes From Tuva (Dust-To-Digital) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There is no more powerful form of vocalizing than Tuvan throat singing. Tibetan chants, opera, death metal grunts, they all pale in comparison to the gorgeous multi-toned 'whistle singing' that throat singers use to create two distinct tones at once, throat singing is one of the few truly mysterious singing styles, and one that still remains difficult to understand, with no real scientific explanation as to how it is actually done, merely educated guesses. The style has been popularized worldwide by the group Huun-Huur-Tu, who have been performing and recording for almost 20 years, in fact recently they performed here in SF. And speaking to the above mentioned power and mystery, we happen to know that in attendance were several local extreme metal musicians, who for years had been trying to learn to throat sing! We've even mentioned in a review or two how amazing a metal band with a throat singing vocalist would be. Maybe some day...
These recordings from 1969, originally only released in the Soviet Union, are only now being released worldwide for the first time. And like most of the Tuvan music we've heard, it's totally mesmerizing, utterly unique, and so beautiful. There are several distinct styles, but most involve the vocalist producing two tones at once, a low raspy buzz, and a high pitched whistle, the buzz acting as a background for the whistle like melodies. The sound is so completely unique, unlike anything you've ever heard, unless you've heard Tuvan throat singing before. Typically, the singes voices tend to sound a bit like Popeye, a raspy croak, that slips seamlessly into that haunting multi-toned whistle/buzz. Sometimes the sound is warm and shimmery, the two notes, the tones perfectly meshed, other times, the vocals are a long drawn out froglike croak, the whistle not in counterpoint as much as the two tone s being produced simultaneously, often as a harmony to an instrumental melody. And the instruments are quite unique too, lots of buzzing strings, Tuvan instruments, of one, two, three or more strings, much like a fiddle, or cello, various woodwinds and of course the Jew's Harp, which is the perfect accompaniment to throat singing.
The instrumental passages here convey the same sort of spirit even sans vocals, moody and melancholic, longing and wistful, the strings buzz and shimmer, long drawn out tones making up slowly unfolding melodies.
The final two tracks are perhaps the most unique. One features solo Jew's Harp, but with the player incorporating a throat singing style, turning the harp's unique sound into an even more unique, twisted melodic vocalized buzz. And the final track, is one of the few examples we've heard of female singing from the region, and while the woman here does not throat sing per se, her voice is lovely, and the melody haunting, the plucked strings perfectly intertwined with the emotive vocalizing. So lovely.
In fact this whole record is fantastic. Anyone who already loves the music of Tuva will want to add this to their collection, and anyone who is hearing this stuff for the first time, will, like most of us, probably become obsessed and need to track down everything they can. It's that powerful.
Includes a massive booklet with new liner notes, photos and an essay on throat singing.
MPEG Stream: OORJAK HUNASHTAAR-OOL "Reka Alash"
MPEG Stream: OORJAK HUNASHTAAR-OOL "Bayan-Kol"
MPEG Stream: SAT MANTSAKAY "TuvinSkiye Narodniye Napevy"
MPEG Stream: KARA-SAI AK-OOL "Uzun-Khoyug"

