MULATU ASTATKE
New York-Addis-London: The Story Of Ethio Jazz 1965 -1975
Strut CD
www.strut-records.com
Barring switched-on cognoscenti of the specialist sub genre of Ethio jazz, this 20-track anthology will be a fascinating journey of discovery for all other mortals. Drawing on material originally released as rare 45s on Phillips Ethiopia and Amha plus a selection of equally rare album tracks, the New York, Addis and London referred to in the anthology’s title represent the three cities that were home to Astatke throughout the mid-60s to mid-70s, while he was busy absorbing influences and laying the foundations of his ambitiously outward looking fusion of ingredients – principally contemporary jazz fused with traditional Ethiopian motifs and instrumentation – he chose to refer to as Ethio jazz.
As befits Astatke’s musical heritage, this is uncompromisingly full-blooded Afrocentric jazz which at the same time embraces a variety of external ingredients including Latin, soul, funk, occasional bouts of psychedelia and Sun Ra-style spaciness and all of this to quite spectacular effect.
Grahame Bent
THE GUESS WHO
Wheatfield Soul/Canned
Wheat/Share The Land
Iron Bird 3-CD
www.cherryred.co.uk
Canadians The Guess Who, who won great acclaim in the USA in the late ’60s and gave the world Randy Bachman (of AOR megaliths Bachman Turner Overdrive), are known in the UK mainly by garage-rock aficionados more familiar with their earlier recordings. That’s a shame as they arguably made more interesting music during their later period.
Wheatfield Soul from 1968 is a fragmented but enjoyable vision of things to come whilst ’69’s Canned Wheat sees a jazzy mix of West Coast acid-rock and pop illustrated best by the excellent ‘Of A Dropping Pin’, featuring some fluid guitar work from Bachman and sharp soulful harmonies by the Jim Morrison-tinged Burton Cummings. Anglophile harmonies and stinging guitar licks are a trademark. By the time of the fourth album Share The Land (’70), the loss of Randy Bachman doesn’t diminish the band’s power as the title track demonstrates.
Inexplicably, this three-disc set fails to mention that it includes bonus tracks from the individual US CD releases. It would also have made sense to include the bands mega-selling third album American Woman in place of Share The Land.
Richard Allen
HUNGARIA
It Would Be Cool If It Was Cool
SCAMPOLO
Under The Rainbow
Both Moiras LPs
www.somoskiado.hu/moiras
Hungaria’s 1970 album Koncert A Marson might ring a Shindig! reader’s bell, but even if it doesn’t, these unreleased ’71-74 recordings, covering a surprisingly wide scope of sounds, are worth checking out. As soon as you hear the opening Downliners Sect-like R&B romp, followed by melodic folk-rock jangle, you’ll start wondering whether the album-sized fold-out booklet mentions the right decade. You won’t stop wondering after the Nazz-like riff-laden title track either, nor after the Beatlesque pop-psych and the Rascals/Action-sounding piece of blue-eyed soul on side two.
Scampolo are far less interesting, in spite of being the first band to gain star status in Hungary, even predating The Beatles’ era. Covered herein are studio/rehearsal/live recordings from their prog and soul years (’68-70), with covers of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Save Me’ (Vagrants style) and Richie Havens’ ‘Indian Rope Man’ (Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger style), showing the band at its most convincing.
All the originals are sung in Hungarian but don’t let that put you off – you’ll easily get lost in the grooves themselves.
Goran Obradovic
PYTHON LEE JACKSON
Sweet Consolation 1966-73
Half A Cow Records.
www.halfacow.com.au
Being denied permission to include their superb original version of ‘In A Broken Dream’ (with Rod Stewart on vocals) here is a cruel twist but, nevertheless, this compilation from Python Lee Jackson offers the downy, easy vocals of early member Malcolm McGee on poised covers of ‘Big City Lights’ and ‘Um, Um, Um’.
After a series of beat singles, the band dissolved but would be reborn within the year with a new line up, including pianist and vocalist David Bentley. Whilst Bentley would contribute the band’s first original material, the songs rarely progress beyond a blending of Jerry Lee Lewis (“Let me introduce ya, to a man who’ll seduce ya!”) and stodgy bar room rock.
However, tracks like the lively ‘Turn The Music Down’ and yearning ‘Sweet Consolation’ compensate, whilst Bentley’s 2008 reworking of ‘In A Broken Dream ‘ is an understated highlight with a dignified vocal, evoking Johnny Cash’s Rick Rubin period.
Emma Stott
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Back To Peru Volume 2
Vampisoul
www.vampisoul.com
Following in the tracks of its equally colourful predecessor, this deluxe double digipak once again turns the spotlight on the spectacularly fertile outpouring of Peruvian rock during the period 1964-74.
The idea of the land of the Incas being home to an impressively vibrant and stylistically diverse explosion of rock in all its forms might on the surface seem a touch unlikely, but dip into this kaleidoscopic 34-track anthology of assorted rarities and exotica and you’ll be promptly put to rights by a track listing which by virtue of its sheer diversity runs the gamut from surf instrumentals, garage punk and psychedelia to Latin rock, funky Latin soul, out and out pop and rare groove to a selection of hybrids of various combinations of the former.
Lavishly packaged and lovingly researched, Back To Peru Volume 2 vividly brings to life the sounds and the vibes of what were clearly quite extraordinary times.
Grahame Bent
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966-1970
Big Beat International CD
www.acerecords.co.uk
Whilst Japan’s Groups Sounds scene has been covered in some depth in recent years, the distaff side of that scene has been largely ignored. Girl pop authority Sheila Burgel sets out to correct this imbalance on a new volume on Big Beat’s International sub series.
Burgel describes in great detail the rise of the hip and happening Japanese beat girl singer, determined to break away from the cloying atrophy of the dull and lifeless pap served up by the establishment. This 70-minute collection shows they could hold their own against any European contemporary.
Indeed a good number of them have a definite Parisian vibe such as Eiko Shuri’s ‘Ye-Ye’, Linda Yakamoto’s ‘Koi No Ban Ban’ and The J Girls’ ‘Kiiro No Sekai’. These sides are mid-tempo dancers and upbeat swayers, never less than charming.
Paul Martin
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Psych Bites: Australian Acid Freakrock 1967-1974
Past & Present CD
www.soundlinkmusic.com
This compilation is an Antipodean follow-on from the superb Electric Asylum series, anthologising what has become known as (due in no small measure to various Shindig! pieces of the past) freakrock, but could more accurately be described as occupying the middle ground somewhere between hard rock, prog, psych, funk and glam.
Almost all of these bands compiled here were hitherto unknown to me and this collection of their rare singles impresses on every level. Highlights are too numerous to mention but Headband’s blistering ‘Stay With Me’, Flake’s monstrous ‘Breadalbane’ and Rashamra’s suitably silly ‘Antelope’ provide particular stand-outs. If truth be told, this set is much nearer straight hard rock than any of the British volumes, perhaps reflecting the tough spirit of its country of origin.
Detailed sleeve notes and the obligatory label scans complete a very satisfying package. My only gripe is the pointlessly misleading mention of “psych” in the title, particularly when you realise that 19 of the 20 songs here date from 1970 onwards.
Austin Matthews |
