Rembetissa

Roza Eskenazi

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: September 3, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder
• ASIN: B0000002SI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #55,744 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Greece

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Where are my looks? Where is my great beauty? In Athens there wasn't another such as me I was a doll, yes really, with a lot of class I'm not telling fairy tales, I drove people crazy But I got mixed up with a mortis (tough guy), a first-class mángas (hash smoking dude) Who took what I had and left me He took my heart, my youth, my money And for my heartache, I take cocaine" Roza Eskenazi, who recorded from 1930 into the 1950s, is remembered today as one of Greece's supreme vocal talents. This collection of 21 "songs of love, sorrow and hashish" were recorded between 1931 and 1947 and feature some of the finest Greek musicians of the era. The album was compiled, annotated, transliterated and translated by Charles Howard, and includes notes by world music authority, Dick Spottswood.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Such a voice, July 26, 2003

By	Nels Lindberg (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rembetic music isn't something you hear often. If you have ordinary musical tastes, your chances of hearing rembetiko are on par with your chances of being struck by lightning. If you like things that are just a little strange, you could still live your whole life and never hear of it. For the uninitiated, rembetiko kind of like the blues, in that the themes are mostly the same: hard-luck women, no-good men, drinking, hashish and poverty. It sounds a bit like other Greek music, although often more mournful.

Rosa Eskenazi has a beautiful voice. Often, in the slower songs, the accompaniment will fall silent to let her sing alone for an entire verse. Of course, it's a pity that these tracks were made at a time and place when the recording quality wasn't the best. However, like the best old records this one has soul, and transcends its limitations. Only four stars were awarded because there were a handful of tracks I didn't care for.