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Historical Introduction by Gil Keltch read here
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my two favourite albums from Israel : Danny Ben-Israel's Kathmandu Sessions
and Schlomo Gronich : Why didn't you tell me ? (the version WITH bonus tracks from a Kafka play).
Both highly recommended !! in the "psychedelic" category.
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Playlists “Psyche van het Folk”, Radio Centraal, Antwerpen, Belgium
ISRAELI-PROG :
Radioshows with the help from Gil Keltch
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FIRST RADIOSHOW (2004-04-14) :
A FIRST INTRODUCTION TO SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ISRAELI PROG SCENE :
* outro : ATMOSPHERA (part 1)
Early years :
PART 1 : 60’s, early 70’s : THE CHURCHILL’S/JERICHO/JERICHO JONES TREE
Tr.1, "Too much in love to hear" 3 min
Tr.12, "Subsequent Finale" 7 min 13
-Good, important & world famous 60's / early 70's styled psych pop group. There are some middle eastern influences (and ethnic folk crossover interpretations) which were not heard often before so often in beat/pop music. Such arrangements make tracks like "Subsequent Finale" unique. Tracks like "Too much in love to hear" & "Debka" have nicely sounding "tunes"(/ musical themes). The complete album is pretty "international" in style, with many UK early psych influences mostly.
-Gil Keltch : “They were very important band, Pioneers of Psych-Rock in Israel and also were much in demand as session band, they used Greek and Arabic musical elements in their music and due to the involvement of Canadian and British members managed to sound very much like a British band. Their album is a milestone of Israeli Rock.”
PS. According to the “Ugly Things” interview The group was also influenced beside by Arab music, by the Bedouin (Mid-Eastern desert tribes) by two members with a more eastern background, while the three others were western orientated.
-Single cover scan 1, 2 & 3
PS. Around 1970 the Churchill’s also backend Arik Einstein. -See further down.-
* Hed ArziJericho Jones : Jericho Jones (IS/(UK),1971)**° -cover linked-
Tr.17, "What Have We Got To Lose" 5 min 18
This is with much more rock. Although mostly I prefer the 70's styles I personally prefer the first album by Churchill’s. This very good title-track has some middle eastern guitar touch too, very well combined with
“psych” / hard rock.
* Red Bus Rec.Jericho : Jericho (UK/IS,1972)**** -cover linked-
Tr.3, "Featherbed" 9 min 15 32
Tr.4, “Justin and Nova” 9 min 24 41
This is still the Churchill's under a different name, and much more progressive, & inventive in style. Varying from a bluesy hard rock to psychrock 70’s prog style, worked out very well, and with incredible playing. “Justin and Nova” has some very nice additional orchestral arrangements. I believe this is much more interesting than the earlier LP. Very good album!
Gil Keltch : “By this stage, the band had moved to England and recorded two albums the first one as Jericho Jones with a new powerful vocalist Danny Shooshan the band's sounds became more aggressive and hard rock oriented, the Jericho Jones album serves as a transitional album from their psychedelic roots into their new heavy sound, by the time of the second British album this time as Jericho they already found a sound of their own and the album is mature and well done. Sadly they broke up after this.”
(“Under the Eucalyptus Tree”)
Early prog pop album with very nice moments, and with some psych improvisations, And an interesting guitar solo. In this track the harmonic voice arrangements are nice too. The album gives already an idea of the warm softprog sound of some other Israeli items I’ll play next radioshow.
Gil Keltch : “Another highly important group led by drummer/composer Zohar Levy and featuring Itzchack "Churchill’s founder member Klepter on guitar, and member of important bands such as Kaveret, Tune Tone and a collaborator of Arik Einstein. They were very unique to the Israeli scene of the time, a supergroup with excellent writing and playing skills but sometimes they tended to try too many different directions. This is another classic Israeli album that inspired many that followed.
