I found three singles by this guy in a box and know very little about who he was or where this music came from. But what I do know is that this is where the surf genre was born. I hear Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria and imagine the songs traveling from port to port until they arrived in America. Kids from California heard this type of Mandolin playing and tried to replicate it on electric guitar. This song came out in 1963 and clearly influenced an entire genre. Look up covers of this song on youtube by Dick Dale and you will understand. He came AFTER Greg.
This is a cover of another greek folk song and you can directly hear the Eastern European influence. What's cool about this song is that it was recorded in Fargo, North Dakota in 1964. So the sound made its way from Greece to California to North Dakota within a year. Fun fact: Bob Dylan tried to join this band when he was a kid, but they thought he was too weird. Dejected, Bob sold all of his things and moved to New York to become a folk singer. Poor kid.
In the late sixties, the surf sound found its way into the western landscape and was used to great affect in Italian cowboy movies with scores by Ennio Morricone, starring Clint Eastwood. This song is not that however, it's by a Navajo Indian. He takes the cowboy philosophy and inverts the message of manifest destiny to communicate the pain of losing native lands to westward expansion. It's a haunting piece of art that is more relevant now than when it was originally recorded.
This song is on the same album as Mountains Cry Out. She sings background vocals on that track and is the primary singer on this beautiful song. It's based on a melody Navajo mother's used to sing to their children. This was her first recording in 1967. She went on to have a very successful career and is still making music today. One of the incredibly satisfying aspects of record collecting is stumbling upon indelible artists that I would never have heard if I wasn't just stupid lucky.
I think I shared this one with you earlier this year. It's one of the old records from Shanghai that your friend translated. I'm including it again because I hear similarities between traditional Chinese folk music and traditional Native American music like the Navajo song that precedes this song. I have this unproven theory that most ancient native music came from Asia long ago as the first humans walked across the ice from what is now Russia to what is now Canada. I have some old Peking Opera records that sound just like Native American war songs. It's probably not true but it's fun to imagine the timeless connections.
Imagine it's 1929 and most music is written down and played note for note. Then along comes this man from New Orleans and he creates technicolor improvisations. This is one of my most precious and beloved songs recorded in Chicago when Louis was just plain Louie. I think it is perfect and the best thing he ever created. The song keeps evolving to allow him to play bigger and better solos each time around. Listen to this three times in a row and you'll hear what I'm talking about and politely ask me to SHUT MY WORD HOLE.
Not sure if you know who this is, but I assume you do. If not, he is simply the King of the Gypsies back when that crown wasn't as complicated or rightfully burdened as it is now. There was Louis Armstrong here in the U.S. and Django in France. The two of them created modern Jazz. This is the original recording, and I think it's the best version of his signature song. There's also the violin player, Stéphane Grappelli, who is equally as brilliant as Django on the guitar. Sorry it's kind of scratchy but you'll forget about it after a few seconds. Kind of like impurities in heroin, it all feels good.
A bit of a time and tempo shift here. Mauricio was a top flute player and I like me some flute. This song is latin influenced jazz with a nice slice of funky saxaphone. This was recorded on the Tico label from New York. A lot of great Cuban music was recorded there before the revolution. After that, many musicians either made it to New York, or modified their ambitions to something more noble.
In the early seventies it was common for Caribbean resorts to have house bands that played in the bar. Most of them were terrible, but nonetheless they usually cut a record to sell as a souvenir to unwitting tourists who didn't know any better. This is the rare exception that is something actually quite amazing. It's the only reggae cover I've ever heard of Shaft, and it smolders and smokes like the best binged out bong. If you haven't heard the original by Isaac Hayes, you need to get that corrected right away. After that, return to this, and calm the fuck down.
This is a fairly average song structure elevated by an amazing vocal. I think I've mentioned my love of latin soul and this is an early example. The song is okay, but when this guy sings the chorus I want to jump out of a window. I don't know what that means, but it must mean something, right? Whatever will be, will be. The future is not ours to see. Que Sera Sera BITCHES!
One of my all-time favorite latin soul songs. Its got it all: organ, horns, tortured vocals, and most importantly, a wailing trombone solo. Not sure how these bands made money. They toured with twelve musicians, mostly consisting of a large horn section. They played resorts like the Shaft band, but instead of the Caribbean, they would cross back and forth between Texas and Mexico. Absorbing more modern soul songs and interpreting them through the lens of more traditional conjunto stylings.
More latin soul. If you don't like this style you're probably starting to skip songs. It's okay, I understand. But eventually you will surrender. The polyrhythmic foundation topped with optimistic vocals, and exuberant horn solos, is too much to resist. It's TOO MUCH YOLO. Little Joe went on to become one of the top selling artists in Mexico, but he was never better than this. Just listen, I'm not wrong. About this, anyway.
This is a cover of a soft-rock song by a band named Bread. They were kind of like the Carpenters, but softer. Like bread. Get it? Anyway, if you listen to the original, and then this cover you will further understand the brilliance of latin soul. DISCLAIMER: This song is known to cause spontaneous pregnancies in both men and woman so proceed with a knowing soulful caution! Sadly, Ralfi was murdered right after he recorded this song, which makes it incredibly precious. At least to me. Maybe you?
Bit of a curve ball here. This was recorded in Angola just after they fought for their independence from Portugal in 1975. So you have African music sung in Portuguese and somehow it all sounds like Brazilian samba. But it's mournful instead of jubilant. Why? Because this country had already been liberated and exploited 100 years earlier, exporting thousands of slaves to Brazil. Teta knew immediately how this would all end. Again.
Not sure if you knew what Fleetwood Mac was before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined, but they were profoundly different. It's the difference between earth, wind, and fire. The band was originally formed around Peter Green. He was a genius touched by madness and sadness, to which he ultimately succumbed and eventually retired from music altogether. This is a lovely song that is undercut by his wish to never be born. Heavy stuff, counter-balanced by his lighter than air gossamer guitar solos. That was their thing, back in the day before a woman was taken by the wind.
When driving country roads, I used to imagine the old abandoned farm houses along the way were full of old blues records. Turns out I was right. Of course. I found this incredible record in the back room of a shack down the path from where Albert and Sarah had lived for the last fifty years. They couldn't remember where the records came from, they were just always... there . This is the only thing Otis ever recorded. It's from 1928 and is similar in style to the great bluesman Robert Johnson. They both had a technique that allowed them to play lead and rhythm guitar at the same time. Listen closely, it sounds like two people, but this is just him playing and singing. Or maybe the devil is sitting in. I don't judge.
Here is what you need to know about Sister Rosetta: She was the first woman to shred an electric guitar. She was a lesbian who flaunted her sexuality. She was so popular that she sold-out a stadium to watch her get fake-married to a man. She was deeply religious. And because of this – and in spite of this – she was a total badass. If you want to learn more, there are many great documentaries that captures her incredible story.
More smoking hot gospel. These guys are FEELING it. Especially towards the end. Little George is screaming like James Brown and the bass singer just can't help it! I'm not religious but gospel music makes me want to testify. Am I guilty? Or innocent? Definitely confused! Please keep singing Little George! There are many questions to answer and I don't want to face the music!
This is by far the best disco record I have found in Bulgaria from 1979 recorded in outer space and infused with cosmic rays.
