Athenians Of Toronto "Σαν Σκοτεινιάζει/San Skotiniazi" 1971***

This reissue appeared out of nowhere a couple of years ago; it took everyone by surprise, since it was widely believed that all Greek rock/pop singles of the 60's and early 70's were already known to collectors, most of them having been re-released and anthologized. As for whole LP's there's never been more than a handful of those. But, of course, it's no surprise that nobody in Greece had ever heard of this Greek-language band seeing as they lived half a world away in Toronto Canada. At the heart of the band there were the Filippeos brothers Costas (keyboards) and Nikos (drums), and singer Vangelis Bethanis. The three Greek-Canadians were joined by guitarist Denny Fernando and bassist Paul Imo. The band first formed in 1966 when all the members were aged between 11 and 17. They had a repertory of Greek and Italian songs they would play at parties and weddings of the respective immigrant communities, mixing them up with contemporary rock and pop hits, also backing visiting Greek traditional music singers. By 1971, they were ready to record their own album; they had few original numbers as well as a rich repertory of covers to which they added Greek lyrics. This decision is both a strength and a weakness: on one hand, it's what makes the covers rarer and more interesting, on the other -and that goes for those who understand Greek- the lyrics are embarrassingly sappy. The singer adopts the old-fashioned croon of lounge singers on the ballads, while he lacks the soul feeling necessary to match the soulful arrangements of the faster numbers. The instrumental part is much better: rich organ grooves, searing guitar solos, and a bold brass section featuring top Toronto jazz players like Pete Schofield, John Satcho, and Heather Banks. Despite the fact that the album was a true DIY production recorded in just six hours at RCA Studios in Toronto, with no budget for overdubs or post-production, it sounds quite professional for a small private press pressing. What amazes me most about this album is that the most striking element of this is album is the horn arrangements, even though the horns were never an integral part of the band. The obvious main influences are Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears; this is in itself a rarity for Greek pop bands who were mainly influenced by the Beatles, Animals, and French and Italian yé-yé singers. We get no less than 4 workmanlike Chicago covers: "O Epivatis" (26 Or 6 To 4, great guitar here), "Μes Sti Nihta Girno" (Make Me Smile), "Me Ti Matia Sou Tha Zo" (Colour My World), "Psahno Na Vro" (Now More Than Ever). We also get decent Greek language versions of "Proud Mary" ("Mary Se Latrevo") and Santana's "Everybody's Everything" ("Ston Planiti Pou Girname"). All the songs feature great horn arrangements and confident playing, especially on guitar, organ, and drums. Two covers stand out: "To Gramma Tis Poulias" (a cover of fellow Canadians' "One Fine Morning") and "Ela Agapi Mou Konta" ("Light My Fire"). The latter incorporates elements from both top-10 versions, namely the acoustic guitar into from Feliciano's cover and the organ from the original. It's also the only bilingual Greek/English pop song of the period that I'm aware of, as well as the only Greek-language Doors cover. I believe the only song here that had been previously covered in Greek was "Proud Mary"; but since The AoT were almost certainly unaware of the other version, they had to devise another set of Greek lyrics and their own, wholly different, arrangement. Lastly, the LP contains three original songs by Costas Filippeos: two schmaltzy ballads ("San Skoteiniazei", "Agapoula Mou Chrissi") and upbeat instrumental "Athenian Rock'n'Roll". The liner notes mention that about 100 (private label) copies were pressed; in one interview, Costas Filippeos claimed there were a thousand of them, but that sounds way exaggerated. Anyway the band gave some records to friends and sold some hand-to-hand during gigs; very few are known to have survived. Also, according again to Filippeos, there were some 8 track tapes and cassettes made in the 80's, of which none have surfaced until now. The album wasn't even known to collectors, until a young indie label from Patras Greece called Veego Records received an mp3 folder that contained ‘Gramma tis Poulias’. It immediately hit the spot, because it was completely different to any other Greek band in its incorporation of jazz grooves and funky horns. The closest I can think of is The Sounds; I used to have reissues of their 1970-1971 LPs but they won't be presented here since I sold them during the Great Vinyl Purge. You see, they weren't garagey enough for my taste (I only kept the 60's "shake" stuff, which were more my thing at the time) but they did contain many Greek language covers of contemporary hits - including some by Santana and Creedence, bands also covered by AoT. San Skotiniazi is probably the only Greek language soul/funk LP from the 60's or early 70's, which gives it an immense novelty value. The musicians' playing should endear them to fans of classic soul and funk, but the lyrics and vocals may sound too kitschy and (not in a good way) old fashioned to Greek speakers. It is in any case a unique record that should pique any collector's interest.

**** for Ο Επιβάτης (26 Or 6 To 4), Έλα Αγάπη Μου Κοντά (Light My Fire), Το Γράμμα Της Πούλιας (One Fine Morning)

*** for Στο Πλανήτη Που Γυρνάμε (Everybody's Everything), Μαίρη Σε Λατρεύω (Proud Mary), Αγαπούλα Μου Χρυσή (Agapoula Mou Chrissi), Athenian Rock'n'Roll

** for Σαν Σκοτεινιάζει (San Skotiniazi), Μες Τη Νύχτα Γυρνώ (Make Me Smile), Με Τη Ματιά Σου Θα Ζω (Colour My World), Ψάχνω Να Βρω (Now More Than Ever)