Brendan Foreman wrote this review.
This CD is one of the latest in Rounder’s economy label, EasyDisc.Consisting of several excellent examples of Greek traditional music sampled from several previous Arc recordings, it features the vastly proficient playing of The Athenians. This ensemble of virtuosomusicians perform mostly original composition in the traditionalGreek style, music with both Eastern European and Middle Eastern influences with a distinctly Mediterranean flair for plucked string instruments.
The Athenians consist of Antones Gialeles on guitars; Manolis Charokopos on bouzouki, guitar, and vocals; Kostas Smirnos on bouzouki, guitar, and vocals; and Thomas Tsilias on drums. Each of these musicians are clearly excellent on their own; but they work equally well (if not better) as a string ensemble, placing layer over layer of harmony on each piece and so giving the music a very Near-Eastern sound.
The first track “Solo Safiriu” is a fiery dance tune featuring alarge ensemble of strings — guitars, bouzoukis — playing in unison over a nicely thumping bass line. A few tracks later, they slowt hings on “Adrachti,” allowing them to feature some nicely syncopated soloing.
One of the truly exceptional instrumental tunes is the traditional piece “Chassaposerwiko.” With a full drum set pushing them almost forcefully forward, the musicians seem to fling themselves into a fretted mayhem, while the audience yell and whistle their encouragement.
Later, The Athenians play a medley (called “Ta orea tou Tsitani”or “The best of Tsitani”) of three tunes by the composer V. Tsisanis.The first, a sombre bouzouki waltz, featuring some beautiful tremolo work as well as some sophisticated harmonies, segues into a catchy,more traditionally Greek-sounding tune with a 7/8 rhythm (that is,essentially seven beats per bar, emphasizing the first, third, andfifth beats). This is followed by a fast dance number, which seems to take on various transformations as the individual players solo and play musical ideas off of each other.
No sampling of Greek music would be complete without somerembetiko. A soulful, often edgy form of Greek song, very much influenced by Turkish music, the remebetiko style is often justifiably called “Greek blues.” This music was once banned in Greece as being too Turkish and necessitated the invention of thebaglamas, a smaller, more high-pitched version of the bouzouki sothat it could easily be hidden in the loose sleeves of traditional Greek garb.
Here the Athenians include two songs from The Athenians SingRembetiko: the lamentful “M’ena tsigaro” (With a Cigarette), aKostas Smirnos composition; and “Astati Kardia” (Inconstant Heart),written by Antones Gialeles, who sings this with a weary resignation.The latter song also features some excellent bouzouki solos.
Other non-rembetika songs include the more upbeat Gialeles composition “Jiati” and the sultry “I Marigo” (also written byGialeles). The CD ends with the otherworldly “I Jitonissa.” With anaffected electric guitar and latin rhythm playing just underneath a trio of bouzoukis, this song sounds like it came directly from aJames Bond film from the late Sixties.
This CD is a great place to start exploring a lively, passionatemusical tradition which combines many of the best aspects of bothEuropean and Middle-Eastern music.
(EasyDiscs, 1999)