V/A Music! The Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv 1900-2000 (Wergo) 4cd 96.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Founded in 1900 by Carl Stumpf, The Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv is a repository devoted to archiving the musics of the world before their eventual destruction by encroaching modernization brought about by global capitalism. Case in point is presented on page two of the accompanying booklet: "'Within the foreseeable future there will no longer be any day-long journeys by rowing boat, where twenty men in a canoe stand one behind the other and sing, because otherwise they would not be able to keep in time with the rhythm of the rowing..." (Albert Schweitzer, 1914) "...Because the songs of the members of the boat's crew who tow the boats along the Yangtse will have become silent forever, before these faint magical lines have worn away on the wax cylinder. Only the shrill whistle of the steamboat will be heard, and black smoke will lick away at the gruesome cliffs." So wrote Hedwig Weiss, wife of Friedrich Weiss who worked as a translator in the Sichuan province of China at the beginning of the 20th century. The two of them together took to recording the rowing song of boat crews working on the Yangtse river to preserve their songs. This is just one of the stories on this incredibly impressive four disc collection celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the Archive -- which now has a collection of over 150,000 recordings. Fans of the "Secret Museum" series should take heed, this is the shit! Some of the best recordings by pioneering ethnomusicologists are included here along with very detailed information not only about the music they recorded -- along with transcriptions in many cases -- but the stories behind the people who took to the field to make these recordings. The 100 tracks on this set are divided into four sections: disc one covers the wax cylinder recordings (1893 - 1954), disc two covers monophonic tape recordings (1951 - 1974), disc three covers stereophonic recordings (1967 - 2000) and disc four covers stereophonic, concert -- ie: not field -- recordings (1973 - 1999) and each disc is sequenced in sections by region: Asia, Oceania, Africa, The Americas and Europe. A hefty price tage yes, but well worth it.
RealAudio clip: (ANONYMOUS) NEW GUINEA 1912 "Interlocking Flutes"
RealAudio clip: (ANONYMOUS) CAIRO, EGYPT 1955 "Nubian Song"
RealAudio clip: JEGOG JAYUS "Jayan Tangis"
RealAudio clip: HAI, TRAN QUANG "Flowing Water, Equal Bars, Golden Chains"

V/A Musiques Electroniques En France: 1974-1984 (Gazul) cd 14.98
When you think weird '70s spacey synthesizer music, you might usually think of Germany and all the kosmic krautrockers over there. But as we've learned, France had their fair share of analog synth-psych pioneers too, experimenting with Moogs and ARPs and other machines... from academic electronics to proggy astral travel to noisier new wavey proto-industrial, this comp covers some fantastic stuff.
We got this in when we got the Pierre Bastien 1968-1988 collection we highlighted last time, it's on the same French prog label, Gazul. But we had to wait and order more of these before reviewing it, 'cause the copies we got the first time flew out of here without us even putting it on our list. We guess customers in the store just saw the cover and were taken in by the b&w image of a vintage EMS Synthi AKS, and a few words in French. But maybe it's not just the evocative graphics that got 'em, it's the lineup on this comp: Richard Pinhas/Heldon, Gilbert Artman/Lard Free, Verto, Camizole, Video-Adventures, and Pascale Comlade (collaborating with Victor Nubla and David Cunningham). Here's the deal: if you know those names, you probably already want this compilation. If you don't know 'em, and we'll admit we weren't familiar with a few, that's all the more reason to get this. 9 tracks, 70 minutes, much of it never-before-released material exclusive to this comp. However, the Pinhas, Heldon and Lard Free tracks we know are from albums that some folks might already have, all are amazing, though, and well worth hearing again in this context... Meanwhile, we'd never encountered the likes of Verto before, ferinstance. And their 15+ minute cut has to be one of this disc's highlights, an epic for Fender Stratocaster guitar and electronics ("Modules RSF"), that sounds something like a cross between Fripp & Eno and SUNNO)))... Fairly heavy stuff for '76, when it was recorded! There's lots of other treats here, from Pinhas's masterful minimalist Moog pulsations on "Variations VII" to the drifting droning synthscapes of Camizole's "Electronic Alarm" to the dense, dubby rhythmic swirl of Lard Free's supremely tripped out 17+ minute "Spiral Malax", the disc's most out-rock selection. Video-Adventures provides the more playful gurgling and burbling, blipping and bleeping sci-fi noises, while Comelade and Cunningham's collaborative 15:07 of blissful waves of grinding hypnosis seems a lot more serious... And there's more, all of it excellent.
The liner notes are all in French, unfortunately. But there is a selected discography that's not to hard to decipher, and photos of both musicians and their machines... Quite recommended!
MPEG Stream: CAMIZOLE "Electronic Alarm"
MPEG Stream: VERTO "Alice"
MPEG Stream: LARD FREE "Spriale Malax"

