Spain’s Munster Records has a legendary reputation for putting out some amazing garage rock albums, including a lot of prime reissues. This compilation covers some lost gems from the Venezuelan Discos MAG for your enjoyment.
How do such wonderful musicians get lost in the mists of time? It boggles the mind, though I must say I’m happy to be living in an age of crate-divers and those who have the same passion of discovering music as I do.
This particular artist, Salah Ragab, a military man who also was a swinging jazz maestro, is well-known to Sun Ra aficionados, but only to a few outside this select group. It’s a shame, as this particular album gathers songs which mix together big band music, cha-cha-chá, Raqş sharqī, and melodramatic music which would fit well in an epic Egyptian movie.
This is a diamond of a release. Spend some time checking it out this weekend.
A special thanks goes to Peter Holslin who introduced so many to Salah’s work over at Bandcamp.com.