PART 2 : DANNY BEN-ISRAEL
* MIO Rec.Danny Ben Israel : Chantarish / Bullshit 3 1/4 (IS,1968-1970)***' -cover linked-
Tr.7, "Israel 70" 10 min 13 62
First track "A different Song" has, like the title implicates, a very individual, avant garde psych sound. The next couple tracks however are more or less “more common” freak out psych. Theses are in an improvisational way, with recognisable freak-out patterns and rhythms. That part of the album is good too, but it’s not as avant-psych. Not understanding the strange language puts off here and there a bit too, because words seems to have some leading importance in some tracks (especially in "Danny Bottle neck"). Therefore the middle part of this album also might need some more time to fully appreciate, as it did with me. "Israel 70" is the second avant-psychedelic track, with a chaotic underlying weirdness coming to the front again. Some parts of this kind of oddity reminded
me of the early Sisa ; there it was used it for humorous amusement, while here it might be ground breaking from a more intellectual viewpoint, complete with a collage of sounds. In its length and free approach, reminding of early Sorrenti a bit, without as much contrasting bunch of ideas. I found his second album much more appealing at first hearing.
G.K. : “Very mysterious character, Ben-Israel came out of a total mainstream background of an army band, musicals etc. but exposure to drugs and to Rock music had changed him totally and caused him to record some of the wildest and most psychedelic tracks ever recorded in Israel, the lyrics are highly important and very blatant dealing mostly with drugs, hippie counterculture but mostly with the wish for freedom from all. Ben-Israel had been experimenting to the extreme with all available studio possibilities of the time, no other Israeli album sounds like this!”
(with 3 more soundfiles 1, 2, 3, 4)
Tr.3, "bad trip" (“psychedelic reverse”) 8 min
This track first is very much a Farther Yod/ Yahowa 13 like psychblues jamming, with some similarity in voice use and such. Also "Watches and Clicks" is somewhat similar in style. "Israel 70" is improvisational and experimental, a bit more accessible, acoustic, controlled & mixed version like the Bullshit LP. "Psych reverse" is as weird as the title implicates. "Fairytailes" is a nice hippie psych folk track. These tracks I personally like more than the "bullshit" LP because of the "free mind expression" feeling in this one. The album is recorded in Tel Aviv and Austria between globetrotting stints around Europe. After this Danny went to make more mainstream pop. He was also part of an American band called Oasis who played kind of rather boring country rock.
"Bullshit 3 1/4" might ask a little bit more effort ; perhaps it can be regarded as a more "intellectual" work out of an idea, when compared the second album in a more tempramentful freak-out format. A must-have!
PART 3 : ZINGALE :
* 3rd Ear MusicZingale : Peace (IS,1977)**°°’ -cover linked-
Bonus tracks : Tr.15, "Green scooter on the way to Asia" 7 min 16 116
Good instrumental symphonic prog with fine electric violin drive. It has some songs in English. It has all various necessary elements to be good. "Stampede" shows this well. "Stampede" is one of the more complex tracks, with jazzy electric piano, complex rhythm, etc.. I feel a group with a very promising sound, obvious talent, which perhaps could have come out after a second album, but I guess this was all here was recorded. The first chosen bonus track is a beautiful melancholic song, with the warm sounds of acoustic guitars, percussion, bass, electric piano, and some beautiful seabird like violin & (voice) echo effects. The second bonus track is a fine prog rock track with bluesy psych touches but further on a complex rhythm section too. Here and there with odd second vocals.
Gil Keltch : “The Best Known Israeli prog band and certainly one of the best! They had various influences ranging from Yes and Gentle Giant to the Canterbury scene, yet they also had something very Israeli in their sound which makes them sound unique and fresh, great band and great album!”
PART 4 : MR.TOAD :
Tr.2, "Morning Tea" 2 min
Tr.4, "Four o'clock tea" 5 min
Tr.7, "Bach's Cat" 6 min 13 130
Very pleasant and sweet acoustic chamber music prog. The last airplayed track is sung with very warm pleasant voice.
G.K. : “Very nice surprise indeed, fresh sounding and flowing strongly influenced by British folk and Baroque music and largely acoustic.”
Outro :
* Mio Rec.Atmosphera : Atmosphera (IS,1977)***° -cover linked-
Tr.5, "Cuckoo -alternate version" 17 min 147
First two tracks, and the alternate version, which you hear here are MUST for Yes/Genesis fans. (The singing reminds at Jon Anderson). 2 other track will be played in the second radioshow on Israeli prog.
G.K.: a great "lost" band that was luckily revived due to this issue, they featured Efraim Barak of Zingale and were indeed highly influenced by Yes but also by Genesis.
