Right now the situation in Iran is really bad; a protest that started from the market, initially because of economic grievances, has turned into a nationwide rebellion against everything the theocratic dictatorship stands for. Paramilitary types shoot in the midst of the demonstrations, killing 100's of civilians. Expat Iranian friends of mine are living in constant fear for their friends and relatives still living there: all internet connections in the country are severed, as is telephone communication from abroad. One the other hand, they feel a glimmer of hope: how much longer can a corrupt and incompetent government keep imposing themselves on an unwilling public? surely this time it should collapse under the weight of the people's righteous anger? Maybe the West (i.e. Trump) will help? For my part, I'm both hopeful and fearful of change. Hopeful that this attrocious dictatorship will at last come to its end, fearful that its end may cause Iran to deteriorate into a Syria-like civil war between multiple factions. When people are bereft of freedom for so long, they sometimes tend to forget how to arrive to decisions through mutual respect, open discussion, negotiation, and compromise. Factor in all the power-hungry world leaders and multinational corporations eager to steer the boat their way in order to get their hands on the country's natural resources, and one sees how precarious it all is. Anyway, earlier in the week when all this begun, I took out this compilation and played it a few times, to remind myself that things used to be different and may again change to the better. That, far from being a bunch of religious fanatics as the regime wants us to think, the people are as fun- and freedom- loving as anyone in the West.
When this album was first released back in '09, it was greeted with disbelief; such is the isolation that the theocratic regime has imposed on its citizens that we couldn't conceive of rock music ever being produced in Iran. Well, what do you know? Not only did Iran have a vibrant club scene in pre-revolutionary times, it still has, even though it's all been pushed underground and young people run the risk of being arrested or worse just for attending an unlisenced rock concert - especially if it involves dancing and women removing their hijab, which they do immediately when they are in a safe indoors space. Back in the 60's though, the country was undergoing a "modernization" phase, although not a democratic one: the regime was an absolute monarchy, and prisons were full of dissidents, but otherwise a distancing from Islamic customs and towards Western ones was encouraged; the Shah for example would enjoy private performances of contemporary Rolling Stones hits by local bands like The Sinners. Who aren't included in this compilation, but we have many others... crucially The Golden Ring, who according to internet sources were the most popular and longest-lived Iranian rock band. Now, the CD version of this compilation contains 27 tracks instead of 17, and comes with a booklet with info about the bands; my own vinyl LP didn't contain any inserts so unfortunately there's very little information I can impart. The internet was minimally helpful; for example, I found out that Kourosh's "Akhm Nakan" wasn't released in the 60's but in 1974, and that the singer's full name is Kourosh Yaghmaei, sometimes refered to as the Persian "king of rock". His reign was short indeed, as he only managed to release a handful of singles before being banned from playing any kind of music in 1979; that ban lasted for 17 years, but even after it was lifted he was not allowed to record anything that contained electric guitars or sounded even remotely like rock. "Akhm Nakan" definitevely does sound like 1968 UK psych-funk-hard rock, with great bass breaks and pounding drums, but a non-Western sensibility in the vocals; I thought he sounded a bit like Anatolian rocker Cem Karaca, but it could be the singer's giant moustache that clicked something in my brain. This song is followed by one of very few English-language tracks here, as well as the only one with female lead vocals: a cover of Aretha's "Respect" sung by another icon of Persian music, Googoosh. Googoosh was a hugely popular singer and actress before the revolution, but she, too, was prohibited to sing publicly. She resurfaced after leaving the country in 2000, and is now one of the prominent voices of the Iranian diaspora. Her performance here is extremely energetic, while the band plays somewhat looser and jazzier than in the original American version of the song. Another English-language track is the closer "I Need Somebody To Love" by Shabah, a ballad with saccharine harmonies. A third one might be The Rebels' "Indian Rebels" - I mean, I think I discern some English words but I'm not 100% sure, such is the quality of the recording and accent of the singers. I like it though; it's lo-fi mid-tempo garage rock with a nice surf-like guitar break. In general, irrespective of when these songs were recorded (and I'm pretty sure it was way after the surf craze had passed), Iranian guitarists seemed to derive inspiration from Hank Marvin or The Ventures rather than from Clapton or Hendrix. Especially The Golden Rings; "Bas Ay Dokhtar Ha" is a Ventures-like instrumental with groovy organ, while "Shekar Dar Kohestan" features some wordless vocalizing and loud whistling that reminds me of Ennio Morricone Westerns. Other great instrumentals include Penahi's "Dance-Music" and Littles "4x8 Jadeed". That band, fronted by singer Ebi Littles, has two more songs here: opener "Fatemah Sultan" is a garage-beat cover of a traditional tune, and "Mehtaab" is a moody ballad. Moha Jamin also have 3 tracks here, each one different from the others: "Sheshwa Heshat Moha Jamin" is built around an oriental melody, "Ashk-e Roya-e Bashkohe" is a Zombies-like ballad, and (my favorite) "Raks Raks Raks" a scorching garage rocker that's the equal to any included in the American Nuggets series. Other favorites include The Flowers' garage-psych-folk "Meekshi Manoo" and oriental-exotica psych "Mosh Va Karnah" by Group Sayeed. Lastly, "Dokhtar E Darya" and "Polhaee Shakastah" are a couple of folk-psych ballads. As I mentioned earlier, the CD contains more songs, including Persian-language covers of Ray Charles and Monkeys songs, but it won't be presented here since I only own this compilation on vinyl. In general, this isn't like one of those European garage rock comps where you have Swedish, Portuguese, or Czech bands emulating the sound of The Beatles, Stones, Animals et al. Maybe it's a language thing, but the "ethnic" element is way more pronounced; especially the singing is more complex and playful, sometimes reminiscent of the melismatic Arabic style, others of Indian music. In any case, if you like 60's pop-rock and aren't put out by the strange and exotic sounds of the Farsi language, this LP is full of rare treasures - you may not like all of them, but they're worth your attention.
***** for Moha Jamin - Raks Raks Raks
**** for Littles - Fatemah Sultan, The Flowers - Meekshi Manoo, Littles - 4x8 Jadeed, Ojooba Ha - Polhaee Shakastah, Penahi - Dance-Music, The Rebels - Indian Rebels, Kourosh - Akhm Nakan, The Golden Ring - Shekar Dar Kohestan
*** for Moha Jamin - Sheshwa Heshat Moha Jamin, Group Takhala La - Dokhtar E Darya, Moha Jamin - Ashk-e Roya-e Bashkohe, The Golden Ring - Bas Ay Dokhtar Ha, Googoosh - Respect, Group Sayeed - Mosh Va Karnah, The Littles - Mehtaab, Shabah - I Need Somebody To Love
P.S. I couldn't resist a comment on the album cover art. There's what seems like a nice geometric motiff in green and red on the sides of the back cover. Only it isn't exactly a purely decorative design: taken from the modern (post-revolutionary) Iranian flag, this is actually a Kufik (calligraphic Arabic) script endlessly repeating the phrase Allahu Akbar (God Is Great). Given that this is most definitely a collection of secular songs by artists persecuted by the theocratic regime, this reads like a bit of a fail.
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