Turkish Rock 1966 -1975

Right out of Los Angeles through Dionysus Records comes the new compilation on old Turkish psychedelia, 1966-1975. What an excellent idea to introduce some non-anglosaxon musical scene to the wider audience. Rock music was such a bug thing in the sixties that every street in every country had a rock'n'roll band. Today, with a sea of cd-rereleases we are able to live that fruitful decade all over again. This time, with some mid-eastern flavor. Half way between Europe and Asia, Truky has a unique position to meld those two clutures in an interesting way. This compilation show that in a wonderful way. Compiled as a chaotic overview of things that were popular at the time and things that were just revolutionary and rare, this record works as a mind bomb. Everything is packed dense, styles change from pop, rytim and blues to pure turkish folk and really requires more than one listening.

Mavi Isiklar provide one of the greatest Turkis hits Iyi Dusun Tasin which turns out to be a cover of a Lebanese band, nice surprise is Kaygisizlar's treatment of The ID's original Short Circuit. We can hear also Turkish hitmakers Erkin Koray and Baris Manco in their highlights. However, the nicest surprise is the unexpected quality brought by the band called Mogollar and their rock deeply rooted both in rock and Turkish folk traditions. Hard Work reminds on Over Under Sideways Down. Yabanicilar and Grup Bunalim are also very good.

On my show dated June 14 2001 I got inspired to play 3 Mustaphas 3 and their wonderful song Speed of the Tractor after playing the Turkish rock compilation. In this song this British band tours the world in just couple of minutes. Check www.dionysusrecords.com

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