On The Greek Side Of My Mind (RPM Retro 915)<\/b><\/p>\n
Continuing their policy of making available albums which inspired, entertained and even did a tidy bit of business in their day, those discerning folk at RPM have turned their attention to the first solo LP by Demis Roussos. Recorded whilst still a member of prog-rock legends Aphrodite\u2019s Child, Demis\u2019 concept LP, released in 1971, explores his roots, both musical and familial, blending the styles and rhythms of Greek folk music with those of psychedelic rock, enriching the stew with orchestral arrangements and overlaid with Demis\u2019 slightly eerie high register singing, a voice which would propel him to superstardom in the mid 70\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Opening with sublime Gregorian chanting and Demis\u2019 spoken word vocal, the LP\u2019s title track is a meditation on the rich and ancient culture of his home country, and an invitation to join him.<\/p>\n
\u2018She Came Up From The North\u2019s military-like drum rhythm and\u00a0 gentle lute and guitar picking suit this lament perfectly, but it serves as an early warning to expect the unexpected, as the song quickly builds into a psyche horn and drum wig-out.<\/p>\n
\u2018Good Days Have Gone\u2019 must have sounded a little anachronistic by release, a fairly typical \u2018Swingin\u2019 London\u2019 tune, replete with \u2018la la la\u2019s, although admittedly enjoyable and commercial. \u2018We Shall Dance\u2019 has a sharp Europop feel,\u00a0 a psyche organ sound with a twang to the notes, and a little tingling harpsichord, one of the LP\u2019s more upbeat tracks, with perhaps a nod to his future light music career.<\/p>\n
\u2018I Know I\u2019ll Do It Again\u2019s wistful childhood reminiscing comes in all urgently, then turns into a pedestrian beat as the sweetheart is recalled fondly. The abruptness of the end will have you guessing why, but not for long. \u2018Fire and Ice\u2019s mystical imagery is realised by the deft use of lapping harpsicord, hollow, bone-like horns and drums, setting up the polarity that drives this track. The song\u2019s primacy would be celebrated on the LP\u2019s British release, which was re-entitled \u2018Fire and Ice\u2019 in
\nits honour.<\/p>\n
\u2018End of the Line\u2019s folksy atmosphere is evoked well with acoustic guitar and voices that build to a pleasant lead out, a refreshingly simple track that makes no demands on the listener. It isn\u2019t long before the listener is shaken out of torpor by \u2018My Blue Ship\u2019s A-Sailin\u2019, effortlessly moving between lament and jaunty, exuberant celebration, then back again. \u2018Mountains Beyond\u2019s dolorous beginning leads us into the story of a journey through changing rhythms, building to a happier state of mind in the twists and turns of the tune.<\/p>\n
\u2018My Friends You\u2019ve Been Untrue To Me\u2019 has a commanding guitar, shrieking its way through a song of anger and regret, horns blaring their disapproval, and is a robust standout. \u2018Lord of the Flies\u2019 has an exuberant \u2018Hair\u2019 style intro that turns into a great, sprawling lament that could have been a single. \u2018Without You\u2019s bird-like voice intro, harpsichord and piano backing and tense violin make for a lament which is a perfect end to the LP.<\/p>\n
Demis\u2019 lengthy and varied career has often been overlooked as a result of his success in light \u2018supper club\u2019 pop music, and his namechecking in 70\u2019s naff-fest \u2018Abigail\u2019s Party\u2019 seemed to set the seal on a completely false image of him. There\u2019s more to this Egyptian-born Greek superstar than meets the eye, as a listen to this solo LP will attest. BUY HERE!<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Demis Roussos On The Greek Side Of My Mind (RPM Retro 915) Continuing their policy of making available albums which inspired, entertained and even did a tidy bit of business in their day, those discerning folk at RPM have turned their attention to the first solo LP by Demis Roussos. Recorded whilst still a member …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,128,71,87,74,86],"tags":[750,1079,1080,305],"series":[],"class_list":["post-6784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-folk","category-hot-plugs","category-music","category-pop","category-reviews","category-rock","tag-cherry-red-records","tag-demis-roussos","tag-rpm","tag-scenester"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6790,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784\/revisions\/6790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6784"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=6784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}