Lyrichord – 7244
19.8.18
18.8.18
VA - (2000) Turkish Delights: 26 Turkish Beat Psyche & Garage Delights
Grey Past Records – 002
A European companion of sorts to the Hava Narghile collection that came
out in the States the same year -- Gökhan Aya provides the liner notes
and assembly here as he did with Jay Dobis on the other collection --
the rather windily titled 26 Turkish Beat, Psych and Garage Delights is
packed with merry late-'60s madness from Anatolia. There's a bit of
overlap with Hava Narghile in the track listing itself -- among the
repeat numbers are "Agit" by Yabancilar and Haramiler's "Çamlica
Yolunda" -- but for the most part these tracks are new to the digital
realm, and those taken with the first compilation will definitely want
this one. If the packaging of 26 Turkish Beats is not quite up to the
levels of Hava Narghile -- somebody really needed to properly proofread
Aya's essays and description -- what really matters is the music, and
that sounds great. As with much such regional psych material recorded
around the world during the genre's heyday, many of the surviving
recordings here are only available through mastering off vinyl --
sometimes a frustration, but in many cases the results are remarkably
crisp and clear (check out the excellent lead track by the legendary
Mogollar, "Eastern Love," for a fine example). As always, covers of
overseas items alternate with more homegrown songs or adaptations, thus
the appearance of jaunts through the likes of Paul Revere & the
Raiders and the Yardbirds. The find of the set has to be Bunalimlar,
whose heavy-ass "Tas Var Köpek Yok," the band's 1969 debut single, kicks
out some major acid/folk/psych jams; not far behind is the fried
solo-crazy "Nenni" by Beybonlar, consisting of teenagers (not to mention
an 11-year-old drummer!). Add it all up and it's a mix of inspired
amateurism, occasional revelatory insanity, and the sheer buzz of
performing and getting one's groove on -- universal qualities no matter
what the language being used.
VA - (2001) Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980
Blood & Fire – 036
Arriving months before this Blood & Fire compilation was a similar release from Soul Jazz Records. Studio One Soul was just that, a collection of 18 covers of American soul tunes by the famous Jamaican label's finest '60s and '70s artists. Darker Than Blue however, has a distinct advantage over its predecessor. As it is not tied to the output of any one particular label, it manages to come up with a selection that's broader in scope and more diverse in sound. Bassist Boris Gardiner's band, with the help of organ maestro Leslie Butler, gets the proceedings off to a superb start with "Ghetto Funk," one of two originals that bookend the set. A series of gems follow. Carl Bradney turns out a suitably heavy version of War's "Slipping into Darkness," Al Brown adds a touching reading of Bobby Bland's "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City," and Freddie McGregor performs a wake-up call to the silent majority via George Jackson on "Get Involved." Though Sly Johnson's "Is It Because I'm Black?" can also be found on Studio One Soul, there's plenty of room for another version, particularly when the artist in question is Ken Boothe. Stripping away the horns that appeared on the original U.K. pressing, this mix reveals the rhythm in all its glory, letting it churn between Boothe's exceptional verses. Following a series of love songs, Darker Than Blue delivers another series of excellent reality themes. Among them are the Curtis Mayfield song that titles the set (performed by Lloyd Charmers) and Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together?," presented in discomix form by Tinga Stewart and the Revolutionaries. The finest in Jamaican reggae meets the finest in American soul -- the combination is superb.
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