Just a few weeks ago, we were happy to at long last re-list the first three incredible albums by long-time AQ fave, the amazing Mutantes from Brazil. We mentioned then that we also had been able to stock some other Mutantes titles as well, ones we hadn't ever reviewed before -- but also really like! Sure, we agree that their first three, and especially first two, albums are their absolute, all-time classics, not to be surpassed. If you haven't heard those, go check 'em out before returning to this review. But if, like us, you've worn those albums out and want to hear more Mutantes, you'll also be mighty pleased with records #4 and #5 as well, wethinks. Not to mention that if these *weren't* Mutantes albums, but psych-prog rarities from some other, more obscure late '60s Brazilian band, they'd be heralded as brilliant lost treasures with no question...
So, this week we bring you #4, Jardim Eletrico. Still featuring the crucial creative nexus of original members Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias, this record was released in 1971 (yes, that magical year Allan's so obsessed with, again!) and takes Os Mutantes' unique tropicalia mix of '60s acid-psych and carefree pop and Latin rhythms into perhaps a little bit more '70s prog-rock territory, without getting all serious about it or anything. They stick with the same playful 'n' eclectic (if not quite so experimental) songwriting approach as on albums #1-#3, but throw in some heavier fuzz freakiness at times, which is fine by us. The catchiness quotient is still way up too, many of the tracks being super-upbeat, surefire faves for any Mutantes fan. Take the sunniest songs by Sly Stone (this album's opener "Top Top" for sure hints at Sly) or the Kinks ("Virginia"), filter 'em through Brazilian bossa nova and Spanish flamenco folk ("El Justiciero"), step on the occasional fuzz pedal, and you'll have some idea what this sounds like. Most of the songs are in Portuguese, but you do get the all-English track "Technicolor" and also an English-language version of their Caetano Veloso-penned hit "Baby", gently sung by Rita Lee (unlike the Portuguese version on their debut, that had Baptista at the mic).
We're pretty sure that if you like A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Desligado (#3), there's no reason to stop there, you'll like #4 Jardim Eletrico too. Indeed, there's quite a few songs here that could easily compete for inclusion in our personal Mutantes top ten. So don't miss out, Mutantes fans.
NB. If you're wondering why we number all the Mutantes albums like we do, it's just a habit that started with trying to keep the first two, both self-titled albums straight...
We just can't think of a more perfect way to walk into Aquarius. It's finally nice and sunny here in the city to begin with, and then we walk in the door to find, sitting on the front counter, the recently reissued back catalog from one of our favorite bands of all time, Os Mutantes!!! Whoo-hoo! The timing couldn't be better as a reformed Mutantes (minus Rita Lee, tho) are on tour right now, spreading their sound across the globe. It's been a few years since the first three crucial albums from these Brazilian psych-pop pioneers were available on cd domestically, and the import versions we previously had from South America have been out of print for a long time too. Until now. They've been repressed in Brazil and we've got import copies of not just the first three classics (reviewed here) but the also-pretty-great fourth and fifth Mutantes records too (which we've never reviewed before, and plan to list next time around). We are so stoked.
This, their 1969 sophmore effort (self titled Mutantes, again, not to be confused with the also self titled debut Os Mutantes) is, along with their debut, another one of the most important and influential records of the last quarter century. Seriously. In fact we might as well just consider the first three Os Mutantes records a single entity, as they are absolutely the perfect 1-2-3 pop punch! Here was a band from Sao Paulo, Brazil creating sounds with so many layers and styles intertwined, dense and dizzying, lush and lilting, elaborately arranged but so simple and catchy, who have gone on to help inspire some of the best and most beloved musical outfits in recent times. Their blending of breezy psychedelia, fuzzy delicious pop, and drops of musique concrete was the perfect infusion of experimental elements into challenging and rewarding pop that STILL sounds so amazingly enchanting, weird and irresistible. We could go on listing forever some of the bands and artists who have been inspired by so much of the Muntantes' spirit, sound and aesthetic: Stereolab, Broadcast, the whole Elephant Six scene, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Tower Recordings, Tater Totz, the list is endless. Today we even just noticed how Sonic Youth totally took the guitar melody of "O Relogio" for their classic "Little Trouble Girl". The scope and breadth of Os Mutantes influence is immeasurable. At one point, Kurt Kobain was desperately trying to convince Os Mutantes to tour with Nirvana! And while best-of collections and a few songs on comps here and there are nice, this is the kind of band whose records need to be heard in their entirety. We can't say it loud enough but just imagine us singing to you in glorious sun dappled Technicolor as we tell you that THIS TOO IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! You might as well just give in, you absolutely need ALL of their first three albums. Never has there been a more perfectly unique and effortless blend of bossa nova and fuzzed out psych rock as on this trio of perfect discs! If you love Os Mutantes (album #1, 1968) and how could you not? Then, there's no way you wouldn't also want this one, Mutantes (album #2, 1969) with its amazing green alien band photo on the back cover. And of course A Divina Comedia (album #3, 1970) with its slightly proggier sound and striking graveyard scene on the cover. Their "Sgt. Pepper meets Astrud Gilberto mix" holds up brilliantly across all three original Mutantes records. It's the sort of thing where we're kinda envious of anyone who hasn't heard 'em already and now has the chance to buy these cds for the first time!
We just can't think of a more perfect way to walk into Aquarius. It's finally nice and sunny here in the city to begin with, and then we walk in the door to find, sitting on the front counter, the recently reissued back catalog from one of our favorite bands of all time, Os Mutantes!!! Whoo-hoo! The timing couldn't be better as a reformed Mutantes (minus Rita Lee, tho) are on tour right now, spreading their sound across the globe. It's been a few years since the first three crucial albums from these Brazilian psych-pop pioneers were available on cd domestically, and the import versions we previously had from South America have been out of print for a long time too. Until now. They've been repressed in Brazil and we've got import copies of not just the first three classics (reviewed here) but the also-pretty-great fourth and fifth Mutantes records too (which we've never reviewed before, and plan to list next time around). We are so stoked.
