Είναι Πικρός Ο Θάνατος = Death Is Bitter
Label | Mississippi Records – MRI 133Olvido Records – OLV 10 |
Format | Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Mono, 160g |
Barcode | 0850024931510 |
Country | US |
Released | 04 Nov 2022 |
Genre | Folk, World, & Country |
Style | Rebetiko |
Twelve of the heaviest early tracks by the master of rebetika music. Markos Vamvakaris sings from the hash dens of the Greek ports of the 1930's - mournful, poetic, bitter music of love and long nights. On these twelve tracks, recorded in Athens between 1932 and 1936, Markos was already a master of the bouzouki. His forceful, clean playing compliments his hoarse voice and his stunning rhythmic sensibility, the result of his years as a champion zebekiko dancer. Tracks build and spiral outward, his open-note drones and melodic lines drawing calls of ecstasy and encouragement from his fellow musicians. Translations of songs like 'Hash-Smoking Mortissa' and 'In The Dark Last Night' provide a glimpse into the life and language of the manges - Ottoman cafe music, the calls of displaced Greeks of Smyrna, the chaos and suffering of port life, it all comes through Markos' songs. These recordings, incredibly rare and expertly remastered, mark the height of rebetika, the brief period between the music's emergence on the recording scene in the early 1930s and government censorship of all lyrics starting in 1936. During the Axis occupation there was no rebetika recording, and though Markos had some hits in the years after the war, he never again attained this level. These are the dizzying, entrancing, and heaviest works of one of the great artists of the 20th century. Expertly remastered from rare 78s by Stereophonic Sound, pressed on heavy 160gm vinyl at Smashed Plastic, includes full size 8-page booklet with detailed historical notes, rare photos, and lyric translations.
A1 | Εφουμέρναμ’ Ένα Βράδυ = We Were Smoking One Evening | |
A2 | Μόρτισσα Χασικλού = Hash-smoking Mortissa | |
A3 | Σκύλα Μ’ Έκανες Και Λιώνω = Bitch, You Made Me Waste Away | |
A4 | Η Κλωστηρού = The Spinner | |
A5 | Αράπ Ζεϊμπέκικο = Arap Zeibekiko | |
A6 | Ο Χασάπης = The Butcher | |
B1 | Ταξίμ Σερφ = Serfo Taxim | |
B2 | Τα Μάτια Σου Τ'Αράπικα = Your Arabian Eyes | |
B3 | Η Γυναίκα Μου Ζηλεύει = My Woman's Jealous | |
B4 | Χθες Το Βράδυ Στο Σκοτάδι = In The Dark Last Night | |
B5 | Ο Μάρκος Ο Συριανός = Markos From Syros | |
B6 | Πειραιώτικος Μανές (Είναι Πικρός Ο Θάνατος) = Pireotikos Manes (Death Is Bitter) |
Compiled By, Transferred By, Liner Notes – Stavros Kourousis
Compiled By, Translated By [Lyrics] – Tony Klein
Lacquer Cut By – Adam Gonsalves
Lead Vocals – Markos Vamvakaris (A1 to A4, A6, B2 to B6)
Lute [Bazouki], Written-By – Markos Vamvakaris
Remastered By, Restoration – Timothy Stollenwerk
Translated By [Lyrics] – Thanos Mantas
Front cover has a large sticker with the main artist name and title on top of the chipboard sleeve, presumably correcting a printing error.
The Greek inscriptions in the runouts are a line from track A6.
Side A: παλεύεις με τα αίματα = you struggle with the blood
Side B: μα δεν πονεί η καρδιά σου = but your heart doesn't hurt
A1, B1 recorded June 1933, originally released as .
A2 recorded December 1933, originally released on .
A3 recorded May 1936 (probably), originally released on .
A4 recorded June 1934, originally released on .
A5 recorded December 1932, originally released on .
A6 recorded June 1934, originally released on .
B2 recorded 25 November 1933 originally released on .
B3 recorded September 1935, originally released on .
B4 recorded September 1935, originally released on .
B5 recorded 25 November 1933, originally released on
B6 recorded January 1934, originally released on .
Αφιερωμένο στη μνήμη του Μάρκου Βαμβακάρη (1905 - 1972)
Dedicated to the memory of Markos Vamvakaris (1905 - 1972)
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout) – MRI-133 B μα δεν πονεί η Καρδιά σου TELEGRAPH-GONSALVES