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Radioshow 2 : 2004-04-21
SOFTPSYCHROCK, SYMPHONIC ROCK, R.I.O.,..:
OLD & NEW GROUPS
PART 1 : ARIK EINSTEIN :
Tr.8, Buba Zavaha" 4 min 7
Sweet and innocent chanson like city pop with trio vocals (male/female). Singing has like various soft progpop items a Latin, flavour in harmonies.
G.K. : “A pioneering trio featuring Arik Einstein, Shmulik Kraus and Josie Katz.
The High Windows were the first band in Israel to use Anglo-Saxon influences in their music, their album is considered a cult album in Israel, I like the slightly middle-eastern organ touches on it and the beautiful vocal harmonies of course.”
Good progpop song oriented item, in end 60's style, with very nice voice and gentle softrock accompaniment. Backing group here is Churchill’s. I like very much the "Eetz Israel" track. "Hayo Haya" is a bit more improvised
song track in early 70's style (organ,piano,..).
G.K. : Einstein is highly important figure in the history of Israeli rock, Poozy is considered to be the first Hebrew Rock album and it features members of the Churchill's, The Platina and talented composer/pianist Misha Segal who composed Hayo Haya, the first Israeli prog track. Eretz Israel is a wonderful song composed by Shmulik Krause of the High Windows a superb psychedelic folk track.
* VA. Tr.3, Arik Einstein & Shalom Chanoch with Josie Katz (1970) :
“Ma iti/“what am I going trough”) 6 min 17
Male/female vocals here. A beautiful romantic song.
* Med Arzi Rec.Smullik Kraus & Josie Katz (IS,70/80)*
Release of OK sophisticated "pop" with one rock song. Without understanding the language I think listeners might miss some part of importance. I preferred not to use it.
PART 2 : SHLOMO GRONICH & MATHI CASPI TREE
Tr.2, "Berechov Shelanu" (in our street) 3 min
Tr.3, "Ani niga'al min ha'olam" 4 min
(I'm disgusted with this world)
Tr.10,"Avinvu Malkenu" (Our father, our Lord)° 3 min
Tr.11,"Lama lo sipart li?" 6 min
(Why didn't you tell me) 16 33
°-Avinu Malkenu is an old Jewish prayer.-
Starting with various symphonic elements, but still song oriented this is a very nice album, and the best I heard from Gronich. "Avinu Malkenu" I think is a known Middle Eastern song. Here it is sung in a very personal and powerful emotional way, and except for the last heavy chord, accompanied by piano only. Also the title track are completely crazed out emotions, completely over the top/line, but still very controlled within a kind of emotional Avant Garde perspective. One of the craziest emotional tracks I know of.
G.K. : “Why Didn't you tell me was indeed Gronich's finest album and most complete one, Gronich was young raging and in a melancholic state of mind when he recorded it, One of the most avantgarde albums ever made in Israel, Gronich's influences ranged from Bach via the Beatles, through Klezmer and middle eastern folk to cabaret and it all mixes into his unique sound of the time, the title track was recorded while Gronich was having a bad trip in the studio without his knowledge and it's a pure catharsis of his emotional state at the time.
Gil Keltch : After his army service, he became professional and by 1971 his first album "Why Didn't You Tell me?" was released. This was the first Israeli prog-rock album and a very revolutionary work. It comprised many facets of his complex music and personality. The influences were numerous from his classical background through Jazz, Underground rock, traditional Jewish music, Cabaret music and the title track, which captured him screaming, crying and freaking out on the piano and vocals. The album had a very desperate atmosphere and it is an
essential album for everyone who wants to hear the development of Israeli prog. The album failed commercially.
* PhonokolShlomo Gronich : Why don't you tell me ? (IS,1971)***°° -another picture linked-
Bonus tracks : Tr.14, 2 min, Tr.16, 3 min, Tr.19, 1 min, 6 40
These bonus tracks were a rock-“musical” like radioshow concept based upon Franz Kafka’s book “America”. Sometimes very Experimental & close to a kind of Avant Garde strangeness. Together with these bonus tracks it makes this album highly recommended. In 1980 he’ll make a rockopera based upon the same book ?
Nice track of a piano / acoustic guitar play in Middle Eastern tuning, but in a jazzy "western" way. The rest of the tracks are duo songs in a very moody atmosphere. Foreigners still miss some big part of it trough not understanding the words. Therefore I myself will not recommend it. It's a little bit too much wordy & a direct performance.
