An Evening in Cairo - Various Artists (1966)

"It all started with a telephone call and a number of new records. The film star, Ahmed Mazar, rang up his friend, Nadia Loutfi, to say 'hello', and it happened that she was listening to some new songs which had just arrived for her from Beirut. He becomes interested and they listen together over the telephone. They like the songs and express their pleasure over them - so why not have a party? This is exactly what happened and they invited all their friends for a big party where the songs formed the major part of the entertainment, and they spent a wonderful evening.
We, on our part, wanted you to share this evening with them abd this is where the idea of this L.P. can=me into being. As you listen to the conversation on the telephone and to the songs you will also spend one of the most memorable evenings in Cairo."

I'm dubious about all that party talk. Most of the music on the album, beautiful though it is, does not sound like it would go down too well at any party I've ever been to. Maybe its because I don't understand the language, but these songs sound quite sad to my ears. The sound is full of yearning...longing. The music positively aches out of the speakers, whispering of unrequited love and passions unfulfilled, wailing out nameless sorrows and sighing in resignation.

Tracklist:

01 Sabah – Dahlak Tell Ou Hakina
02 Najat Essaghira – Fakkar Ya Habibi
03 Fahd Bellane* – 12 Youm
04 Randa – Vive L'Amour
05 Sharifa Fadel – Yaeish Al Mouallem
06 Fayza Ahmad – Eteraf
07 Samira Tewfik – Allayina Rayatna
08 Abdel Halim Hafez* – Layali And Maoual

Get it HERE.

Ratsia - Ratsia (1979)

I picked this up at a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago. It's ritalin sharp, heads down punk rock from Finland. I'd never heard of them before I found this and never knew that Finland had much of a punk scene in the '70s, so you live and learn.

"Ratsia just missed the first wave of punk rock bands, but their first LP is without a question one of the best of the early Finnish punk rock albums.
Before signing to Johanna, Ratsia had already recorded most of the album's songs in their rehearsal place and released them on tape Kloonattu sukupolvi, but it was a good idea to re-record them in a proper studio, now with Rubberduck Jones of Pelle Miljoona & 1980 as a producer. The first single Lontoon skidit had just been released, and very well received, so the expectations were high. And when the LP came out, it definitely wasn't a let-down, it was full of great, catchy and energetic tunes.
Perhaps the album opener Taidetta summarizes the overall spirit: we have our own thing and do things as we see fit, even if it doesn't please the previous generations or is against their views of aesthetics. Also the then hot topic in Finland, idolizing the American stars of the 50's as a part of the rockabilly revival, and the way the trend was forcefed to Finnish teens by marketing consultants, is critizited (Aikakone), but on the other hand they pay tribute to their own heroes New York Dolls (Kaatopaikan enkelit). Lontoon skidit was re-recorded for the album, this time with Hepa Halme on saxophone. The new version is good and differs little from the single version, but still the original single version is better. There are also two cover tracks, Stiff Little Fingers' Wasted life (Ne ei haluu kuunnella) and The Clash's 48 hours (48 tuntia), both good renditions of the originals.
In the next couple of years Ratsia moved on from the original punk rock style, made two more (different but good or goodish) albums, and broke up. This first album was probably their greatest achievement, and it's a true crime that it still hasn't been re-released (on CD or otherwise)."

Jarkko Kuivanen, Finnmusic.net

Teenage lightning!

Tracklist:

01 Taidetta
02 Yksin
03 Ole hyvä nyt
04 Päästäkää mut irti
05 Aikakone
06 (Mä haluun) R-E-AKTION!
07 Kaatopaikan enkelit
08 Lontoon skidit
09 Ne ei haluu kuunnella
10 Idolit
11 48 tuntia
12 Pikkuaikuinen
13 Ajat sitten luopuneet
14 Me noustiin kellareistamme

Get it HERE.

Akiko Nakamura - Hit Album (1968)

Akiko Nakamura was a popular actress and singer in Japan in the '60s and '70s. This album was released in 1968 and it features a cover of Scott McKenzie's flower power hit 'If You're Going to San Francisco' amongst all the bubblegum J-Pop. The big hit from the album is 'Nijiiro no mizuumi' (which translates as Lake's Rainbow Colours or something like that). Here is Akiko herself performing the song in some teenbeat movie or other. Its totally swingin' kids:


What can you expect on the album? Well a much more polished sound than found on the clip above featuring a full string section, backing singers, brass section, marimbas, glockenspiels, tiki style rhythms. A wonderfully mixed bag of gorgeousness.

