The Sound of the World

Charlie included:

7 Various - Princes Amongst Men - Various - Asphalt Tango - *****

Aha! Presumably this is the long-awaited soundtrack to Garth's book?

Gordon Neill wrote: - Princes Among Men - Various - Asphalt Tango
Aha! Presumably this is the long-awaited soundtrack to Garth's book?

Yes, indeed, and an outstanding collection it is, as you'd expect.

Don't know why it's only got three stars. I meant to give it four. Will amend, and thereby make your quote look as if you took one off. Will leave it to your discretion as to what to do next...

Maybe Garth can post his track list under new CDs.

Charlie said:

Will amend, and thereby make your quote look as if you took one off. Will leave it to your discretion as to what to do next...

OK. I can't have it look as though a Scotsmany is mean. I've done the obvious thing and amended my quote to make it look as if it was you that docked it a star.

Mind you, I've not heard it yet. Perhaps it's rubbish. Would you like to come in at this point Garth? :-)

And here's the track list:

06th June 2008

Cat. Nr.: CD-ATR 1608
Format: CD / 7 songs & 11 instrumentals

1. Sudahan - Cocek Shutka 3:15
2. Ekrem - Molitva 4:27
3. Fulgerica - Briu de la Craiova 2:00
4. Romica Puceanu - Unde o-fie puiul de aseara 3:51
5. Fanfare Ciocarlia & D. Armeanca - Kan Marau La 4:32
6. Kal - Boro Boro 3:25/
7. Jony Iliev - Godzila 4:59/
8. Ferus Mustafov - Revisko Oro 1:42/
9. Saban Bajramovic - I Bar Val Pudela 2:30
10. Sofi Marinova - Daniova mama 6:53
11. Kocani Orkestar - Sunet Oro 5:40
12. Esma Redzepova - Nahtareja Mo Ilo Panljan 2:30
13. Rom Bengale - Disko Gitane 2:51
14. Dzansever - Ce Aysunu 5:58
15. Toni Iordache - Ca la Breaza 2:34
16. Boril Iliev - Gaida Cocek 3:37
17. Taraf de Haidouks - Rustem 1:54
18. Boban Markovic - Disko Dzumbus 3:50

All correct and present. It's out in Germany mid-June to go with the German edition of my book but not out in the UK until late-September. Why the delay? Harmonia Mundi in the UK had no advance warning of its release until early May and as they're currently working Gabi Lunca and Ivo Papasov they didn't want to cause a Balkan deluge. July? Well that's summer so silly season. Ditto August. Patience. A good thing I'm told.

So, is it any good? (hehe)

So, is it any good? (hehe)

You can go to Asphalt Tango or Princes Amongst Men myspace and have a listen to a couple of the tracks from Garths companion CD for the Book.

www.myspace.com/princesamongstmen2007
www.myspace.com/asphalttangorecords

Alternatively you can come along on June 18th to the Ritzy cafe/bar and hear some tracks from the CD and more.

I decided to go for a Balkan binge on iTunes yesterday - and discovered that 'Princes Among Men' is already up! Of course in downloading it I've had to forgo any artwork and liner notes which I should imagine are a really important part of the package in this case - but patience is not one of my virtues.

I also bought 'A Gypsy Legend' and some other tracks by Saban Bajramovic and 'Karmen with a Happy End' by the man in the white suit ;-). Haven't had time to do justice to any of them yet but this batch should make for some interesting comparisons.

BTW 'A Gypsy Legend' is very good value on Spanish iTunes - €5.94, so I assume it's similarly cheap on the UK version. And I did just check to see that 'Princes Among Men' is on UK iTunes, and it is.

My review of this fine compilation can be found on the Straight No Chaser website if you fancy a read:

http://www.straightnochaser.co.uk/reviews.php

And here's mine from last weekend's IoS. I've just noticed that in changing the layout slightly they've also cut down on the word count (without informing me) so that my 100 word review was cut to around 88 words. This version of the review reinstates the fairly important sentence 'The man's passion for Romany Gypsy music has resulted in the best compilation of its kind in ages.' I can't even find the energy to get pissed off about stuff like this anymore.

I aslo gave it the 'woman standing and clapping symbol, which - for all you star ratings freaks - means five stars.

Artist - Various
Title - Princes Amongst Men - Journeys with Gyppsy Musicians
Label - Asphalt Tango Records

Everyone's familiar with the notion of the film of the book, or the soundtrack of the film; much rarer is the soundtrack of the book. But Garth Cartwright's selection of tracks from musicians he met while researching his book 'Princes Amongst Men' in 2003 is just that. The man's passion for Romany Gypsy music has resulted in the best compilation of its kind in ages. If you're only familiar with the ubiquitous partied-up Balkan remix albums available, the mournful edginess of many of these tunes might surprise. Can music to be both chilling and fiery at the same time? Here's your answer.

This image



seems quite popular

!

I wrote -

I've just noticed that in changing the layout slightly they've also cut down on the word count (without informing me) so that my 100 word review was cut to around 88 words.

Yes, it's official - You now get more design for your money if you buy the Independent on Sunday!

I've just been told from now on to aim for 85 words rather than a 100. It was hard enough to be interesting and informative with just 100 words. I suppose the logical eventuality of all this is - a few more years down the line - you'll just get a picture of the cover and a star rating. I bet there's some people here who can't wait!

Dominic wrote:

That's a much nicer cover than my copy of the book has.

howard male wrote:I wrote -

I've just noticed that in changing the layout slightly they've also cut down on the word count (without informing me) so that my 100 word review was cut to around 88 words.

Yes, it's official - You now get more design for your money if you buy the Independent on Sunday!

I've just been told from now on to aim for 85 words rather than a 100. It was hard enough to be interesting and informative with just 100 words. I suppose the logical eventuality of all this is - a few more years down the line - you'll just get a picture of the cover and a star rating. I bet there's some people here who can't wait!

Yeah, but at least you could write that stuff in your sleep!

Unfortunately, I fear that the internet heralds the death of serious professional music writing and criticism in newspapers. Needless to say, newspaper editors are likely to welcome this so-called development. No pesky writers complaining about their word count and asking where their cheque is.

Frankly, to some extent, I think the horse left the stable sometime ago because I see very few reviews that contain much more than the most basic information about an album. Often, they're little more than a rewrite of the press release or they're just some cheap attitudinizing about stylistic conformity or the writer's miserable childhood. It astonishes me that anyone actually gets paid to write them, even if the pay is as meager as I assume it is.

However, as compensation of a sort, the internet is allowing inspired amateurism to reach new heights — and, ultimately, the music may be better for it.