International


LOS BRINCOS Contrabando Vinilisssimo LP www.vinilisssimo.com


To many, Los Brincos were known as “The Spanish Beatles” and, on their third album Contrabando, the boys from Madrid almost live up to that


billing. The disc features 12 tunes, all self- written and, as they were big Beatles fans, the album cover has a strong Revolver flavour. Most of the tunes are sung in Spanish, but that shouldn’t deter your enjoyment of their classic mid to late ’60s melodies and harmonies. The best tracks include the bouncy,


sunshine pop of ‘Pequeño Pájaro’, the Kinksy ‘Rápidmente’, which is filled with a world of wonderful chord changes, the bouncy, jangly ‘The Train’, ‘Big Temptation’, British Invasion- styled but with a kicker, and the album’s masterpiece, ‘Nadie Te Quiere Ya’, which, in its English guise of ‘Nobody Wants You Now’, was included on a volume of the influential psych Circus Days comps and covered by the great Shambles on a Los Brincos tribute disc from the late ’90s. The LP is on 180g vinyl and in glorious mono


for those of you who love that sort of thing. David Bash


HAWK Africa She Too Can Cry Fresh CD www.freshmusic.co.za/retrofresh.htm Music is a subjective beast and one’s enjoyment or appreciation often comes from what you bring to the table. Case in point would


be South Africa’sHawk, which featured former Freedom’s Children axe slinger Julian Lawton. Just as uncompromising and densely layered as Julian’s former band, Hawk take it a step further by melding afro beat stylings with hard-prog and a little funky meandering, resulting in an alchemical brew that leaves quite an impression. The record often reads like a weighty musical, or in other words a concept album. Male/female vocals, African themes and lashings of six-string madness in song suites that are constantly shifting gears in a chameleon-like blur. Imagine riding through the African jungle


with a tribe that favoured electric instruments over hunting implements and that should give you some idea of the record! Eric Colin Reidelberger


VARIOUS ARTISTS Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound In 1970s Nigeria VARIOUS ARTISTS Nigeria Special: Volume 2 – Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 Both Soundway Records www.soundway.com Whether you view Soundway’s impeccably conceived series of African overviews as definitive compilations, essential research/ hearing aids, or all killer/no filler sources for dance floor action, one thing for sure is that they seem to have gotten better and better with every volume.


60


ANNEKE KONINGS Feelings & Fairytales Excalibur CD www.clearspot.nl


A talented young flower child by the name of Anneke Konings won the Dutch TV talent competition Rodeo in 1971 with a delicate performance


of her own song ‘De Helige Auto’ (‘The Holy Car’). Taken to the heart of her nation – much like latter day X-Factor champions – Konings was courted by every major label and producer in search of the next big thing. Wisely she went against the grain and opted to record an album of primarily self-penned tunes sung in English. Feelings (’72) flows with the elfin purity of


Konings’ sweetly accented voice with backing from a band that occasionally accidentally kicks ass on some mid-tempo hippy/folk-pop. Elsewhere it’s all strings and sweetness, most notably a superb take of Jimmy Webb’s ‘The Magic Garden’ and the medieval-toned title track. At times she sounds like Melanie, elsewhere Licorice of The ISB and Judy Dyble. On her second album Tussen Zon En Maan


(’75), Konings embraced her native tongue on a more mature set of songs, which sound uncannily like Sandy Denny (‘Desillusie’) and the UK progressive/folk movement. Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills


WILLIAM NOWIK Pan Symphony In A Minor Guerssen www.guerssen.com


The reissue of this holy grail from 1974 has been greeted with enthusiasm among collectors – but is it any good? Well, if you define


“good” as loose, quasi-freeform jams (recorded for an unmade film), utilising instruments from hand percussion through pump organ to violin to a “ceramic blowfish which adds cosmic tones”, yes it is. Nowik’s musical versatility (he played practically everything himself) is unquestionable, and parts of ‘Time To Cry’, ‘Heaven Help Us All’ and ‘Sky Fire’ show genuine inspiration. Yet the whole affair still feels like the backing tapes to a great psych- prog album rather than the album itself. And a vocalist might have helped. Faults aside, it does retain a curious


fascination (helped by Beardsley-esque cover art à la First Utterance, Swaddling Songs etc) and could, with repeated plays, soundtrack several evenings’ relaxation upon fluffy


With Knitting Factory’s upcoming and lengthy Fela Kuti reissue series making a welcomed appearance this month, Afrobeat has once again started


to rear its influential head and there really is no better place to begin deconstructing the genre than here on Nigeria Afrobeat Special. Packed with rhythms that us Westerners will


instantly associate with the Booker Ts and James Bs of our record collections, what might surprise more casual converts to the wonderful world of Afrobeat is the dazzling array of slow funk and


mattresses, aided by liquids and herbs. In those terms, it stands the test of time. Darius Drewe Shimon