Gil Keltch : "Gronich went on collaboration with another talented musician Mathi Caspi, who had a similar background was a composer/arranger/producer and multi instrumentalist. They started writing songs and touring, the result of this collaboration was "Behind The Sounds" another milestone of Israeli prog. This live album featured Gronich on piano and vocals and Caspi on acoustic guitar and vocals and in spite of the scarce instrumentation, they managed to create a full and compelling sound. The music included the usual blend of Classical music, Jazz, Cabaret music, Rock and even some Brazilian influences, it ranged from the beautiful to the frightening, from
rather accessible songs to sheer avant-garde. This is another essential Israeli prog album. After this, Caspi had gone solo and gradually abandoned rock, concentrating on other directions such as bossanova, reggae and so on. The two reunited for a tour and another album by 1984, but this was rather disappointing."
Tr.4, "Shemi's piece" 5 min-cover linked-
Tr.12,"Bissalad" 2 min 7 52
Fine album, with good warm sound in psych/softprogrock style. Very arranged with various touches. "5:18" has an experimental touch. Also "Bissalad" has an avant garde element (Bach combined with free jazz, avant prog, pop, rock, with flute, mellotron,jazzrock,etc...).
G.K. : Another classic, Nonames were a supergroup featuring Gronich, Shem Tov Levy and Shlomo Ydov all well-known musicians, the album had many directions ranging from folk to complex prog a la Gentle Giant. Very good album.”
* ?Shem-Tov Levy : in the mood (IS,1975)**
Tr.6, "Yom Huledet" (Birthday) 4 min 56
Ballad like prog pop & pop songs. Nice double tracked voice. The chosen track is instrumental prog, with nice flute, electric fuzz guitars, drums, keyboards, bass. A nice moody album, but I don’t consider it as a must for foreign prog collectors. This is a perfect complex prog track (****).
* privateShlomo Gronich : America (1980)*°
Unfinished rockopera/musical based upon Kafka’s book, with some Broadway influence (chamber group playing the music)?
* Red Arzi Rec. Shem Tov Levi & Shlomo Gronich : -family album-(IS,1983)**°
Tr.1, "Saba Diga"(grandpa Diga) 2 min
Tr.4, "Savta Rachel" 1 min (grandma Rachel, Turkish song)
Tr.5, "Rikud Hahobitim" (dance of the hobbits) 5 min
(Tr.7, "Transition" (to Emil Greenzweig)° 5 min left out-
Tr.12, “Halev Niptach –maavar” (“The heart opens –passage-) 1 min 2X
°Greenzweig was left wing oriented, and was murdered in a
demonstration for peace early 80's.
This album has a couple of fun versions of family-related ethno folk origin. A couple of track seems to be some kind of versions too, but I prefer to skip those. Left are various tracks in a fine combination of instrumental prog
with jazzfusion / Latin touches, perfectly produced (with an 80’s distorted voice at some point well mixed in). I guess the album is somewhat conceptual?
G.K. : Levy and gronich went on collaborating, on the family album and later also in a Noname reunion. Levy has released several excellent solo albums mixing prog, fusion and middle eastern and balkan influences, he also went on to form Sheshet and Tuned Tone with Itschack Klepter and Shlomo Ydov. See further on.
Tr.4, "Lo Holech im kol halev" (no wholeheartedly) 5 min
Somewhat with a charming Latin kind of smoothness in songs due to the harmonies in singing (perhaps except somewhat Brazilian in sound, also sometimes close to what I heard from Basque prog folk) and through the exotic rhythm use, still in a progressive pop way. It basically is more advance, refined pop music, with a nice group's sound. It took me some minutes to get used to the very different language than the European languages, but I like very much the warm flavour in it. A part of the tracks are less appealing to me. In general I think it'll help if you understand the language. The tenth track is slightly orchestrated.
G.K. : "The Latin American flavour is due to Mathi Caspi who produced the album and at the time was already experimenting heavily with Samba and other Latin rhythms, their main influences however were San Francisco bands such as the Byrds and the Mammas and the Pappas, I trace a slight Pink Floyd influence on several tracks also. Not a prog band by any mean but nice psychedelic pop."