Tracklisting:

01. 虹色の湖 (nijiiro no mizuumi) Rainbow Lake
02. 花のサンフランシスコ (hana no san francisco)San Francisco Flower (i.e. If You're Goin' to San Francisco)
03. 太陽に恋をして (taiyou ni koi woshite) Love in the Sun
04. 愛の願い (ai no negai) Please Give Me Love
05. ラ・ラ・ラ (la la la)
06. ブルー・シャトウ (blue chateau)
07. 砂の十字架 (suna no juujika) Cross in the Sand
08. 別離(わかれ) (betsuri (wakare)) Separation
09. 霧情 (kiri jou) Mist
10. フラワー東京 (tokyo flower)
11. 夢みていたい (yume miteitai) I Want to Dream
12. ロック天国 (tengoku rock) Rock Heaven (I Dig Rock and Roll Music; Peter Paul & Mary)

Many thanks to Richard and Peter for their fantastic translations. Superfast work too chaps!

Get it HERE.

Charlemagne Palestine & Christoph Heemann - Saiten en Flammen (2009)

This is a very recent release compared to much of the stuff I post here, but its interesting and pretty much unavailable so I thought I'd treat you all to this intense drone work from these two avant-garde hipsters.

Charlemagne Palestine was active in the New York underground scene in the 1960s, a contemporary of characters such as La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Tony Conrad. He composed and performed long and dramatic improvised pieces on pianos, church organs and carillon bells, filling huge rooms (and listeners heads) with a mass of sound.



Christoph Heemann on the other hand is a German sound artist who's been releasing music since the 1980's when he became loosely involved with the surreal English outfit, Nurse with Wound. He's since worked closely with those esoteric pranksters, Current 93, and the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Lee Ranaldo and Andrew Chalk.



Charlemagne Palestine recorded the Bosendorfer piano piece featured on Saiten en Flamen in 2000. The sound was then processed and messed with by Christoph Heemann in 2007. Mr Heemann has softened the percussive qualities of Mr Palestine's playing and brought the tonal qualities to the forefront. The result is something like having a head full of baritone bees.

Tracklist:

01 Saiten en Flammen (Part 1)
02 Saiten en Flammen (Part 2)

Get it HERE.

Chief Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister - Fuji New Waves (1991)

It's been an awful long time since I posted any of that mindbending Fuji music so here is something else from the late, great Chief Doctor Barrister. Here the Chief Doctor urges us to dance to the new wave of Fuji and uses a non too subtle wall of percussion, slide guitar and incredibly wonky synth noise to coax us onto the dancefloor. Once there, you won't want to stop.


Tracklist:

01 Duka Hausawa
02 New Waves
03 Cinderella
04 Gbaa - e gwu
05 Alhaji Raheem Tejumola
06 Ori o Gbodo Fo
07 Owo Kilani
08 National Pledge
09 Late Alhaji Muniru Gbadamosi
10 Mr Dolapo Badru

Get it HERE.

The Bauls of Bengal (1976)

This is a reissue of an album released by Elektra Records all the way back in 1966 and its grooves contain delightful musical gifts from some of the wandering troubadors of Bengal. This music is just incredible - definately one for those who groove on the Sun City Girls.

...but...

"Some People have said that it is possible to characterize the Bauls by a distinctive doctrine. I have never found it possible to do so, for it seems to me that they are first and formost individuals, and that the term Baul encompasses a wide range of religious opinion, traceable to several Hindu schools of thought, to Sufi Islam, and much that is traceable only to a man's own view of how he relates to God. All Baul's hold only this in common: that God is hidden in the heart of man, and neither priest nor prophet, nor the ritual of any organized religion, will help man to find him there."

Edward C Dimmock Jr. - from the sleevenotes

Here's a more recent offering from Purna Das to whet the appetite:

Tracklist:

01 Ki Die Pujibo Hari Charana Tomar
02 Bloey Koey Manush Key Ki Sadhu Kora Jai?
03 Manush Bhaja, Manush Puja
04 Sesher Diney Sheyjon Biney
sung by Purna Das
05 Tumi Jaaliey Geey Moner Aagoon Nivey Geley Naa
sung by Hare Krishna Das
06 Prem Kathati Shuntey Bhalo
sung by Luxman Das
07 Ebar Jeney Shune Namio Saabdhaney
sung by Sudhanhanda Das
08 O're Mone Jele
sung by Purna Das, Luxman Das & Hare Krishna Das

Get it HERE.

Elza Soares & Miltinho - Elza, Miltinho e Samba (1967)

Gorgeous, delicate and summery samba from Brazil. Try it, you might like it like I like it.

Tracklist:

01 Com Que Roupa - Si Voce Jurar
02 Beijo Na Boca - Moreninha do Pom Pom Grenat - Tem Que Ter
03 Boogie Woogie Na Favela - Bonitao - Eu Quero Um Samba - Pourquoi
04 Se Voce Visse
05 Todd Dia e Dia
06 Enlouqueci - Fica doido Varrido - Obsessao - So Eu Sei - E Bom Parar - Calado Venci - Vai Que Depois Eu Vou - Ja Vae
07 Mal de Amor
08 Antonico
09 Louco de Saudade

Get it HERE.