This, their 1968 debut (self titled Os Mutantes, not to be confused, though it's easy, with their also self titled 2nd album Mutantes) is one of the most important and influential records of the last quarter century. Seriously. Here was a band from Sao Paulo, Brazil creating sounds with so many layers and styles intertwined, dense and dizzying, lush and lilting, elaborately arranged but so simple and catchy, who have gone on to help inspire some of the best and most beloved musical outfits in recent times. Their blending of breezy psychedelia, fuzzy delicious pop, and drops of musique concrete was the perfect infusion of experimental elements into challenging and rewarding pop that STILL sounds so amazingly enchanting, weird and irresistible. We could go on listing forever some of the bands and artists who have been inspired by so much of the Muntantes' spirit, sound and aesthetic: Stereolab, Broadcast, the whole Elephant Six scene, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Tower Recordings, Tater Totz, the list is endless. Today we even just noticed how Sonic Youth totally took the guitar melody of "O Relogio" for their classic "Little Trouble Girl". The scope and breadth of Os Mutantes influence is immeasurable. At one point, Kurt Kobain was desperately trying to convince Os Mutantes to tour with Nirvana! And while best-of collections and a few songs on comps here and there are nice, this is the kind of band whose records need to be heard in their entirety. We can't say it loud enough but just imagine us singing to you in glorious sun dappled Technicolor as we tell you that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! And not just 'cause it's the one that features perhaps their best-known hits, "Baby" and "Bat Macumba". Heck we could even do without those songs at this point, the rest of this is so great. An absolute all time Aquarius favorite and quite possibly one of the best pop records EVER! You might as well just give in, you absolutely need ALL of their first three albums. Never has there been a more perfectly unique and effortless blend of bossa nova and fuzzed out psych rock as on this trio of perfect discs! In addition to this their absolutely perfect debut, there's also Mutantes (album #2, 1969) with its amazing green alien band photo on the back cover. And of course A Divina Comedia (album #3, 1970) with its slightly proggier sound and striking graveyard scene on the cover. Their "Sgt. Pepper meets Astrud Gilberto mix" holds up brilliantly across all three original Mutantes records. It's the sort of thing where we're kinda envious of anyone who hasn't heard 'em already and now has the chance to buy these cds for the first time!
While it may by now be a well known fact that Aquarius is totally in love with the '60s Brazilian psych pop band Os Mutantes, we can't say we've loved everything we've heard by them. Their first 2 albums (both selftitled) are the best place to start. The third, A Divina Comedia Ou, is well worth your time too. Our advice is to avoid the disappointing David-Byrne-compiled collection Everything Is Possible and the later more prog albums made in the seventies after vocalist Rita Lee left the band.
Tecnicolor is a new disc which compiles the tracks Mutantes recorded in Paris in 1970. These are not new songs but versions of the best Mutantes tracks performed in ENGLISH. And it's not half-bad -- the songs are in most cases stripped down or radically different from their original versions. Lyric sheet included.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
There was a time in the mid-to-late nineties where Brazil psych-prog-pop legends, Os Mutantes ruled supreme at AQ. Their first three records came to define one of our store's focus areas in finding cool obscure Latin psychedelia especially from Brazil's Tropicalia scene of the sixties and seventies. While a large part of the band's back-catalog remains temporarily out of print on cd, we did just come across this mind-bending vinyl-only compilation of obscure rarities from the band's early days. The Sixth Finger was originally the intended title of the band's second album, which their record label refused. So it's apropos that this collection shows the band at their most primal, raw and rebellious, even featuring the Shell spots they did for radio adverts of their most experimental tape collages. Most of the music is taken direct from masters of longer alternate versions of some of their most well-known tracks including "Bat Macumba", "Panis Et Circensis" and "Ando Meio Desligado", but it also includes some raw live festival recordings featuring Caetano Veloso. The cover is even taken from one of the cancelled photo sessions for their second album. A really cool collection even though the price may keep unfamiliar but curious folks from taking a listen. Still a worthy addition for Mutantes fans!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
An often overlooked title in the Os Mutantes catalog, Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol was recorded in 1974 and released a year later. With only sole original member, Sergio Dias, taking the helm, their sound takes another direction into the pastoral rock / post-Tropicalia territory of bands like O Terco and O Bando. It's a pretty solid album thankfully without a lot of the proggy wackiness that we have seen on much of their later output. [/cat/international22.html]
Wow, we really do never know what to expect from the Ormolycka label, except the unexpected. This latest batch of limited edition tapes is maybe even more diverse, and downright WTF!? than usual. We wouldn't have been surprised by electro rap weirdness, or exotic booty bass, or synthesizer soundscapery, but instead, in this particular case, we get vintage South American rock n' roll!
Pappo's Blues were a heavy, bluesy (no duh) psych rock band from Argentina helmed by guitarist/vocalist Norberto "Pappo" Napolitano. They put out their debut, Pappo's Blues Vol.1, in 1971, and six more albums/volumes followed, through 'til 1978. (There are another two also, from when the band reunited in the '90s.) So, we suppose this Ormolycka cassette is some sort of selected 'best of' mix from various Volumes, probably the very earliest ones, though we don't know for sure as no info or track titles are given. Whatever the case, these are assuredly some badass, wailing proto-metal blues jams all right, riffy and distorted, with some fairly rough and ragged vocals in Spanish.
Some tracks are in the more traditional, 12-bar, bar-room blues vein, but mostly this is way heavier sounding than that - the very first track on side A ("Sucio Y Desprolijo" from Vol. 3, we managed to figure out), is obviously majorly influenced by early Black Sabbath, as is a lot of the rest. Good times! A tape for anyone into the raw bluesy proto-metal action like Blue Cheer, Juan De La Cruz, Speed Glue & Shinki, Red Dirt, et. al.
1972, Argentina: hard rockin', heavy bloozin', proto-metal political protest band Piel de Pueblo ("Village Skin") record and release their one and only album, which we recently discovered via this reissue, being intrigued by its cover painting featuring a blood-dripping Earth whirling through space, orbiting a bummed-out Sun that's crying a single tear...
Piel de Pueblo make some prog moves here - there's electric violin on a couple of the tracks (reminding us of early UK heavies High Tide) - but mostly it's all about the wailing wah-wah guitar solos, and distorted fuzzed-out riffage (also reminding us of High Tide, for that matter).
"La Tierra En 998 Pedazos" is the psychedelic epic here, at 9 minutes plus (thus finding time for some gentle melodiousness amidst the riff-rock), but most of the other songs are right around 3 minutes or so, rockin' out for the duration. Fans of Mexico's Los Dug Dugs at their most "Loco" should investigate, likewise if you're into Piel de Pueblo's fellow countrymen Pappo's Blues...
Booklet includes Spanish-language lyrics, band photo, and a brief note about the history of the band in both Spanish and English.
