* label?
He5 : Merry Christmas Psychedelic Sound (KO,1969)**°°°
About the album : It is -except for the last track- an all instrumental album. First track is good garage psych version with Shadows-like guitar. Second track, "White Christmas" is a go-go garage psych. It's left out for time limitation reasons. Third track is purely go-go beat styled, still enjoyable. Some other tracks are almost kitschy & funny too, more a go-go styled. Funny and serious at the same time is the 13 ! minute track, which start with a Shadows-like a go-go psych version of "Jingle bells", then suddenly turns into a fantastic psychedelic interpretation of (the long version of) Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" !? -including the drum solo- (with great guitar) and then coming back, over some fragment of "Paint it Black", to the "Jingly bells" tune. Pretty unique and here also successful idea! A similar successful mix is done on the last track. Recommended album!
Last track is influenced by black music like from James Brown etc..very "black" and funky.
* Grand Rec.He6 : Would you He6 with go go Music ? vol 1 (KO,1971)***°
First track is great instrumental a go-go psych with some flute, great organ, electric guitar, and with a stretched middle passage with drum mostly. Second chosen track is funky psych track, also with some flute, and lots of percussion. Recommended album. Other track : "Come on Baby"
LP's reissue (1000 printed only and sold out now) :
Beatball description : "This amazing set shows an excellent mixture of psychedelic,Latin jazz rock, blues-oriented hard rock. Kim Hong-Tak's heavy fuzz guitar allover the set with best funky rhythm set [Cho Yong-Nam & Kwon Yong-Nam (later SJH & Yeop Juns)] and flute ever in Korea"
Greatest Hits description : "Spontaneous 70's rock from Korea. These two album features a mix of 60's beat, psychedelic and funky rhythm based brass rock. Both albums, housed in quality sleeves comes packed in a hard carton Boxset, including a 24 page booklet, a 6 postcard set, band logo sticker & two big sized posters. Lim. to 1000 copies."
Other tracks used from He5/He6 (compiled on one cdr for practical reasons) :
Historical facts that lead to He5 (- from Key Boys, Add4 to He5- ):
"Kim Hong-Tak (1944~) was one of the 2 leading figures in the early days of "Group Sound Era", of course with Shin Jung-Hyun(1938~). Kim Hong Tak was guitarist and naturally leader of the group. Here, it seems better to put aside the question " Who was the first?". Because with this question of 'the first' or more properly 'the Origin', the ansters will not is the same according to the questioner's perspectives.
For example, if we take one perspective, in this case that of 'Popularity', it will be the Key Boys of Kim Hong Tak which was followed soon afterwards by the Add4 of Shin Jung-Hyun.
A little remark. This Key Boys is not the 'Later' Key Boys who sang the smash hits like "Let's go to the seashore". or "Memories of the seaside", but the 'Earlier' Keyboys. They played some 'Package shows', under the name of the Lock & Key in the stages of the 8 th U.S army which settled in South Korea. Also they played at some new venues like 'Music listen Rooms', 'Live Music Salons', or the traditional ones like in Cinema.
[Cf. At that time the concert was held frequently in Cinema Houses. It was called as 'Cinema Show].
With these latter acts they were known to general 'Korean' public. They were nicknamed as the 'Beatles of Korea' - At that time this meant more similar to a 'cover band of the Beatles'.. (Cf. Because the stages in 8th Army of U.S. was for the Korean in the forbidden area for the evident reason of security. So generally a Korean group or artist who played there was a totally unknown figure to general Korean public).
In the mid-60s which prevailed by the worldwide phenomenon ' Beatlesmanis', the Key Boys, in molding the archetype of the Rock band (or Rock Group) who 'sing and play' (With the Kkokkirri Brothers, the Fools, the Kim Chies, became the pioneers of a new cultural phenomenon (we may now be able to say that it was the early days of 'Pop culture' in Korea). And here lies one symbolic fact concerning the popular culture in general that 1964-1965, the period of their debuts coincides with that of the birth of the 'Weekly Magazine'. With the time, the members of the Key Boys left the group: some Cha Jung Rak and Cha Do Gyun going to solos, some Yoon Hang Ki joining to the Korean Army's entertainment Unit which was sent to the Viet-Nam War, and finally Kim Hong Tak too. But Kim Hong Tak had launched his career of guitarist in a rock group. It was the He 5.
Precisely speaking, the He5 was not launched by Kim hong Tak. According to the memories of its members, the group was found in the winter of 1967 'the five young guys' all belonged to the Wha-Yange Entertainment Inc. had set up the group together; Han Woong (Rhythm guitar and vocal) issued from the Four Guys, Cho Yong Nam (lead guitar and vocal) from the Shin Jung Hyun and the Jokers, Yu Young Chun (vocal) from the Silver Coins, Han Kwang Soo (Bass) from the Kee Jin Sung's Orchestra. For the connoisseurs, they were all 'top-class' musicians from the leading groups of that time.
And in this period Kim Hong Tak was still in the Key Boys. (Cf. Wha-Yang Entertainment Inc. was one of the enterprises who dealt wht matters concerning the distribution of musicians and entertainers for the 8th Army of USA.- tiwh the Universal, Dae-Young,Dong IL).
The He 5 begins tis gigs at the Seven Club in I-Tae-Won (a small quarter of Seoul which is now well know even internationally for its diverse markets, restaurants and bars mainly for the foreign customers. This quarter was the bassist Han Kwang Soo soon afterwards was a challenge for the He5. Kim Hong Tak was recruited as a lead guitarist (So-called 'first guitarist' at that time) and Cho Yong Nam, the griginal lead guitarist of the band changes his speciality to bass guitar. The joining of Kim Hong Tak not only strengthens the group's musical forces but also gives the occasion to the group of presenting themselves to 'general Korean public'. So ends a 'Boy' period of Key Boys, comes a new era of the 'He'."
(taken from liner notes on He6 "Would you gogo Sound vol 2")For Keyboys introduction see here
"HE5 & HE6 is another group from great Korean rock guitarist Kim Hong Tak. They were the most popular Korean rock group at 1960-1970s. They played heavy and hard psychedelic songs on live shows but they couldn't make this music style on albums because of record company's pressures.
They gave them some discretionary power to have them created the results which they had on He5/ "Merry christmas psychedelic album" and He6 "Would you Go Go dance" with He6 "Vol.1" and "Vol.2" But most their fans couldn't understand the tracks of these albums so they were forced to change to a more popular music style. At least they had their chances to make some albums with the music style they wanted after they became the famous rock group." Folkie Jin
