All Categories — All Formats  

Raw rock & soul from Saigon – from raw & garagey to more soulful, psychedelic and funky – an impressive collection of late 60s & early 70s recordings put together by the ever amazing Sublime Frequencies label! We've been lucky enough to hear a pretty incredible and diverse wealth of music made in Southeast Asia during this period – but even so, this set is still a total knockout! The sound is pretty wonderful – and even though most of the recordings were made in makeshift studios in a very tumultuous time (to say the least), they still come across with a strong sense of joyful exuberance. There are songs of war here – anti-Viet Cong songs, songs from the point of view of jealous girlfriends of soldiers, and more (thanks to the sharp, to the point notes for clueing us in on the subject matter) – all done with raucous psychedelic rock or funk rock instrumentation, and often quite lovely female vocals. Essential! 17 tracks in all – including "Tin Yey Tuyet Voi" by CBC Band, "Cai Tram Em Cai" and "Noi Buon Con Gai" by Carol Kim, "Mat Troi Den" by Minh Xuan & Phuong Hoang, "Kho Tang Cua Chung Ta" by Elvis Phuong, "Do Ai" by Phuong Dung, and "Duyen Phan Con Gai" by Mai Le Huyen.

2 rare slices of exotica by Les Baxter – back to back on one CD! The first half of the set features material from the album Ports Of Pleasure – a dreamy exploration of south sea ideals that's got a more lightly drifting quality than some of Baxter's more percussive exotica albums, and which is awash in dreamy soundscapes penned by Les himself! The orchestrations are large and bold throughout – mixing strings and woodwinds almost in a soundtrack-y mode – but always with the light sense of interplay that makes Baxter's work so great. Titles include "Monkey Dance Of Bali", "Pearls Of Ceylon", "Tahiti A Summer Night At Sea", "Hong Kong Cable Car", "Tramp Steamer To Singapore", "Harem Silks From Bombay", and "Sidewalk Cafes Of Saigon". The Sacred Idol is a real standout set from the end of Les Baxter's run at Capitol Records – originally scored for a film that was never released, but a great set of tracks that more than stands strongly on its own! The theme here is a Mexican/Latin American one – explored by Baxter with his trademark blend of larger orchestrations and lighter exotica touches – often swirling around in an extremely evocative mode that makes us wish the film had been issued to the public, and at a few key moments even hinting at the funkier modes that would follow on some of Les' later work for other labels. Titles include "Aqueducts", "Gardens Of The Moon", "Pyramid Of The Sun", "Temple Of Gold", and "Procession Of The Princes".

Deep grooves from Marc Mac – a set that's way earthier than any of his 4 Hero projects – and which is almost a tribute to the soulful sounds that have shaped his music over the years! The package is a bit similar to Mac's previous Right To Be Civil collection – and definitely has a similar aesthetic in the cover art – and the grooves here are forged from older samples, but reworked completely – way way different than any of the base elements that make them up, and abstracted with the kind of cosmic twists and turns we've always loved from Marc. There's also some great snippets of found spoken bits – showing especially the role of African American soldiers in the Vietnam era – and these give an added political bent to the whole project, albeit in a less direct way. Titles include "Afro Pride Soldier", "Feelin Like Clay", "Saigon Say No", "Brand New Thinkin", "Reflection Time", "War Baby Bloods", "Keep Your Word", and "Fort Bragg Revolution".

Excellent trippy pop-psychedelia from Gabor Szabo! The record's a bit less jazz than some of his other efforts, with more of that faked-out "eastern"production that you'd get on efforts like these – with occasional voices behind his guitar. Titles include "The End Of Life", "White Rabbit", "Saigon Bride", "Twelve Thirty", "To Sir With Love", and "Are You There?"

Hip hop production titan Large Professor – still at large and delivering the goods! Large Pro produces like the timelessly inventive figure we all know that he is – and he rocks the mic with a golden age-styled flow. Rob Swift contributes some scratches on the sharp opener "Keys To The City" and the record has guest production by Marco Polo on the title track – plus appearances by Grand Daddy IU & Mic Geronimo, Busta Rhymes, Tragedy Khadafi and more. Other tracks include "Unowhtmsayn", "Focused Up", "Happy Days R Here", "Professor @ Large", "Barber Shop Chop", "Mack Don Illz", "Kick Da Habit", "LP Surprise", "Back In Time", the posse cut closer "MARS" with Action Bronson, Cormega, Roc Marciano and Saigon and more.

Seminal work from this legendary group – lots of percussion, keyboards, and voice from Charles Hayward! Titles include "Testcard", "Horizontal Hold", "Not Waving", "Water", "Twilight Furniture", "24 Track Loop", and "Fall Of Saigon".