Born of his compulsive love for Tropicalia, that distinctly Brazilian take on '60s psychedelia that Aquarius also loves, Mac of Superchunk has recorded 5 of his most favorite pieces made famous by Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, and Os Mutantes. Although we feared the worst, actually it's not bad at all. Very pleasant. And another thing we like to see -- there are very detailed credits so that Tropicalia newcomers may seek out the original versions. Plus it's a hoot to hear the voice of Superchunk singing in Portugese!
Absolutely gorgeous! For those already familiar with the wonderful timeless Cuban sounds of the Buena Vista Social Club, a new album by BVSC's grande dame Omara Portuondo is certainly a welcome sight. She possesses an incredibly potent, elegant voice that elevates any song to soaring new heights, and all of the fourteen songs here more than prove this point. Each note and phrase -- both vocal and instrumental-- is alive with smoky vitality. Okay, 'nuf gushin'! 'Nuf said! Recommended!
BBC radio DJ and avid record collector Gilles Peterson has never steered us wrong, especially when it comes to rare jazz and Brazilian music, and this one is a gem. Recorded in 1958, it is one of the rarest Brazilian releases, one that became a touchstone for the evolution of Brazilian music in the sixties from samba and bossa to tropicalia. So rare that Peterson didn't have a copy and was approached by a seller offering it for a staggering $4700, prompting Peterson to put an ad out in Record Collector urging someone to reissue it. Johnny Trunk saw the ad, got in contact with Tim Maia's nephew Ed Motta, who is a record collector and musician who had the lp in his collection, and got to work transferring Motta's copy digitally and remastering it, so we finally have a chance to listen to it, and it's quite fantastic.
A part of a global touring show called Brasiliana by Polish producer Miecio Askanasy and arranged by Jose Prates, the cast members cut a couple of records and this is one of them. Its lush orchestration of exotic rhythms, haunting choral passages and old world musical theater charm at turns evoking the soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone and Allesandro Allesandroni, the exoticism of Les Baxter and Yma Sumac and even the choral African mass of Missa Luba by the Troubadours du Roi Baudouin, make for a captivating and hypnotic listen. But one song in particular, "Nana Imboro", turns out to be the inspiration for Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada", one of the most popular Brazilian songs ever made. At times, mournful, mysterious, reverent and ecstatic. Highly recommended!
The irrepressible Jarvis Cocker and co. have returned, but you just might wanna think about holding your celebratory cheers. Yes, Pulp has certainly gone through its share of ups and downs, starts and stops, and stylistic shifts since its inception in 1978,
Two late sixties records collected from the beloved Brazilian singer, Elis Regina. Elis Como e Porque (1968) and Elis Regina in London (1969), display the full range of her stellar vocal abilities singing many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's best known songs such as "Wave" and "How Insensitive". Not as well known in the states, probably due to Astrud Gilberto's fluke hit "Girl From Ipanema" which jump started the soft-samba wave abroad, an antithesis to Regina's tempestuous moodiness and dynamic vocal delivery (She was nicknamed "little pepper").
Although these records are not quite as exquisitely breathtaking as the 1974 lp she recorded with Antonio Carlos Jobim, they nicely showcase this vital musical figure whose untimely death at the age of 36 has made her a near saint in Brazil. No soft samba here, she's as bright as the sunniest day in Rio!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Discos Mariposa is quickly becoming one of our new favorite reissue labels alongside Japan's EM Records. Last list we told you about the Alceu Valenca & Geraldo Azevedo record we had fallen in love with and this time out there are two more that we can't seem to keep our ears off of. Paulo E Bagunca A Tropa Maldita (reviewed elsewhere on this list) and this record from Rubinho & Maura Assumpcao. Recorded in 1972 and until now a pretty impossible to find rarity, this Rio De Janeiro duo play totally seductive & dreamy bossa-samba-psychedelic pop. With a nod toward California dreamy west-coast introspection and that irresistible laid back sound that folks in Brazil always got so right. The cover picture of the two of them naked peeking out from within the branches of a tree in some enchanted forest gives you a pretty good indication of the sensual sounds contained within. You might remember their song from the Brazilian edition of the Love Peace & Poetry series, but unlike lots of rediscovered lost 'classics' with one or two good songs, this is an album that perfect from start to finish.
Out of the same politically fervent Chilean psych scene that brought us Congregacion, Los Jaivas, and Embrujo, we get another amazing spiritual-minded psych-folk artifact, this lone album from Sacros. Creating songs inspired by the great gods of South America, such as Quetzalcoatl, The Plumed Serpent, god of the ancient Mayas, and Viracocha, Lord of Tiahuanaku in the Andes Mountains, Sacros were a short-lived group supported by the Divina Providence Church, who in exchange for practice space, commissioned the band to write and perform an electric mass. Unfortunately, their debut album was released one week after Augusto Pinochet and his right wing regime took over the country and called for the destruction of the state run music label along with all released recordings, thus very few copies of the original album survived. Recently featured on the Chilean installment of the Love, Peace, and Poetry compilations, Sacros' unique sound - gentle Byrds-ish country-rock mixed with the psychedelic tinges of Popul Vuh - is quite beautiful and highly recommended.
NOW ON VINYL! Extra nice since the cd version of this great collection has been AWOL of late.
We can't deny we've been quite smitten with so many bands in the last couple years who have blasted onto the scene playing inspired, raw, wild and blown out garage rock. But it may take going back to Peru to the years 1964-1966 to find the most riveting and TRUE origins of garage proto-punk, done to perfection. The first time we ever heard Los Saicos we couldn't believe our ears, this was the kind of garage sound we had always imagined in our mind. Gritty, spirited, and filled with charm and soul. And some pretty gnarly vocals for the time. It's not overstating the case to say they make other '60s dirty garage peddlers like The Sonics or The Monks seem kind of tame. This is the kind of blood, guts and charisma that helped create bands latter on like The Cramps, The Mono Men, The Coachwhips, and Davilla 666. With a primitive surf undertone, and an undeniable tough and cool sensibility they really do have a sound so many bands in the decades to follow tried (and continue to try) to emulate. Los Saicos are like the Peruvian version of a gang of bad kids from a Luis Bunuel film, forming a band and creating electric energy together amongst the harsh realities of the streets they roam.
We're so so so thankful Munster has given Los Saicos the proper reissue and long overdue respect they so deserve. If you like rock n roll in any form, you NEED THIS!