Tr.5, "Lu Bat" (If you come) 3 min
Tr.9, "Fa Minor" 7 min 10 80
This is a kind of "soft"rock music with various nicely fusing elements, some of it in a more typical 70's style. I can't help it that various of such Israeli releases remind me of some of the Argentine (or Brazil) scene.. They have an
approach like we can find with such groups. Partly this release is a kind of soft & quiet instrumental jazz prog(pop). “Fa Minor” is a slpendid jazzprog improvisation piece.
G.K. : Another highly important band formed by Shem Tov Levy and featuring Yehudit Ravitz who later became a megastar in Israel, they were strongly influenced by chick Corea's Return to Forever, but also by Gentle Giant and
Arabic music.
* NMCShlomo Ydov : Shlomo Ydov (IS,1979)** -cover linked-
Solo-work of this singer-songwriter with somewhat appealing and warm sound. But the sounds of the language don't work as "instruments" as much for me to feel too make an easy appeal to a foreigner like me.
G.K. : Ydov was a member of Nonames and a very talented composer and guitarist, this is only progish album, his music grew more and more commercial eventually, this is however a fine symphonic album.
Tr.4, "Piece in Fa Minior" 3 min 83-cover linked-
Ok until good "Sophisticated rock" with much smooth jazz-influences & classical arrangements, and fusion progrock. This is a very good arranged fusionprog instrumental. -(Another “Fa minor” piece)-
G.K. : This was an atempt by two very important Israeli musicians to create a prog album, it has it's moment but not very strong in general
-Not played but also in softrock vein :
* NMC Music Ilan Virtzberg & Shimon Gelbetz : A Good Vintage (IS,1982)**
Has a couple of some nice tracks, surely near the end. I personally think it is OK, but not a must-have. I choose “Kornelia” first but left it out for time limitation reasons.
G.K. : An album moving in different directions as each song is written in another musical style, another cult album.
PART 3 :
“SYMPHONIC”
* VA Gan Eden : Tr.6, “Paramix” (IS,1977) 5 min (this track : ****)
keyboards/guitars/drumming fusionprog with many tempo changes, breaks, skilfully played. We can also hear some possible Steve Hillage/Gong influences near the end.
Gil Keltch : “Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) were essentially a heavy metal band, but their sole and rare album contained one progressive instrumental piece called "Paramix".”
Tr.1, “Lady of Shallot” (fragment) 7 min
In the first track the voice of singer has Jon Anderson/Yes reminisces. Second track is very good symphonic music. The third track is even more different, and inventive with melodic sounds. However I have the impression the recordings after the first two tracks are recorded only with one microphone standard. Never the less it remains a recommended release. First two tracks, and the alternate version are MUST for Yes/Genesis fans.
G.K. : a great "lost" band that was luckily revived due to this issue, they featured Efraim Barak of Zingale and were indeed highly influenced by Yes but also by Genesis.
I played another track in the first radioshow.
Picture of
Potentially interesting new group with a couple of good (neo-)symphonic tracks. This I found their most powerful track, (like more new symphonic groups like to have :) with a densely arranged composition..
Tr.2, "Trapped in the Marsh" 4 min
The cover reminds of some German 70's prog rock record covers. The singing in English is a not always as strong (-at first track especially-), but the music is really ok, influenced by groups like Gentle Giant and a few other things.This is a very nice prog song, nicely sung as well.
G.K. : Very 70's sounding nice band in the vein of many British proto-progers such as Cressida, Spring etc...
PART 4 : MORE NEW GROUPS :
* EVIATAR BANAI, ROCKFOUR, THE ASQUELON QUILT, (SUSITA), AHVAK, (ISOTOPY), BIKINI
Tr.6, "shan leyadi" (sleep beside me) 3 min
Singer-songwriter with very sensitive voice and with appealing arrangements (at its best somewhat simple Romantic classical piano (with cello,..); one time pop progressive, one time pop, and arrangements in between this). Where often I have problems with listening to Hebrew vocal, here, on the contrary it sounds very nice and musical. Still I guess not all songs will appeal to someone who doesn't understand the language. This song is with female voice at the end as well. Very beautiful!! (****)
G.K. : He is very influenced by Robert Wyatt, as can be heard on Yesh li Sikuy for instance...