V/A Mysteries Of The Sabbath - Classic Cantorial Recordings: 1907-47 (Yazoo) cd 15.98
From the liner notes: "This compilation of historical masterpieces by renowned Jewish cantors eloquently communicates the rare beauty and power of one of the world's strongest and most moving musical traditions. These selections represent the finest work by many of the greatest cantors of the 20th century. There is a 36 page book included, offering indepth background and biographical information as well as countless rare historical photos."

V/A Paprikazz Fel! Best Of The Hungarian Rockscene 1965-1971 (Grey Past) 2lp 48.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A Populare Judische Kunstler: Berlin / Hamburg / Munchen (Trikont) 2cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ich habe ein Problem. Ich spreche nur sehr wenig Deutsch! Or more accurately, I can't speak a lick of it and Winni (AQ pal and native speaker of German) ain't around to help me out with this. Funny how when I need the guy to help me with 80+ pages of German liner notes to translate, the guy is like totally scarce. Actually, between these two collections and three separate booklets there does exist three pages of English translation (each one on the back of each booklet.) The 72 tracks on these two sets collect recordings from the Jewish communities that existed in Vienna (Wien), Berlin, Hamburg and Munich prior to the holocaust. The tracks date back as early as 1903 on up to 1936. The music on the disc is a mix of either piano or orchestra accompanied songs (some male, some female, some choral) with a handful of spoken tracks thrown in for good measure.
RealAudio clip: APLAR, GITTA "La Bella Tangolita"
RealAudio clip: GIALDINI, GUIDO "Tamelan"

V/A Populare Judische Kunstler: Wien (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ich habe ein Problem. Ich spreche nur sehr wenig Deutsch! Or more accurately, I can't speak a lick of it and Winni (AQ pal and native speaker of German) ain't around to help me out with this. Funny how when I need the guy to help me with 80+ pages of German liner notes to translate, the guy is like totally scarce. Actually, between these two collections and three separate booklets there does exist three pages of English translation (each one on the back of each booklet.) The 72 tracks on these two sets collect recordings from the Jewish communities that existed in Vienna (Wien), Berlin, Hamburg and Munich prior to the holocaust. The tracks date back as early as 1903 on up to 1936. The music on the disc is a mix of either piano or orchestra accompanied songs (some male, some female, some choral) with a handful of spoken tracks thrown in for good measure.
RealAudio clip: LEOPOLDI, HERMANN & BETJA MILSKAJA "Frauen Sind Zum Kussen Da"
RealAudio clip: BAUER, JOSEF "Umgebrungen"