We can't deny we've been quite smitten with so many bands in the last couple years who have blasted onto the scene playing inspired, raw, wild and blown out garage rock. But it may take going back to Peru to the years 1964-1966 to find the most riveting and TRUE origins of garage proto-punk, done to perfection. The first time we ever heard Los Saicos we couldn't believe our ears, this was the kind of garage sound we had always imagined in our mind. Gritty, spirited, and filled with charm and soul. And some pretty gnarly vocals for the time. It's not overstating the case to say they make other '60s dirty garage peddlers like The Sonics or The Monks seem kind of tame. This is the kind of blood, guts and charisma that helped create bands latter on like The Cramps, The Mono Men, The Coachwhips, and Davilla 666. With a primitive surf undertone, and an undeniable tough and cool sensibility they really do have a sound so many bands in the decades to follow tried (and continue to try) to emulate. Los Saicos are like the Peruvian version of a gang of bad kids from a Luis Bunuel film, forming a band and creating electric energy together amongst the harsh realities of the streets they roam.
We're so so so thankful Munster has given Los Saicos the proper reissue and long overdue respect they so deserve. If you like rock n roll in any form, you NEED THIS!
Lion Productions once again dig deep into super obscure international psychedelia of the '60s and '70s to bring us this amazing gem. Sandhy & Mandhy were an Argentinian duo who hit the scene almost as fast as they disappeared. Recording only one album in 1967, and doing it in just three hours. With no grand hopes of fame and fortune, their label pressed a mere 110 copies for the group to have at gigs they played. Years later those copies would fetch crazy amounts of money. Which is not surprising once you hear the music, cuz it's so damn good.
Mixing both the dreamy and rocking elements of psychedelic pop, their sound was in a very similar vein and spirit to their contemporaries in nearby Brazil where the Tropicalia movement was just beginning. From moments of fuzz guitar to melt-worthy vocals, this is a record that covers a lot of ground, and does it so well. It really does sound like some awesome mix of Caetano Veloso and Os Mutantes.
Finally we all get to hear the magic of this album made over forty years ago. There are also five bonus tracks, that for some of us are reason enough to grab this, as their awesome lo-fi covers of The Doors and Marianne Faithfull/The Rolling Stones are pretty damn irresistible. We're totally digging this!
Probably the best description of the music on this first-time-reissued Brazilian '70s acoustic acid-folk rarity comes in the form of a picture, that's right there on the sleeve -- a drawing on the back cover depicting two naked hippies sitting crosslegged with guitar and sitar. And, they have wings. Winged hippies. One's set of wings is butterfly-like, while the other is sorta batwinged, demonic. And both make sense, as the music is light and pretty enough for the butterfly one but also serious and sad enough for a guy cursed with batwings to play. On this, their eponymous and only album (a private press LP originally released in 1973), the Satwa duo unfurl delicate psychedelic rainforest folk ragas, super pretty, mellow and meandering maaaaaan. These tracks are largely instrumental, but there's are occassionally some wispy vocals wandering high (indeed) over the sparkling string play. And a lil' fuzz guitar makes the mix too. Utterly beautiful stuff. It's kind of a South American, decades-past version of Jewelled Antler faves Ivytree or Skygreen Leopards... If we didn't know any better, we'd suspect Glenn Donaldson had a hand in it. But Glenn's too young, doesn't speak Portuguese, and also doesn't have wings.
This cd version comes in a mini-LP style sleeve... lovingly packaged, lovely music.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
"Long overdue CD reissue of one of the seminal solo guitar albums -- in any genre -- ever recorded. Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete (Djalma de Andrade) settled on the West Coast in 1959. Throughout the '60s he toured widely with various jazz artists and recorded for such labels as Verve, ABC-Paramount, Fantasy and Columbia. In 1972 he recorded Ocean, a departure so far afield from anything else he'd ever done that Fantasy declined to issue it. In 1975 Fahey purchased the tapes and issued the album on his Takoma label. A second volume drawn from the same sessions was planned but it never materialized. Ocean Memories (issued by Bola's widow, Anne Sete) restores to print the complete Takoma album (CD 1) and the eight previously unissued songs that would have comprised Ocean II (CD 2). I could listen to this music forever -- it's deathless, perfect, ecstatic. It's interesting to compare how different Bola is from Baden Powell and some of his more technically accomplished Brazilian brothers: he's more of a sensualist, a fantasist, and he's looser -- more rock 'n' roll." -- Glenn Jones. The following is a quote from an article John Fahey wrote about Bola Sete in 1976: ""Few living people have had such an enormous influence on my life, my music, my soul, my religion -- you name it -- as has Bola Sete. I first saw him playing -- solo -- in early 1972 at David Allen's Boarding House in San Francisco. That night, I was high on drugs as I had been for several years, and -- as also had been the case for years -- I felt that I was one isolated example of an experimental species that God had forgotten about (I was wrong here). I felt I had been -- and was still -- walking and talking among shadows: 'People' who had no depth, who were not related to themselves, did not know anything about themselves -- endless, phony, shadow-people. And I was one of them. Bola played for about 45 minutes and grimaced and grunted through the whole set. Something was wrong. He couldn't 'get it out.' I knew how he felt, and I understood. Something was wrong. I was intrigued by his obvious frustration having felt that way myself almost all my life. The performance had been mediocre so far. However, the audience gave him a long ovation, and he reluctantly got up and started to play an encore, still looking frustrated, impotent, mad, seething. I knew that feeling well. But then suddenly he got hot. He got so cooking, he played song after song for another 45 minutes, forgetting (or not caring) that he was doing an encore, playing many of the same songs he had just played. My first impression that night, as I told a friend at the time, was this: Here is a man who has lived through hell and somehow miraculously got out of it. I went back to the Boarding House several times that week. I found that Bola's sets have an interesting 'plot.' They all begin and end with songs whose emotional contour is pretty, happy, light, peaceful, or ecstatic. But after the first two or three songs, the terrain gets rougher and darker, heavier and weirder. By the middle of his set, Bola is giving you pictures of hell, memories of perdition, demonic music. But then Bola gradually lightens up the spectrum of feeling and leads you out of the cave and into the sunlight, and life is paradise. Only now, one is so changed that one is temporarily aware that life really is paradise after all, the world is an ocean, etc. It is like a breath from the 19th Century or before; a breeze from times when people had passion and significance and were not mere shadows. It is as though something has finally changed. I talked to Bola's wife (I was too shaken to speak to him at the time). 'How does he keep from going crazy,' I asked her, 'when he has so much energy and tension? You can hear it in his music -- a lot of passion and tension. How did he get out of hell?' ('How can I get out of hell?' That's what I really wanted to know.) His music is so good it's eerie -- eerie because it comes from a different time, a different place, when men felt different things that we can no longer love or experience except as an echo or phantom in the best of art works. Most of Bola's music is eclectic and nongeneric. Take a song like 'Black Mommy.' Now, if you didn't know anything about Bola . . . what musical tradition, period, or era would you guess this song came from? Tasmania? Easter Island? Next door? It comes from everywhere and nowhere. The subconscious really is universal. Bola Sete's music is the best reminder of this that I have ever heard. He is a man of great spirit and great depth. Bola plays percussively, vertically, with a very heavy and insistent thumb. His playing is very masculine (the word is an anachronisism). He plays erratically and restlessly like Boll Weavil Jackson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, or Bill Monroe. But he also has inner peace and breadth . . . rhythm and dynamics are constantly changing. Bola's playing gives the impression (and like my playing it is a false impression) of being very improvisatory. His songs, on the other hand, tend to be very short and terse (unlike mine), without undue repetition. But like me, he tries to recreate each song each time he plays it, which is in effect to destroy it. . . . The only elements of a song, which change from one performance to the next, are the number of repetitions of each idea. The order of the ideas stays pretty much the same. But the speed and intensity at which they are played may vary; if Bola doesn't like the room he is playing in, or the people he is playing for, he tends to play lousy. I do the same. We both play the way we feel, but within a rigid structure. We play that way because we have to -- we can't do anything else. God help us." -- John Fahey, from the article "Bola Sete, The Nature of Infinity, And John Fahey," Guitar Player, Febuary 1976.