* Axai Misic?Rockfour : Ha'ish Shera'a Hakol (the man who saw everything)(IS,1996)***° -cover linked-
Tr.1, "Pit'om" (suddenly) 4 min
Tr.2, "Ha'ish she'raha hakol" (titletrack) 5 min
Very nice sophisticated rock mostly with some 60's (Birds guitars,mercey beat backing vocals,....) and 70's psych influences (reverbs, psychrock improvisation skills),good arrangements & singing. Last track is a more (end 60's) psychedelic instrumental. I would have played a bit more if I had more airtime. Very good!!
G.K. : “Probably the most successful Israeli band these days, this is their best album for me and is another cult album in Israel.”
* Hi-Note MusicThe Ashqelon Quilt : the event (IS,2001)***°
Tr.2, "Crown" 7 min 7 126
First track has definitely some influence of early Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, but performed more as a psychfolkpop group. Very nice. Second track with male & female vocals has more a Trader Horne,.. with a possible UK folk influence, but sung partly in a more contemporary way. Third track, like a few more are more
like Gorky's Zygotic Minci. Also with some nice guitar solo's, and violin. Track 6 is even more psychfolk pop with folk elements, nicely arranged and structured. Very good album for those who liked for instance Smell of Incense,..).
I got 3 tracks (**°) from this new group. Like more of the groups I air-played this has many influences, going from pop, jazz, prog, folk and beyond all this. It’s a bit lighter/ more easy going but it is still good.
* Jazzis Shatea : Waiting (IS,1992)
To avoid item, even when it’s an Arab Israeli group ! Liner notes of this item (by Adam Baruch) say a lot of nonsense like “my sense of aesthetics and love for music tells me I'm right" and "it's not "easy music" while this is uninteresting pop music !
* Jazzis Rec. Odéon : Odéon (IS,1991)
The same can be said about this release from the same label. It lacks vision and there are no real musical ideas, resulting in a lame kind of melodic fusionjazz. To avoid !
* Cuneiform Rec. Ahvak : Ahvak (IS,2004)***° -cover linked-
Colourful very varied in storytelling composition, dark in tension, but theatre like in evolution. Well-produced RIO-music. With some contemporary ideas (track 3) and a filmic sound. The title track has something composed and improvised, and has a tendency to balance towards something "powerful". The complete score is just good as it is, and is very much into the footsteps of Univers Zero/Present. With the cooperation of drummer/percussionist Dave Kerman (who also cooperated and was member of 5UU's, U Totem, Present, Blast).
* VAIsoptopy : “Catharsis” 12 min (1981) (fragment 6 min)
Splendid RIO styled track. (hopefully I choose the correct track for this, because I only had a copy)
G.K. : Isoptopy were formed by Atmosphera's keyboard player Yuval Rivlin and recorded this single track only before they broke up.
*Jo't MindBikini : Bikini (IS,1995)** -group picture & cover linked-
Tr.3, "Yalla Yalla" 4 min 143
Promising new pop group with varied arrangements, from classical over Middle Eastern and modern beats. Some tracks are more modestly made modern pop. I'm sure the group could make a much more advanced conceptual work if they really had the intentions. This first track shows their talent. This one is an Arab melody with modern rhythms.
G.K. : They made a second album and broke up, solo albums by each member of this duo are available also.
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Radioshow 3 : 2004-10-06
Tr.3, "Or haganuz" (the hidden light)- Kabala related lyrics- 13 min
Tr.6, "Shir Hama'alot (song of the stairs) -meaning spiritual stairs to heaven,
another Kabala related track- 7 min
Tr.1, "At Adama" (you, the earth) 4 min 24 -100
Nice Middle Eastern styled song music with strong instrumentation, almost progressive/psych in its core. It can stand easily next to progressive material. First track is arranged very Western, but still it is Middle Eastern. Very
convincing. Singer Bar is born in Rabat, Morocco, composes most of the group's songs. He plays drums and flute and also arranges much of the music. Another member is from Iran. Khamkar comes from India. The guitarist & banjo player who comes from the USA. It is in fact an Israeli group who play mostly more Persian/Arab styled music. This was their 4th album. Highly recommended album !
I would have preferred to play track 5, or 2 as well but there wasn't enough airplay time.
"When they started playing together 26 years ago, their music was seen as the music of the enemy. That was because Habrera Hativit refused to imitate Western pop, but instead played a fusion of Eastern music; sephardic sounds from Morocco, and from North Africa. While once their music was shunned, now it is celebrated. It is the music of the land, the music of the people." G.K. / "It was the first Israeli group to merge such influences and they were definitely groundbreaking when they first appeared."