V/A Psych Funk 101: A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum (World Psychedelic Funk Classics) cd 16.98
Looking at the cover of this comp, what catches our eye? Well, of course the words PSYCH and FUNK in big electric pink letters. Pretty much had us right there, we're easy like that. But then the fine print on the sticker on the front adds an extra tingle of excitement: "None of these tracks have ever been reissued"! So what we have here is a survey course on some obscure shit, an international collection of freaky, fuzzy, funky jams from the golden years, circa 1968-1975 or so, mostly from groups we'd never heard of before. The ones did know were a good sign, being super groovy and decidedly eccentric. (Though we do have to point out that at least a few of the cuts here actually have been reissued before, that's how we knew 'em!). Here's the lineup: Hunsu Ozkartal Orkestrasi (Turkey), Kukumbas (Nigeria), Mulatu Astatke feat. Belaynesh Wubante and Assegedetch Asfaw (Ethiopia), Kim Sun (South Korea), Petalouda (Greece), Mehr Pooya (Iran), Staff Carpenborg and The Electric Corona (West Germany), The Group (Italy), Armando Sciascia (Italy), Wadih Essafi (Lebanon), Omar Khorshid (Egypt), Metin H. Alatli (Turkey), George Garanian with The Melodiya Jazz Ensemble (Russia), and Eskaton (France). 14 tracks in all, all of 'em b to the a to the d to the ass. Get ready for plenty of percolating percussion, infectious bass lines, analog synth buzz, chicken scratch guitar, greasy organ, drugged out FX, and in many cases Middle Eastern or African or other 'exotic' ethnic elements as appropriate to their nation of origin. Highlights are almost impossible to pick. All the African stuff is killer (Ethiopiques fans take note), so are the Turkish tracks (you want weird? check out how the Metin H. Alatli cut somehow segues from Richard Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith music to stoned cocktail bellydance improv!!), so is everything else. We dig how eerieness and jazziness are combined on "The Feed-back" by The Group (aka Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, featuring Ennio Morricone), and also Armando Sciascia's suspenseful "Circuito Chiuso" is pretty eerie too. Both are from Italy, where it seems that it's hard NOT to sound like you're scoring a phantasmagoric horror flick a la Goblin. Also, we love love love the grandiose extended electro-funk from Magmoid progsters Eskaton that closes out the disc. But why keep writing about this, you know you need it - unless your record collection already includes all these rarities, and there's no way it does.
Lovingly compiled with the help of DJs like Cut Chemist and Stone's Throw's Egon, Psych Funk 101 is truly a lesson in, well, a variety of awesome vintage funkiness, in the tradition of other cool comps like Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, Obsession, Trap Door, and the Afro-centric Love's A Real Thing. Housed in a handsome digipack, it boasts a thick, 36 page booklet featuring a two-page spread on each track, with full color repro of the original LP or 45 sleeve from whence the cut originated, along with a page of text giving more info than you'd expect.
FYI this also came out on vinyl, but was gone so fast, we don't have any to list. However, we are told it is being repressed, soon we hope...
MPEG Stream: PETALOUDA "What You Can Do In Your Life"
MPEG Stream: OMAR KHORSHID "Rakset El Fadaa"
MPEG Stream: ESKATON "Dagon"

V/A Psych Funk 101: A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum (World Psychedelic Funk Classics) 2lp 17.98
Now available on vinyl! Yay!
Looking at the cover of this comp, what catches our eye? Well, of course the words PSYCH and FUNK in big electric pink letters. Pretty much had us right there, we're easy like that. But then the fine print on the sticker on the front adds an extra tingle of excitement: "None of these tracks have ever been reissued"! So what we have here is a survey course on some obscure shit, an international collection of freaky, fuzzy, funky jams from the golden years, circa 1968-1975 or so, mostly from groups we'd never heard of before. The ones did know were a good sign, being super groovy and decidedly eccentric. (Though we do have to point out that at least a few of the cuts here actually have been reissued before, that's how we knew 'em!). Here's the lineup: Hunsu Ozkartal Orkestrasi (Turkey), Kukumbas (Nigeria), Mulatu Astatke feat. Belaynesh Wubante and Assegedetch Asfaw (Ethiopia), Kim Sun (South Korea), Petalouda (Greece), Mehr Pooya (Iran), Staff Carpenborg and The Electric Corona (West Germany), The Group (Italy), Armando Sciascia (Italy), Wadih Essafi (Lebanon), Omar Khorshid (Egypt), Metin H. Alatli (Turkey), George Garanian with The Melodiya Jazz Ensemble (Russia), and Eskaton (France). 14 tracks in all, all of 'em b to the a to the d to the ass. Get ready for plenty of percolating percussion, infectious bass lines, analog synth buzz, chicken scratch guitar, greasy organ, drugged out FX, and in many cases Middle Eastern or African or other 'exotic' ethnic elements as appropriate to their nation of origin. Highlights are almost impossible to pick. All the African stuff is killer (Ethiopiques fans take note), so are the Turkish tracks (you want weird? check out how the Metin H. Alatli cut somehow segues from Richard Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith music to stoned cocktail bellydance improv!!), so is everything else. We dig how eerieness and jazziness are combined on "The Feed-back" by The Group (aka Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, featuring Ennio Morricone), and also Armando Sciascia's suspenseful "Circuito Chiuso" is pretty eerie too. Both are from Italy, where it seems that it's hard NOT to sound like you're scoring a phantasmagoric horror flick a la Goblin. Also, we love love love the grandiose extended electro-funk from Magmoid progsters Eskaton that closes out the disc. But why keep writing about this, you know you need it - unless your record collection already includes all these rarities, and there's no way it does.
Lovingly compiled with the help of DJs like Cut Chemist and Stone's Throw's Egon, Psych Funk 101 is truly a lesson in, well, a variety of awesome vintage funkiness, in the tradition of other cool comps like Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, Obsession, Trap Door, and the Afro-centric Love's A Real Thing. Housed in a handsome digipack, it boasts a thick, 36 page booklet featuring a two-page spread on each track, with full color repro of the original LP or 45 sleeve from whence the cut originated, along with a page of text giving more info than you'd expect.
MPEG Stream: PETALOUDA "What You Can Do In Your Life"
MPEG Stream: OMAR KHORSHID "Rakset El Fadaa"
MPEG Stream: ESKATON "Dagon"