SEBASTIAN Rays Of The Sun Acme LP www.acmerecords.co.uk


At his best Sebastian conjures up the preening, grandiose period pieces of Barry Ryan. Yet his sole album is a Canadian product... and


Sebastian was a singer-songwriter rather than a manufactured pop idol. Although much of the record recalls what Andrew Loog Oldham was doing with “Swinging Pop” acts like Twice As Much (i.e. throwing a plethora of instruments into the kitchen sink and embarking upon huge arrangements), two very different long tracks (‘Passages’ and ‘Rays Of The Sun’) sit at its heart; blissed out and full of atmospheric breaks and acid guitar work. Producer Ron Dykhof may have wanted Sebastian to become a pop star, as a couple of embarrassingly commercial numbers suggest, but this was a guy with a statement and a freak-flag to wave and he would not be cornered. Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills


SCHIBBINZ Livin’ Free Guerssen CD/LP www.guerssen.com


An innocuous enough collection of jangly Byrds-lite rhythms and Simon & Garfunkel folk style vocal melodies, made notable mainly by the


fact that it was originally released in 1968 by an Argentina-based quartet of teenagers – only one of whom was over 15! Although a dull affair at times, it does


possess a certain innocent charm and has its moments, such as a quaint cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Lady Jane’ and a spirited stab at ‘Ghost Riders In The Sky’. The self-penned ‘December Winter’ ain’t half bad either, nor is the garage staple ‘Gloria’, but leave the instrumental CD bonus tracks well alone. Apparently Livin’ Free was mastered from a


pristine copy of the original vinyl release, which was a very limited pressing anyway, and distributed privately to friends and family only. No doubt it’ll be of interest to collectors of obscure, esoteric ’60s groups – and they don’t come much more obscure than this. Rich Deakin


soul played out here in abundance. Displacing a common misconception that some may have that Afrobeat has to present a fast, furious or hopped up attempt at crazed rhythms to warrant the “beat” its title holds. On key tracks like ‘Afro- Blues’ by Orlando Julius & His Afro-Sounders and the easy going drive of ‘Do The Afro Shuffle’ by Goodwin Omabuwa & His Casanova Dandies, we may be treated to intense and inventive brass passages and ceaseless drumming but these are grooves you could very easily laze on, as much as you can tap your feet to. It’s that fiercely proud African vibe, both beautifully effortless and original in its adoption of ’60s soul.


SPITERI Spiteri Vampi Soul CD www.vampisoul.com


This bunch of Venezuelan long hairs formed when brothers Jorge and Charles Spiteri decamped to London in the early ’70s, where they were


fêted by the likes of Steve Winwood and Georgie Fame. They made just one album before splitting up in ’74, but what a fine testament it is – 19 songs (including eight bonus tracks) of blistering Latino/rock fusion. ‘Campesina’ sets the pace for most of what


follows – urgent Latino rhythms, acid-fried guitar breaks and lilting flute accompaniment. Although there is the odd excursion into MOR mediocrity – the rather lachrymose ‘Girl’ for example – most of the album is joyfully infectious: I defy anyone to sit still to ‘Piroro’ or ‘Don’t You Look Behind’. And just check out that amazing guitar and instrumental freak out on ‘Soul Inside’. Obvious Santana comparisons aside,


Spiteri certainly had their own thing going, and one can’t help but wonder what might have been had they not split up because of immigration hassles. Rich Deakin


VARIOUS ARTISTS Pomegranates Finders Keepers CD/LP www.finderskeepersrecords.com I was told recently that Persia’s most celebrated proverb is, “When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth”.


Whether that’s true or not, what is most certainly clear following the release of Pomegranates is that as the fortuitous tide of these freshly dug Persian grooves move over you, you’ll be sure to break more than just your teeth. The most punchy and comprehensive compilation of geographical treats from Finders Keepers since their wild weekend in Eastern Europe with Well Hung, this Iranian overview of the Taraneh and Caltex vaults is certainly a quixotic affair. The sovereign strings and bass driven lines of Googoosh’s ‘Talagh’ pairs regally with the dancehall super-grooves of Zia, whose two cuts here include the quizzical fuzz and Keith Mansfield brass of ‘Heleyos’ and the frenzied jazz folk of ‘Kofriam’. Hard to pigeonhole? Yeah. Just free your


mind and your teeth will follow. Richard S Jones


Over on Nigeria Special: Volume 2 though is where the real treats are unearthed. Kicking off with the free rolling jazz grooves of


Fubura Sekibo’s ‘Psychedelic Baby’ and carried on throughout some truly inspired nuggets from The Nkengas, Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats and The Otarus we have undiluted experimental jazz with a freedom that liberates their talents. In short, soul music doesn’t get much freer that this. Richard S Jones


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92