Reissue of a 1985 recording by Brazilian new age / jazz guitarist Bola Sete. Pleasant soft fingerpicking. Plays well at those little tourist shops in sleepy beach communities. Produced by George Winston.
No, it's not a new Atom Heart release of drill & bass mambo-core, Sexteto Electronica Moderno were a Uruguayan group which recorded four albums between 1968 and 1972. The "Electronica" in their name most likely refers to the fact that they used heaping amounts of Hammond organ, electric guitars & bass and other electric instruments in their otherwise typically acoustic jazz instrument line up. All but the final number on this collection (a vocal number with lyrics sung in Spanish) are cool tropical jazz instrumentals and their sound fits snuggly betwixt the likes of Herb Alpert, Cal Tjader and Ethiopian groovemaster Mulatu Astatke with a dash of Les Paul-esque guitar (not Paul's double speed over-dubs mind you). This is an excellent pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow for any seekers of rare exotica and 60's bachelor pad music. This collection is a best of, featuring tracks from the four albums the group produced in its career. Along with several originals are some great renditions of such classic numbers as Burt Bacharach's "The Look Of Love" and "I Say A Little Prayer", as well as Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus".
Miho Hatori the former chanteuse for Cibo Matto here makes dreamy, Astrud Gilberto-style, very light and floaty bossa nova with fellow Brazillian music fetishist Smokey Hormel. On this their second EP, they've focused on the works of Baden Powell, respectfully covering five of his classic songs. Performed with an increased ease and confidence by all involved, these are finely executed, faithful renditions of this Brazillian music master's works. So lovely.
Oh how nice! Want to feel the glow of summer's warmth no matter what it feels like outside. Som Imaginario have got the golden rays for all of us to bask in. Brazil, 1970 -- and yeah start thinking Os Mutantes and the Tropicalia revolution of sound. While they never got the wide attention that some of their peers would end up receiving, their music was just as dazzling, delightful and adventures as those whose names are now much more known (Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, etc). Som Imaginario were a six piece who initially came together to back up Milton Nascimento for his short lived Brazilian TV show. This their debut was never released outside of Brazil until now, and with Os Mutantes launching a reunion tour this spring, the time is ripe for other wonderful sounds from that scene to finally resurface. Equal parts sun soaked pop, fun-freak-out and an underlying irreverent spirit make this one of those reissues that doesn't just sound cool in theory but you actually want to listen to it over and over.
Shoulda known that Shadoks would get to this one eventually. We've had previous import reissues of this cult Latin American psych platter at other times in the past, but they never were easy to keep in stock for very long - now we can count on having it available for a while at least, we hope.
Here's what we said about this before, if you missed it maybe six or seven years ago when we reviewed one of those earlier reissues: Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Colombian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968! Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as "Kris Kringle" on a previous lp reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been TOTALLY messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice...
Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine. We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained - Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!
We've had this cult Latin American psych reissue on and off (mostly off) for a few years now, and so since we just managed to get this super deluxe oversized book edition, we figured we'd relist it, for those of you who might not have gotten a chance to hear it (or hear about it) yet. It's pricey, but the packaging is pretty over the top. And of course it's an amazing album.
The cd comes housed in a 7" sized sleeve, full color and on thick card stock. Inside is affixed a 20 page full color booklet, filled with photos and drawings, and tons and tons of liner notes (all in Spanish unfortunately), and affixed to the inside front cover is a little crunched up chicklet, a replica of the supposed LSD bubble gum that was included in the original album!! Awesome.
Here's what we said about this before:
Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Columbian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968. Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as Kris Kringle on an LP reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been totally messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice...
Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was recently profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine issue! We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained -- Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!
Spectrum always makes me realize that if music stopped being made today, we would never fail to keep on finding gems and hidden treasures from the past. There's just so much gorgeous music that has already been made that you could only listen to stuff from the past and still always be listening to greatness. I mean, that's what I'm feeling -- my top ten list from last year has four records in it made in '74 or earlier, and this Spectrum record is from 1971. (This band is also not related to the Sonic Boom / Spacemen 3 project of the same name just so you know.)
Second of all I have to say that for the entirety of 2003 so far I (Windy) have listened to this record more than any other. It rewards repeated listening. Next I have to say that this Spectrum album comes the closest, yes, even among Gal Costa, Caetano Velosos, Gilbert Gil, to conjuring up the sweet 'n gutsy psychedelic pop that Os Mutantes did so well. Yes, the soundtrack to Geracao Bendita is that good. Spectrum's got melodies as bittersweet, compulsively hummable and pure 'n simple as the Beatles (whose catalog the boys in Spectrum reputedly could replicate perfectly), jangly 12-string as flowery and metallic as the Byrds, singing dressed with long drawn out vowels and harmonies worthy of the Mamas and the Papas, acid guitar riffing strongly reminiscent of their faves Steppenwolf. The stellar arrangements just take it over the top, just like with Os Mutantes, where the emphasis is less on verse chorus verse and more on sections. You never know where it's going but with the first notes of the record, which sound so good, you just sorta trust 'em. All this from a band whose average age was 21, from the city of Nova Friburgo in the state of Rio, Brazil. A band who never performed this soundtrack live even! The film, a celebration of peace & love taking place in a hippie wonderland was banned upon its release in 1970 and the soundtrack died a similar death.