V/A Rembetika: Songs Of The Greek Underground 1925 - 1947 (Trikont) 2cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fairly caught with our pants down around our ankles we were when Sharpling & Wurster's "Music Scholar" suggested that every self respecting record store would have a large collection of Greek Rembetika music. Checking our inventory we could only attest to have ever had two different collections. It is with our heads hung in shame that we belatedly attempt to correct this oversite. Trikont, the friendly German label that brought us such crucial staples to the music lover's diet as 'Ho!: Roady Music From Vietnam', 'Texas Bohemia' and 4 volumes of recordings of the song 'La Paloma', now presents us with a handsome double disc set of Greek Rembetika music and, all kidding aside, this is fine collection.
Rembetika music developed early in the 20th century amongst the poor habitants of Greece. Much like the American blues, these marginalized members of Greek society wrote songs about pain, death, prison (many of the rembetika musicians of this time were jailed merely for playing their music), drugs (the word "rembetika" is derived from "tekes", meaning hash den), sorrow, etc. Comparisons have even been drawn to Harlem of the same period. The music is centered around the bouzouki, a home grown lute invented by rembetika musicians, but can include baglama (a smaller bouzouki), santouri (dulcimer), lyra (or violin), guitar, oud, clarinet and vocals of course. One of the things that made their music so rich was the absorption of musical influences from around the Mediterranean. Two tragic events, both in 1922, helped add to this melange: a fire that consumed the city of Smyrna on the coast of Asia Minor forced the Greek inhabitants back to mainland Greece and the Greco-Turkish war, which caused massive shifting of populations. Both events saw a new influx of poor immigrants who added their distinctive styles and melodies to the form. By 1937 the Greek government, viewing the anti-authoritarian and Arab influenced sounds as a cultural and political threat, banned the music from being played on the radio, favoring instead the more mainstream Piraeus style of rembetika. The 45 tracks on this two disc collection capture this brief and musically fertile phenomenon, featuring some of the best of the day, including Markos Vamvakaris, Rita Ambadsi, Evangelos Papazoglu and much more. This fine edition from Trikont comes with two booklets, and though the back cover claims to include an English translation there is in fact only a brief translation of some of the lyrics. All the historical documentation will require an understanding of German.
RealAudio clip: VAMVAKARIS, MARKOS "Efumernam' Ena Vradi"
RealAudio clip: AMBADSI, RITA "Hanumakia"
RealAudio clip: PERPINIADIS, STELLAKIS "I Foni Tu Argile"

