Why the mountains are black : primeval Greek village music 1907-1960

"Remastered from Grammy-award-winning producer Christopher King's expansive archive of 78rpm recordings, every square inch of these songs brims with primal indignance, a sense that when times are tough, you break out the booze, sing louder, and dance more fervently ... The 28 tracks (...) sound nothing like the chirpy, cheery music of those Athenos feta commercials - in fact, it sounds downright inhospitable at times, closer to free jazz or even drone music. The instantly-recognizable bouzouki is largely absent, as is any distinguishable melodic patterns, with fiddles, lutes, and thunderous drums kicking up a maelstrom in its stead. The pipiza (a blaring, needle-sharp wind instrument) takes on a role akin to a jazz saxophone, screeching stream-of-consciousness phrases above the din like a furious harpy. And yet - these are celebratory songs with clear form and purpose, defined dances that continue to be performed to this day, if not on a national scale then a local one".

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"R Crumb, who provides the cover illustration to this double CD package, likes to call this stuff "Goat Herder Music", a label wryly borrowed from scornful fellow 78rpm crate diggers. This is niche, even within that world of dusty shellac. Herein we find 28 sides of rural Greek traditional music, recorded largely in the 1930s Athens, and remastered as well as these things can be ... Collector/producer Christopher King (...) is not out to make converts. Indeed, the lead track on the collection, a dance tune performed on gaidas (bagpipes) and drum, feels like it was placed there to ward off casual listeners. It is glorious, riotous, unrestrained and beautiful. It also sound like a free noise exercise performed on dueling stylophones ... Even the most restrained and reflective moments in this collection, haunting fiddle taximia and hypnotic clarinet laments, are alien, hard to pin down ... The whole listening experience fizzles with the refreshingly punk rock sense of acompilationdaring you to enjoy it".