Customer Reviews

Balkan Blues

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This 2-CD compendium is very well recorded and contains excellent performances by some very good and important folk musicians. The Romanian material is especially good, and Romanian material is difficult to find. This is not "world Music" (i.e. pop/soft rock in a language you don't know) ; this is the real thing, albeit in nice studio performances. One might quibble about some of the choices, e.g. Psarantonis is not the best way to get into music from Crete, but these musicians are all known in their respective countries and represent real traditions. Any anthology covering a country, let alone the Balkans as a whole in a 2-CD set, is a futile endeavor, but this is good music, and makes a great gift to any of your friends who don't have a pile of old LPs or CDs of this stuff. I give it 4 stars, taking off only one star for lack of depth. _John Uhlemann, KDHX, St. Louis

This thrilling 2 CD set of Balkan music spans the entire region: Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Macedonia and Roma. Network did a fine job of a difficult task, selecting thoroughly enjoyable music representative of the area. My favorites are Greek, Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Roma (gypsy).

I love Niki Traka(female vocalist) on the rembetika song, "Heis Allon Sti Kardia". The "Cafe Aman" beat of Asia Minor (Turkey)always sends a chill down my spine. When Psarantonis from Crete plays the lyra, he creates a hypnotic trance that is enhanced by his heart-felt vocals. The Romanian selections are all very noteworthy - fantastic cimbalom improvisations, melismatic vocals, along with breath-taking violin ornamentation. The Roma musicians and vocalists are of the highest caliber, the brass band music of Kocani Orkestar and Ferus Mustafov are outstanding. There is a wide variety of Bulgarian styles - music with unusual dissonance and texture, intense rhythms, unique melodies, a female choir, and dance music in the rachenitsa (7/8) rhythm. Ensemble Tirana (Albania) presents a beautiful polyphonic example, with drone, unusual ornamentation through vocal dissonance - human voices that sound like an orchestra!

"Balkan Blues" is one of the best compilations of music from this region. Anyone wanting to experience a wide range of traditional music from the Balkans, played on authentic folk instruments, or modern versions of the older style, should buy this set of CDs. One feels the intense, raw energy of the region expressed through music and song. A magnificent musical tour!
Erika Borsos (erikab93)