V/A Rough Guide To The Music Of Balkan Gypsies (World Music) cd 14.98
Balkan Gypsies refer to themselves as "Roma", derived from an Indian Word meaning "a man of low caste who gains his livelihood by singing and dancing." The artists on this album hail from Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece and have drawn influence, according to the the booklet accompanying the cd, from sources as varied as "Spanish Flamenco to Django Reinhardt's French Gypsy swing to Turkish bellydance clubs." As such, there's a lot of variety throughout the album, reflecting the diversity within Rom culture. Very intriguing collection!
MPEG Stream: MAHALA RAI BANDA "Mahalgeasca"
MPEG Stream: TARAF DE HAIDOUKS "Cintec De Dragoste Si Joc"

V/A Russkie Wig-Out! Surf / Electro / Exotica From Behind The Iron Curtain (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 17.98
One of two new comps from one of our favorite reissue labels, the Omni Recording Corporation, and while the other one, The World Is A Monster fits squarely within Omni's country/folk/bluegrass focus, this one does NOT. Instead of lost recordings, rescued from plundered record label vaults or transferred from scratchy old records, instead of Dolly Parton or Porter Wagoner, instead of twisted country or bizarre bluegrass, Russkie Wig-Out! finds Omni collecting various recordings from the last ten years of "Demented Surf / Electro / Exotica From Behind The Iron Curtain". Which is as good as it sounds.
Some folks are probably familiar with Messer Chups, whose records have been issued stateside, and who we remembered as being more a sort of modern rockabilly outfit, but this comp kind of knocked our socks off, and not only features a handful of Messer Chups tracks, but also the various post Messer groups, offshoots and solo records. And the sound here is not at all rockabilly really. Instead it's crazed sample driven Joe Meek like exotica surf rock weirdness.
Twangy guitars, wild fluttery Theremins, lots of synths, groovy percussion, haunting Halloween melodies, and loads of samples, like some twisted hybrid of Les Baxter, Joe Meek, Perrey & Kingsley, Tipsy and Aavikko, this comp is like the ultimate party record. Just check out "Gitarkin Fast Food Empire", with its groovy horn riff, its counted off "1,2,3,4" vocal sample, culminating with a hurl like "BLEEEARGHHHH", not to mention the cool weirdo sort of scatting, the exotic female vocals, so good.
Or check out "Bukva F" which is essentially a Perry & Kingsley cover, right down to the weird animal calls, but here it's revved up a little and given some extra vibe melodies and strange vocals.
The whole record is totally fun and wild and ridiculous and catchy, it's sort of the music we'd imagine the house band on the Flintstones would play, or some fifties version of Pee Wee's Playhouse, or an alternate reality version of Gilligans Island, if Gilligan ran a seedy bar on the island. Totally far out, and totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: MESSER CHUPS "Cannibal Twist"
MPEG Stream: MESSER FUR FRAU MULLER "Gitarkin Fast Food Empire"
MPEG Stream: OLEG KOSTROW "Bukva F"
MPEG Stream: MESSER FUR FRAU MULLER "The Best Girl In USSR"
MPEG Stream: OLEG KOSTROW "Lego-Marsch"

V/A Shir Hodu: Jewish Song From The Bombay Of The 30's (Renair) cd 17.98
Fascinating collection of Hebrew paraliturgical songs by Eastern Jewish singers from the Bene Israel and Baghdadian Jewish communities residing in Bombay, India during the thirties. Originally released on 78's from the King, Hebrew, and Jay Bharat Record labels, these recordings from various Hazzanim (cantors and prayer leaders), music school directors, an entrepreneurial meat-shop owner, Shofar (ram's horn) blowers, and instrumental stars of the Indian cinema are the long lost sonic artifacts from a nearly forgotten world of Indian Jewish musical traditions. We never realized before how intertwined these two musical traditions were, but of course it makes sense with the cross-pollination of Eastern European, North African and Middle Eastern populations through the bustling trade city of Bombay, that the cultural traditions would intermingle and possibly influence each other. Thus this is also recommended for fans of early Indian music, as well as for those intrigued by rare Jewish music recordings. The cd comes with a richly illustrated 24-page booklet with memories and photos of the descendants, relatives and friends of the singers and instrumentalists, gathered from across the globe.
MPEG Stream: SIMEON JACOB KHARILKER "Adon Olam"
MPEG Stream: ABID DAVID "Deror Yikra"
MPEG Stream: ZAKY SOLOMAN ISAAC "Yodukha Raayonai"
MPEG Stream: NATHAN SOLOMON SATIMKAR "Deror Iqra"