Tr.2, "Kinat Sultana" {Sultana's Lament} 5 min
Tr.7, "Shedemati" {myfield} 6 min 11 -112
Here the group also has Indian (tampura, tabla), Middle Eastern and Western instruments (electric bass, guitars), violin, flute. At some tracks the crossover elements are clearer. The chosen track is a very strong performance of a
crossover, like Middle Eastern rock. Last track is with second female voice. This was their third album.Another very good, very nice album!
G.K. : "The second song dates back to the 30's it was composed by Yedidia Admon who was a pioneering composer mixing elements of western and Middle Eastern themes into his compositions. This is a classic Israeli song."
Latter line-up : Bar, born in Rabat, drums and flute and also arranges much of the music The rest of the band is: Manashe Sasson, on Santur; Nitsan-Ken Razel, violin; Samson Khamkar on violin, the sitar and the flute; Ilan Ben-Ami, guitar; Yael Offenbach, Tabla; and Yaacob Segal, piano, ud, and bass.
PS. Both LP's were released on one reissue.
video-fragment :
A separate radioshow will be made soon. Webpage will be on next page.
Tr.2, "The girl with the flaxen hair" 13 min 18 -130
3rd album by this group. Except for 20 minute of material the mastertapes got lost due to the political chaos in the early 70's. With the replacement of some live recording of 13 minutes and a last recorded session in 1976 this is the best preserved collection we can get of this somewhat Canterbury or jazzy styled progrock group. The title track refers to a Debussy composition. Fantastic session! And a very good track! Hearing this session and knowing the rest of the double LP session is forever lost we can only say how much a shame this is.
Otherwise I guess it surely would have been ranked amongst the best Canterbury records. The 1976 session is much more pure jazz.
Gil Keltch : "their arrangements for debussy were definitely their proggiest moments, they were Israel's first jazz-rock band starting out in 1969"
* PhonokolPoopik : Poopik (IS,1969)**°
Tr.8, "No troubles any more" 5 min
Tr.12, "I had a Night" 5 min 13 -143
Fine song orientated rock and softrock. Very 70's like, and with very good voice. These are really great, favourite tracks. The album sounds pretty modern for 1969. Very rare album, only 400 made. The Churchill's wrote-composed-played-produced half of it, singer Shlomo Gronich, made 3 tracks, and Shalom Hanoch made the only big hit on it. The Chuchill's later took two tracks from the album ("Too Much To Love To Know", a 7 inch by Churchill's), translated the lyrics to English and recorded them under Jericho Jones (I had a night" is a JJ track, and also "Time is now", was released on 7 inch by Jericho Jones). Also Gronich took one of these tracks and
used it at another album in 1973.
G.K. : "No troubles anymore and had a night are both early Gronich compositions, his first tunes to be recorded ever, both Gronich and the churchill's play on this album and contributed compositions, some of the tracks are kind ode an Israeli reply to Sgt Pepper."
"Among The Stars" a hit from Poopik was written by Rotblit from Shalom Hanoch.
* PhonokolJonathan Geffen & The Good Band : Small talk (IS,1990)****
Tr.2, "Hebrew Book week" 3 min
Tr.5, "Forever I'll wait" 5 min (until end of radioshow)
Very 70's like. Softrock song orientated album with large portion of attention to the general musical qualities. Very good album.
G.K. : "Jonathan Geffen is very well known and respected poet and satirist in Israel, he is also the father of Aviv Geffen of Steve Wilson's blackfield, starting in the mid seventies Geffen started putting out shows mixing cabaret
and satire with rock music and has collaborated with many important Israeli rocksters.
Singer-songwriter item with cabaret but also softrock elements. I couldn't grab it so easily after a quick listen.
Sound like a kind of rebel-rock(and rock'n roll). I think partly driven by what has been sung, something g foreigners will miss when not understanding the words. I will need to take more time for this one.
G.K.: "It was recorded during a holiday from prison, it was done very fast and has lot of emotion and reggae concealed in it."
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Other groups not mentioned :
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Extra links :
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Review page of new Israeli progressive (with a few extra bands) on next page->
visitors since 2004-04-21