MPEG Download: "Concerto do Pantano" [/audio/spectrumconcerto.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Concerto do Pantano" [/audio/spectrumconcerto.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Mother Nature" [/audio/spectrummothernature.mp3]
Sun soaked tropical dreamy '70s psych-pop from a Latin American musical legend. Pippo Spero grew up in Uruguay where he studied classical guitar at the National Conservatory of Uruguay. As the military dictatorship of Uruguay grew more excessive, that school was shut down and life for artists and musicians became impossible. Spero didn't let that take him away from his love and gift for making such beautiful sounds and he started concentrating on songwriting, and crafted A Buen Puerto, a gorgeous album of breezy, warm and lilting perfection.
Brimming with songs that make you melt and take you out of the rigid and cold structure of everyday life. It's so interesting to see how so many folks under the harshest political climate were able to make such beautiful music. Not turning to anger, but instead showing that no matter what, no one could take away their ability to create beauty and experience love. Yet there is still a bittersweet sadness and melancholy that floats through all of A Buen Puerto. There is also a kinship in spirit and sound with Caetano Veloso, which we hear all over this gorgeous album.
In fact, after completing this album in 1976, Spero fled from Uruguay and moved to Brazil where he formed close relationships with many like minded musicians and songwriters there like Geraldo Azevedo, Alceu Valenca, and Milton Nascimento. Fans of any of the aforementioned artists, and folks like Lo Borges, Congregacion, and Eduardo Mateo will find a new favorite record in A Buen Puerto.
The Survival were a Mexican psychedelic rock band circa 1970, who played morbid, melancholy acid-blues and warped beat music, with an oddly apocalyptic sense of freak-humor, reflected in song titles like "The World Is A Bomb", "Electric Chair", "Nothings
Helloooo all you faithful Talk Talk completists! This cd compiles the singles from their extraordinary 1991 album Laughing Stock (which surely already holds an honorable place in your music library) along with four other tracks. Actually two if the "singles" are different versions of the originals - "After The Flood" is an alternate take/outtake and "New Grass" is an edit. "Ascension Day" is unaltered. The other tracks include "Myrrhman" (also from Laughing Stock) as well as the "Stump", the abstract soundscape "5:09" and a meditative 14 minute piece of solo piano minimalism performed by TT mainman Mark Hollis (originally a contribution to the Allinson/Brown experimental ambient album AV 1). Not an essential cd, but if it spurs you to revisit Laughing Stock, then we're fortunate for its release.
What's this? Maybe the cover, all-black but for the name Tarkus, caught your eye? Holy grail time here, people. We've been wanting to get this album on cd FOREVER. There was a hard-to-find LP reissue some years ago, but we'd never yet found a cd version -- until now, at last, and it's a totally legit one from the master tapes! Released (barely, in an edition of just, like, 50 copies) in Tarkus' native Peru back in 1972, this is an album to go down in the annals of heavy rock, proudly belonging to the pantheon of proggy proto-metal!!! We'd definitely rank this with favorites of ours in that truly cult realm, other early '70s stuff like Necronomicon and Night Sun and Eduardo Bort and Steamhammer's Speech!
It may be that they're named after the ELP's 1971 album Tarkus (you know, the one with that freaky armadillo/tank on the cover), but they don't sound much like ELP in any event. While progressive rock is part of their sound, this Tarkus come across more like a bizarro hybrid of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and some of the more out-there and baroque Italian prog outfits of the era, rather than ELP. It's music that's dark and doomy and powerful and psychedelically dosed, sometimes with really weird operatic vocals -- and always with about a zillion cool, heavy guitar riffs. It's meant to be played LOUD. Shouldn't be hard to comply!
With some very pretty melodies and acoustic moments, Tarkus somehow seem like a '60s garage psych act (which they previously were, Tarkus being formed by members of Peruvian psych-pop group Telegraph Ave.) in possession of a crystal ball that enabled them to gaze into the future to be anachronistically inspired by Black Sabbath's Sabotage album, which was released three years later in 1975 (we'll have to assume that crystal ball had a place to plug in earphones).
This comes packaged in a gatefold, miniature LP styled sleeve. There's a folded color insert, another black and white lyric sheet, and also separate liner notes in both Spanish and English, which make mention of the band dressing like monks when they made one of their rare live appearances.
And by the way, we'd somehow suspect that Portland's Danava have heard this record. If not, they should -- we think they'd like it! And we think you will too, if any of the above raving and referencing strikes a chord!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Inarguably an all-time classic of sixties psych. Peru's Traffic Sound might not be the most famous band from the era, but those in the know, know. At long last we have a cd reissue of their second album, Virgin, a masterpiece recorded in 1969. It's brought to us by the Repsychled label from their homeland, responsible also for that Tarkus reish we raved over a not long ago. And it's about time. Maybe you saw our review last year of the Traffic Sound compilation Yellow Sea Years? It included only one track from this album (the hit single in Peru "Meshkalina") for reasons we can't fathom, except that you'd want the whole thing anyway, and here it is! Psychedelic pop/prog perfection, featuring both dreamy melodies and some freaked out, flutey jazz/krautrock sounding passages, including a dose of backwards weirdness and several tracks of acoustic beauty. They were contemporaneous with better-known American and British acts such as the Beatles, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, and Love, and influenced by the likes of them no doubt. But on Virgin, Traffic Sound make the case for their own spaced-out, groovy, early-prog creativity. And in fact this was the first album by a Peruvian rock band to feature all-original compositions. As albums of the era from Latin America go, this is one of the essentials, particularily if you've been digging, say, Mexico's La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata, or any of those awesome psych titles from Brazil that we've seen lately...
Repsychled has some interesting packaging notions, this is in a sort of under-sized cardboard digi-folder thing. It seems like each title we get from them is in some different, non-standard sleeve. In any case, for this official reissue they've gone to the master tapes and done a careful remastering job, and the cd booklet is packed with vintage photos and suchlike.