V/A Slovaquie: Folk Music (Ocora) cd 17.98

V/A Spanish Trip, The (Bang Bang Records) cd 21.00
Here's a disc we'd definitely recommend to those of you who love exploring the realms of hitherto unknown (we'd assume, pretty much) '60s and early '70s garage/psych bands from overseas. In this case, from Spain, which seems to be the land of hot reissue action lately. 23 tracks in total taken from rare 45s, ranging from poppy psych to heavy-duty hard rockers. There's lots of wild, fuzzed-out groovers here! Including the stompin', super-distorted but also totally bubblegum rockin' of Cafe Con Leche, whose "Land of Light" sounds like the Jackson Five run through a giant fuzz pedal. Other faves include the off-the-rails Deep Purplish bludgeon of Storm, Los Roller's Creamier-than-thou Spanish-language "Camino Cortado", and the raucous psychedelic R&B belted out by Clock, among others. Plenty to dig on this comp for sure. The booklet includes band photos, sleeve shots, and liner notes in both English and Spanish.
MPEG Stream: DARWIN TEORIA "De La Ceca A La Meca"
MPEG Stream: CAFE CON LECHE "The Land Of Light"

V/A Sprechen Sie Pop? (Bureau B) cd 17.98
Whether from Poland, American, Hungary, the UK, or France, there was a moment in time in the '60s and '70s when everyone making pop music was hoping to have a big hit in Germany. So even if they had NO idea what they were singing, they went into the studio hoping to tap into the lucrative German market and make it big auf Deutsch. Luckily so many of these tracks were also some of the most sophisticated, sassy and snappy pop songs being recorded in any language, or at least that's what this disc makes us think.
This comp brings together some of the totally shining moments in German-language pop from across the globe like France Gall, Barbara, Sandie Shaw, Paul Anka, Antoine, Kati Kovacs, AQ Hungarian favorites Illes, and a bunch more, amazing examples of some of the most fun and infectious pop for which fans of ye-ye delights and those In-Kraut sound collections will fall hard, for sure.
There's a similar compilation we received recently, called Parlez Vous Pop?, that's essentially the French equivalent of this collection. Unfortunately, other than a couple tracks, that comp was much more suited for coffee house background music, but THIS ONE we can enthusiastically recommend!!
MPEG Stream: KATJA HOLLŠNDER "Er Heisst Peter"
MPEG Stream: ILLŽS "Hier Stand Die Sonne Hoch"
MPEG Stream: DIE SKALDEN "Du Hast Mich Lieb"

V/A Texas Bohemia (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We're not sure just when we got this Trikont compilation in, but somehow it slipped under our radar and never got listed. That oversight will be redressed presently. For this collection Trikont has assembled an impressive collection of recordings of Bohemians, Moravians and Germans living in South Central Texas playing the music they love most: Polkas, Waltzes and Schottisches. Many of the recordings (dating from 1970 to 1993) were made live at festivals -- Oktoberfests and otherwise -- but there are some commercially released (but not widely) singles as well. Having never been a huge fan of polkas, I was pleasantly surprized to find myself really enjoying this cd. Part of it is the live, location recorded aspect of it -- I think that the performance of polka bands live at a country fair or a VFW hall has a certain sense of immediacy to it which gets lost when they get locked in a studio. And you can really hear the surroundings on many of these recordings, including the people in the audience (though never obtrusive.) My favorite track on the album has to be a version of "Edelweiss" as performed by the Tuba Meisters -- it's so plaintive as to almost make you forget that you're hearing a track from the Sound of Music. The cd comes with a 21 page booklet, but unless you know German (Trikont chose not to have a translation on this one) you won't benefit from much more than the included photos.
RealAudio clip: TUBA MEISTERS "Edelweiss"
RealAudio clip: VRAZELS & MAJEKS & BOBBY JONES CZECH BAND "Corn Cockle Polka"
RealAudio clip: BROSCH, HENRY ORCHESTRA "Wooden Heart"

