CD Reviews

Various artists: Obsession

Bully

By SUSANNA BOLLE | March 18, 2008

3.5 Stars

Some of the finest psychedelic rock in the late ’60s and early ’70s was created far from the movement’s epicenters in the UK and US. The promise of these far-flung musical treasures has fueled collectors ever since. Compiled by Mike Davis of Academy Records in Brooklyn, this collection bears the fruits of his abiding love for hard-to-find psych- and garage-rock gems from South America, Turkey, and India. From the banks of the Bosporus, the leading light of Turkish psych, Erkin Koray, backed by his notorious band Ter (“Sweat”), weighs in with the scorching “Hor Gorme Garibi.” There’s also a phenomenal Anatolian funk instrumental by saz player Arif Sag, who hooked his instrument up to a wah-wah pedal and created a twisted take on traditional folk. On the Tropicalian tip, there’s the magnificent (and obscure) Flavio Kurt’s fuzzed-out dance number “Walderez Walderia,” from his only known 45. There’s also some stellar Uruguayan and Peruvian rock, as well as a pair of hard-driving songs from India’s Atomic Forest that bookend this unique collection.

Topics: CD Reviews , Mike Davis, Various Artists

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