Yeah! Yellow Sea Years is a great collection of tracks from this legendary '60s psych outfit from Peru. We've actually had this in stock since last year and always meant to list it but only got around to it now. Traffic Sound's early influences should be readily apparent from the cover versions that populated their first album, 1968's A Bailar GoGo: Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon, Iron Butterfly (nope, not "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" -- they did "You Can't Win"!), and Skip James's "I'm So Glad" (as featured on the Latin American installment of the Love, Peace & Poetry compilation series). Of those debut album tracks, only Eric Burdon's "Sky Pilot" is included here. By the time of their second album Virgin in '69, they'd definitely established their own, wonderfully spacey, groovy and melodic, sound. That brilliant LP is only represented on this disc by "Meshkalina" though this comp takes its name from the epic "Yellow Sea Days" (not included). Following on from Virgin, Traffic Sound continued to explore more mellow, Pink Floydy pop as well as getting into funkier Latin-tinged soul-psychedelia... the latter perhaps being the reason that Vampi Soul has opted to focus mainly on material from the band's third and fourth LPs, Traffic Sound (1970) and Lux ('71), cramming as much of those albums onto this 80 minute cd anthology as possible. And there's definitely some great stuff here! For example, the utter jazz-horns boosted psychedelic grooviness of "Tibette's Suzettes" (with a slightly Ozzy-ish vocal). Badass track that one. Yep, if you're into upbeat, '60s psych-pop rock that draws on prog, folk, and funk, you need to check out the Traffic Sound. Now if they'd only also reissue all of Virgin!
Shadoks somehow does it yet again, digging up an obscure, fuzzed out psychedelic gem from one of the far corners of the globe. This one must have really required some digging, as the disc is not even an actual full album reissue, but a collection of mostly unreleased tracks by three different but related groups from the jungles of Venezuela - late '60s / early '70s underground acts pretty much unknown outside of their home turf. Obscure indeed, but pretty dang cool, makes you wonder about all the even more obscure bands never documented at all. Shadoks has already brought us one classic Venezuelan psych record by Ladies W.C. and this stuff is in much the same vein of freaky high energy hard psych and fuzzy popsike.
These recordings, taken from 7" singles as well as unreleased tapes, date from roughly 1967 to 1972, and are all by these three bands that featured many of the same members, always including guitarist Josetio Romero. First came LSD, an acid rock act obviously, then they morphed into the Led Zeppelin influenced Tsee Mud (the name a reference to the bloodsucking, disease-bearing tsetse fly), and then finally the all-instrumental and super groovy Bacro. Romera was involved with some other bands too during this period, like one called Heavy Load, but none of the others left any recordings. He apparently even toured the USA (playing Madison Square Garden!) with the American R&B band The Del-Vikings, during the break between Tsee Mud and Bacro. As you might suppose, Romero was a pretty wild guitarist, starting off as a devoted Jimi Hendrix acolyte and going from there.
None of these bands (who played live a lot and must have been great on stage) ever made a full-length lp which is a shame but at least this collection brings together what they did record, and it really works as a cohesive set, basically a 'best of' one band with three names.
Our favorite tracks might be the instrumentals by Bacro, those are just killer grooves, no vocals needed. But ALL the tracks are pretty great, the ones with wailing vocals to go with the wailing guitar too. There's no duds, all the tracks are packed with hairy funk, primal prog moves and lumbering, heavy, Hendrix-y riffs out the wazoo. There's a few moody moments but things usually start swinging seconds later. Some of the time, Tsee Mud et. al. come across sorta like a South American James Gang, cool! Also for fans of Los Dug Dugs for sure, and even African psych stuff like Witch. Further proof that awesome, unknown bands lurked in garages the world over, back then!
The cd booklet includes lengthy liner notes in both English and Spanish, along with lyrics, vintage photos and graphics. Although, despite all the detailed information provided, the cd booklet doesn't do a very good job of identifying which of the eleven tracks on this disc were by which bands, though you can probably figure it out if you read carefully, if it even matters, which it doesn't really.
FYI, also available on vinyl, but it's hella expensive ($45), that's how Shadoks do, we can special order it though, just ask.
One of our favorite mix makers, DJ Andy Votel. One of the most sparkling genres of music ever, Tropicalia. Can't go wrong with this one! Andy Votel is responsible for such AQ fave discs as Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word, Vertigo Mixed, Welsh Rare Beat, and the recent Well Hung (that killer comp of Hungarian funky fuzz rock we highlighted last list), among many others. Tropicalia? Well that's the late '60 Brazilian musical movement (with political and artistic dimensions as well) that melded psychedelia with Latin rhythms like bossa nova... chances are most AQ customers have some passing familiarity with it, probably having an Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil or Caetano Veloso reissue or two or more in your collection.
Of those three biggies, only Mutantes appear hear on Votel's Brazilika mix, which should appeal to both Tropicalia fans and the simply curious as well. And of course Votel digs fairly deep to bring some definite obscurities into play, all from the vaults of the Brazilian Som Livre and RGE record labels. Some names: Os Brazoes, Tim Maia, Novos Baianos, Sidney Miller, Trio Soneca, Azimuth... Those familiar with his penchant for heavy, "hairy funk" on his previous mixes won't be surprised that this rocks fairly hard (and also jazzily), full of organ jamming and wah wah fuzz guitar, giving less of a look in to the breezier, more delicate and folky aspects of the Tropicalia sound. So it's not exactly a primer, but if you can untangle which part of each track is by what artist (Votel mashing several into each cut), it should whet your appetite and give you some clues for further reissue exploration. And be a surefire hit at your next party, of course.
Another new collection on the Latitude label (Locust's new international sublabel) takes us this time to the Chiapas region of Mexico. The tracks here were recorded between 1971 and 1974 by Richard Alderson (legendary sound engineer involved in recording Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, et al in the late sixties). Alderson, who had emigrated to Mexico, devoted his time to documenting the music of the Indians in the region. Along with beautiful trios of harp, guitar and violin there are intense, dare I say, rocking numbers with drums are horns, exploding fireworks (that sound like canons being fired) and some truly bizarre acappella vocal counterpoint. The guitars and harps here are particularly cool sounding. Most of them produce strange overtones such that they almost sound like electric instruments and on some songs, when there's an orchestra of the things playing at once, it's like as impressive as any wall of sound. The tunes here will have you alternately weeping in their beauty and gritting your teeth with their intensity. Originally released by Smithsonian Folkways in the seventies, all the tracks here have here been restored and digitally remastered by Alderson. Highly recommended!