V/A The B-Music Of Jean Rollin (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Another Finders Keepers / B-Music treat here, folks! A collection of kooky, creepy, very cool music from the films (many of them about vampires, and many of THOSE about sexy lesbian vampires!) by French underground auteur Jean Rollin, circa 1968-1979. The late Rollin has been proclaimed the "father of European Horrortica". On the freaky fringes of free jazz and psych rock, the tracks found here are the perfect accompaniment to the director's sexy, surreal cinematic phantasmagorias. And unless we're much mistaken, we recognize one of the tracks here, Acanthus' theme to "Le Frisson Des Vampires", as having been surreptitiously covered in heavier fashion by drugged-out doomlords (and horrotica fans) Electric Wizard on their Witchcult Today album!
Another one of note is Pierre Raph's aptly-titled "Gilda & Gunshots", a track of consisting of excited percussion, jazzy bass and pretty trumpet, overlaid with whipcrack-like gun shots, girlish whimpers and cries. It could almost be some noir-jazz experiment by the Boredoms. What the heck was happening in the film scene this scored, we don't know...
We could go on describing this track by track, but there are 31 cuts in all on this disc! With great titles like "Abstract Procession", "Bizarre Cult 2", "Crotch Batterie", "Crimson Gates", and "Violent Library", these vary widely and weirdly, encompassing spooky theremin-like tones, chamber music drones, somber choirs, flute-laced grooves, melodic reveries, arrhythmic interludes, all sorts of stuff. It's a real cornucopia of suspenseful strangeness and freeform avant-rockin'. Composers/performers responsible include the aforementioned Acanthus and Pierre Raph, along with many more by Phillipe D'Aram, Yvon Gerault, Francois Tusques and others. Much of this is previously unreleased. And of course Finders Keepers provides plentiful, fully illustrated liner notes in the cd booklet.
By the way, we also have a couple copies each of the soundtracks to Rollin's films Requiem Por Un Vampire (1972, composed by Pierre Raph) and Fascination (1979, Phillipe D'Aram) on import 10" vinyl, reissued by Finders Keepers as well (key tracks from which appear on this cd collection, naturally).
MPEG Stream: ACANTHUS "Le Frisson Des Vampires"
MPEG Stream: PIERRE RAPH "Gilda & Gunshots"
MPEG Stream: ACANTHUS "La Chateau"
MPEG Stream: PIERRE RAPH "Jade Lake"
MPEG Stream: YVON GERAULT "Blue Quadrant"

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

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)"

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"

VIAN, BORIS s/t (Philips) cd 18.98
Boris Vian was a French jazz musician, playwright, novelist, translator of hard-boiled American crime classics, all-around agitator and bon vivant. Serge Gainsbourg was a big fan and intended to collaborate with Vian. Unfortunately, due to Vian's untimely death in 1959, this collaboration never came to pass. This cd compiles much of Vian's work as a cabaret singer. His songs are steeped in the French chanson tradition, social poetics, and dadaist wit & wordplay. As the liner notes exclaim, "Boris Vian is one of those solitary adventurers who has discovered a new world of la chanson." (thanks to our regular customer Rael for the translation!)

ZOYRES EASTERN EUROPEAN WILD FERMENT Biserka! (self-released) cd 11.98