Showing posts with label pop music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pop music. Show all posts

Monday, 21 April 2014

Niebiesko Czarni - Niebiesko Czarni (1966)


"On the list of Poland's big beat groups the Blue-Blacks take undoubtedly the top spot which they owe both to the immense interest they have been arousing with our youth and to their success abroad.
When in the summer of 1962 during the Festival of Young Talents in Szczecin a group of lanky boys in blue black jumpers appeared on the festival platform nobody could have foreseen what a major role they were to play in the festival and that its cup, intended for the best group, would go to them.
Since then there have been several new additions to the group, alterations of style, they have had successes and failures and with all that they have been progressing constantly. They were the first in Poland to make use of electric guitars, having replaced the traditional double bass by a bass guitar, first to introduce the electric organ. They were the authors of the slogan 'Polish youth sings Polish songs@ and would pick up folk tunes which they regarded as inspiration for pop music in general and of big beat in particular.
The Blue-Blacks have often represented Polish pop music abroad, among othere in France (1963), in Sweden (1964) and in Hungary (1965). Their biggest success was in Paris where they played in the world famous music hall L'Olympia.
....Over the last few years the Blue-Blacks have recorded a considerable number of discs.  One of their songs, by the way, 'Do You Remember Me Yet' bought from them and recorded (with her own lyric) by the great Marlene Deitrich.
As we've already mentioned, their style undergoes a constant evolution and is now completely different from that only a year ago.  But on the whole its main features are stormy dynamics and strong expression as well as a consistent introduction into their pieces of modern tone colour, of the sort prevailing with the top groups abroad.
On this disc you can find both their older peices and the quite recent ones.  They are mostly their own compositions, which puts the Blue-Blacks among the most ambitious groups of this type."
Fabulous freak-beat tunes from behind the Iron Curtain.  The group have a raw sound reminiscent of the early Kinks and they boast a great line up of guest singers.

Check it out:


Tracklist:

01     Hej Dziewczyno Hej    
02     Smutny List    
03     Żegnaj Karnawale    
04     Komandosi    
05     Zostały Mi Tylko Twoje Listy    
06     Czy Będziesz Sama Dziś Wieczorem    
07     Niedziela Będzie Dla Nas    
08     Idzie Dysc    
09     Ach    
10     Nie Lubię Kłamać    
11     Maria Elena    
12     O Ile Nie Pamiętacie - Posłuchajcie    
13     Taka Była Moja Dziewczyna    
14     Chciałeś Wszystko Zmienić    
15     Zabawa W Ciuciubabkę

Get it HERE.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Alla Pugacheva - Mirror of the Soul (1978)



This 1978 compilation of songs by Alla Pugacheva is a quite incredible collection of Communist era prog rock, soul, psychedelia and big, ballsy balladeering from one of Russia's most popular and enduring stars.  For all the funky goodness on display here, Alla was, for many, the epitome of the State-endorsed Culture Industry of the late Soviet era - safe, manufactured entertainment designed to pacify the mind.  Sound familiar?  For all that, I'm loving some of these mad tracks at the minute - the producers obviously had lots of fun, and it sometimes seeps into a lovely kind of Pink Floyd-esque territory.  Anyone who enjoyed the Patty Pravo album I posted a while back will want to check this out.

Here is a severely abridged version of 'Shaman's Tambourine':

Tracklist:

01         Бубен Шамана · Witch-Doctor's Tambourine        
02         Верю В Тебя · I Believe In You   
03         Сонет · Sonnet         
04         Приезжай · Come        
05         Не Отрекаются Любя · Those Who Love Don't Renounce         
06         Песенка Про Меня · A Song About Me         
07         Женщина Которая Поет · The Woman Who Sings

Get it HERE.

Saturday, 11 February 2012

Patty Pravo - Per Aver Visto Un Uomo Piangere E Soffrire Dio Si Trasformò In Musica E Poesia



I picked up two Patty Pravo LPs in a charity shop a couple of years ago and this one has really grown on me. Patty started out as a nightclub singer in the mid '60s, she has the honour of being the first pop singer to have a song played on Vatican Radio. This is her 1971 foray into orchestral prog-rock histrionics, I don't understand the Italian she sings but to me she conjures filmic images of a startled awakening from a '60s dream, aimless glamour, cynical and dead-eyed jetsetters in Rimini nightclubs, smashed ashtrays and hysteria. Maybe you'll like it.



Tracklist:

01 Morire... Dormire... Forse Sognare
02 Lanterne Antiche (Antique Annie's Magic Lantern Show)
03 Poema Degli Occhi (Poema Dos Olhos Da Amada)
04 Storia Di Una Donna Che Ha Amato Due Volte Un Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare (The Same Old Chair)
05 Preghiera (Bright Tomorrow)
06 Un Uomo Una Donna Una Bambina (Do Yourself)
07 Un Volto Bianco Sulla Neve (I Do Love You)
08 T. L. & R. (Thunder Lightning And Rain)
09 Follow The Lamb

Get it HERE.

Monday, 26 September 2011

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.