Post subject: [Closed] B1974 1C: Elektronik Türküler v. Heart Sat. Night
From the far off land of Turkey (unless your actually in Turkey, in which case it's not a far off land, it's right there) land of exotic enchantment and mystery (unless you live there, in which case it's just familiar and not at all exotic)... you know what, I'm just going to start over.
From the land of Turkey comes a genre that I had never heard about before, called Anatolian Rock, a fusion of the Turkish folk music, Turkish pop, and the psychedelic music coming out of the late 1960's. Erkin Koray was a pioneer this genre.
In 1974 he released his first real album, called Elektronik Türküler. He had been recording since the late 1950's, but his output had all been 45 rpm singles up to this point. Collected in 1973's album bearing his name, he followed up with an album designed for the LP Format.
Tom Waits needs no introduction. His gravelly voice and distinctive songwriting made him stand out in the era of the singer-songwriter. You may have heard his first album, Closing Time, from the Best Debut Albums tournament last year. His sophomore offering is called The Heart of Saturday Night.
I love this particular album (elektronik) mainly because the instrumentation is always pretty sexy . I feel like walking on some journey while listening to the particular album (though other albums have that feeling as well). Give it a listen and what not; the least it can do is show you a pretty interesting style. I'd also recommend Selda's self titled, Moğollar's self titled, Barış Manço's 2023, and Les Mogol's Danses et rythmes de la Turquie d'hier à aujourd'hui.
Wow. I wasn't expecting this to be so difficult, but I really really enjoyed Elektronik Türküler. And while I'd love to support this underdog, it's up against Heart of Saturday Night.
Voted for Elektronik Türküler. The Anotolian elements, very prevalent in Greek popular music of the 20th century, with its mix of psych rock resonate more with me. _________________ "And can’t you see you’re in on it?
You were born though you need not
And is that not some cause
For worship, being born among these trees?"
Voting Elektronik Türküler, because it was a very pleasant surprise and it reminded me of Persian food (and I really love Persian food). There were times when I thought it probably leaned a little too heavily on some fairly generic post-Floyd rock sounds, but Heart of the Saturday Night is also pretty unadventurous. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of that Waits record, and I don't necessarily need a record to be "adventurous" or whatever to enjoy it, but it's not one of his best by a long way. Also, y'know, backlash for winning the solo artist tournament. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
This is another one of those that I thought would be easy after my first listens, but I have to admit that Elektronik sucked me in on the second and third. It has a catchy, yet hypnotic, feel to it that I can see having mass appeal in a country that's already familiar with Turkish folk music. Ultimately, though, I don't know when I would ever listen to it again. As with most early fusion attempts, it's a bit hokey, and the musicianship is pretty poor in some places. It's not deep enough that I can see revisiting for pure listening and I would get nothing but funny looks from my friends and family if I tried to play it for fun.
Waits is also a bit hokey here, but I think he makes it work. His early songs all sound to me like theme music for characters from an American film noir, which when combined with his gift for words makes for charming ambiance. I agree with Skinny that it's not the best of his early stuff, but it's still likely to get more future listens than Turkuler.
Heart of Saturday Night
Last edited by sp4cetiger on 07/29/2014 21:55; edited 1 time in total
It's close. I liked both of them, but I'm going to give the edge to Elektronik Turkuler. Koray's at the top of his game, and while Waits is phenomemal by the time he gets to Rain Dogs (1985), he's not quite there yet.
Haha! That's the perfect word for both these albums. Heart of a Saturday Night is one of Waits more mawkish (to steal yet another word from you, sp4cetiger) albums. Electronik Turkuler sounds incredibly fresh on the first couple of spins, but after the novelty of hearing Anatolian Pop for the first time wears off, it doesn't really have the song power to become more than a curiosity.
In short, there are Nuggets inspired acid-fried psychedelic rock that's better than Electronic Turkuler, and Waits has tons of albums that's better than HOSN.
I voted for Electronik Tukuler, but I can't see either of these going too far in this tourney.
haha. I love early Waits. It may not be the junkyard carnival of later Waits, but hokey may be a little extreme. Just listen to the backing band, especially that double bass. So good. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
haha. I love early Waits. It may not be the junkyard carnival of later Waits, but hokey may be a little extreme. Just listen to the backing band, especially that double bass. So good.
You're totally right! Heart of A Saturday Night is totally growing on me. A lot! Whereas, Electronik Turkuler gets weaker with each listen, I'm starting to really get into the smooth sounds of A Heart of A Saturday Night. Guess it's not that surprising since I was really into Waits 70s stuff back in the 90s. I'd just forgotten how Las Vegas lounge-y it was!
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. I feel like walking on some journey while listening to the particular album (though other albums have that feeling as well). Give it a listen and what not; the least it can do is show you a pretty interesting style. I'd also recommend Selda's self titled, Moğollar's self titled, Barış Manço's 2023, and Les Mogol's Danses et rythmes de la Turquie d'hier à aujourd'hui.