From the folks who brought us the recent Cuban compilation packaged in cigar box, comes this stellar Brasilian collection which is separated into 4 cds cataloged by style: Folk & Traditional, Carnaval, Bossa Nova, and MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). Nope, no contributions by Os Mutantes, but there IS a song by Joyce, who we'd like to find out more about. (Laetitia from Stereolab, in the most recent issue of The Wire's musical taste test, mistakes Joyce for the Mutantes and goes on about how great both artists are.)
You put two of the things we love most in the world, Soul Jazz compilations and Brazilian psych/pop from the 70's together, and you've got one very happy bunch of AQ staffers! Brazil 70 is the follow up to the great Tropicalia compilation Soul Jazz put out a couple years back which served as a great document and serious opened some eyes to the amazing musical movement and revolution in sound that went down in Brazil in the late 60's and early '70s. This compilation picks right up where that one left off, giving us a great glimpse into the post-tropicalia world of the '70s Brazilian music scene. There are some Tropicalia pioneers included here like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, and Tom Ze. But what's most thrilling about Brazil 70 is all the amazing tracks from folks who haven't been as well documented here in the states. We've been blown away by the songs from Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo & Joyce, Erasmo Carlos, Secos E Molhados, all of whom were making amazing and colorful sounds during the first half of the '70s in Brazil. Using the blueprints of the eclectic and spirited nature of Tropicalia, these artists tapped into some magical musical force, discovering new and incredible ways to create amazingly colorful psych-pop perfection. We can't stop listening to this...highly recommended!
Geez! Just when you thought you've heard all the Brazilian Psych and Tropicalia of the sixties and seventies worth listening to, comes this monster compilation of complete unknown jams from the era that very nearly blows away anything you considered to be the best. Distributed by the same folks who brought us the killer Psych Funk 101 compilation (a unanimous store favorite), if you dug that compilation you should definitely check this one out. Culled specifically from the rarest of 7" singles (the era's cheapest and most produced format), many of 'em promo only, there are none of the usual suspects, no Caetano, Os Mutantes or any of Rogerio Duprat's star artists. Instead this is the sound of the deeper radical underground, of groups most of which couldn't ever get record deals. The music is way heavier, the vibe more unhinged and funky with big fuzz and often wild, ecstatic arrangements. Here is the checklist of groups on here: Celio Balona, Loyce E Os Gnomes, The Youngsters, Serguel, Fabio, Tony E Som Colorido, 14 Bis, Banda De 7 Leguas, Ton & Sergio, Ely, Com OS Falcoes Reais, Marisa Rossi, The Pops, Piry, and Max Rybell. The cd comes with a HUGE full color booklet with info on all the singles and pictures and the enhanced cd itself features a documentary, called "What Are Fuzz Bananas?" (good question). Meanwhile, the vinyl version comes with a large full color booklet with info on all the singles and pictures. We got the last copies of the first vinyl pressing that include 3-D glasses, though we're not sure why they were included as none of the record sleeve was printed in 3-D as far as we can tell, though they do make the wildly colorful psychedelic drawing in the gatefold sure look neat!
Way Recommended!
Once again Soundway continues to unearth amazing tracks from yet another overlooked international scene. This collection digs into the cumbia and descarga sounds out of Columbia in the '60s to early '70s that were being released on the Discos Fuentes label. Jose Maria 'Curro' Fuentes ran the label which would become Columbia's largest. In many ways he was like the Berry Gordy of Columbia, using his immaculate taste to curate an amazing roster of musicians. Sadly most of these artists never had their music heard or even released in other parts of the globe, so this release marks the first time most of these nineteen tracks have been released anywhere outside of Columbia. The raw recordings really serve the music so well as these aren't the kind of tracks you would want overproduced or with a shiny slick veneer. Instead the infectious rhythms within the songs emerge organically with such rich and warm grooves. With sunshine time hitting us in a big way the past week, this is becoming the perfect soundtrack to outdoor get togethers and rooftop afternoons. No denying how damn hot this is!
NOW ON VINYL!!!
Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, that the detailed liner notes in the illustrated booklet will explain were part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
Spanish import, limited to 500 copies.
As we approach fall, we find ourselves desperately hanging on to summer sun and celebrating summer fun. Nothing better than the sounds of cha-cha-cha's done just right to keep that feeling alive. Party songs you can trust, bugaloo that makes you move. And this cd version of a now out of print 7" box set of Latin soul and groove from a special heyday of this movement spanning the years 1966-1969 totally hits the spot. Mostly centered around neighborhoods in Harlem and other areas of NYC, a new generation of Latino youth were soaking up the sounds of raw R'n'B, incorporating elements of black culture and adding a definitely distinctive Latin element to the mix. If you've been digging the great Eccentric Soul comps that we've fallen for, this is another great '60s soul comp to add to your collection, and this one's got something most of those collections don't...intoxicating Latin spice!
Tough to argue with a compilation called Far Out Spaced Oddyssey, especially with its super stylized witchy, skull-stick-carrying naked woman cover, her hair flung out over a starry backdrop of green and yellow, and the fact that this comp is subtitled: Psychedelic Folk, Electronica, Jazz & Rock From The Out-There Edges Of Brazil, well, that just seals the deal. And while we're often wary of comps like this, that mix vintage classic lost jams with more contemporary tracks, it actually works here, the result is an Andy Votel worthy double disc collection of Brazilian super varied sonic psychedelia. From prog to funk, to psych rock to folk, the amazing thing, is that in many cases, we had trouble telling if something was from the sixties or seventies or NOW. Which again speaks to the bad assness of Far Out Spaced Oddyssey.
The collection opens with Jose Mauro's "Apocalipse", a classic slice of vintage Brazilian psych-prog, soulful vocals, lush strings, groovy percussion, haunting witchy melodies, acoustic guitars, fluttery flutes, very reminiscent of seventies acid folk, but with a distinctly Brazilian vibe, and from there on out, it's a glorious mind expanding musical trip, from groovy flute flecked calypso, to hazy, organ driven soul (peppered with distinctly modern production filligree), from dense tribal electronic spaciness to fuzzy funky seventies jazz prog, from funky Blaxploitation sounding electronica to noisy chaotic psychedelic rock, from spacey new agey tinkle and shimmer to sweet summery Tropicalia, it almost doesn't matter which song is by whom, or what song is from what era, at least until you decide you need to track down more, which is always the sign of a killer mix, and if you're like us, you'll find yourself wanting more of much of this, not to mention playing both discs to death!
